I swallow, willing myself to remain measured and steady. “Don’t you think it’s important that I know?”

Glancing down, she smooths the bedsheet with her hand. “My health is none of your business.”

The scoff I let out is almost as loud as my voice. “Seriously? You are so out of line with this.” My hard tone ricochets against the hospital room walls. I deserve to know why the hell I was kept in the dark. “How long have you had diabetes? Why have I never seen you take your meds or check your blood sugar? And why the hell did you never tell me?”

I take a breath, but it does nothing to calm me. “And like hell it’s none of my business. I’m your daughter. It’s my job to take care of you. How am I supposed to do that if you keep your health a secret from me?”

She pushes the blanket off her chest and crosses her arms. The movement reminds me of a child who doesn’t want to go to bed yet. It’s fitting though. This moment is a role reversal for the record books. Here I am standing over my mom, scolding her for doing something unbelievably careless that could have cost her her life. She’s handling it about as well as I did as a kid when she or Dad lectured me.

“Okay, maybe I should have told you, but I didn’t want to worry you. I saw how upset you were after we lost your dad. I saw how you turned your life upside down for him, for me. I didn’t want to put you through that again.”

I toss my hands in front of me. “Mom. You can’t hide your health problems from me because of Dad. He would have freaked if he found out you were hiding this.”

She sighs, an ounce of defiance melting from her face. “You’re right about that. But I just didn’t want to worry you. You already do so much for me.”

I pause for another deep breath. “From now on, you need to be truthful about everything.”

“Fine.” She scratches her elbow. “I was diagnosed just after your dad died. I didn’t want to add to the bad news, so I kept it to myself. I take my meds in my bedroom so you don’t see. I check my blood sugar in the bathroom and my bedroom so it’s not in front of you. And I’m very careful with my diet. You see that I don’t eat junk food very often?”

I nod my head, biting my tongue to avoid another outburst. But I’m struggling to grasp the fact that for more than a year and a half, she kept this a secret from me.