Archive for the ‘type 1 diabetes’ Tag
September 08 2010
I didn’t realize how intense Jedi’s diabetes diagnosis would be until a few days into it. There is just so much information. It’s one of those times when you just have to be thrown into the pool and learn to swim, though.
Except I don’t know how to swim, so that’s a really bad metaphor.
There are so many questions and worries and second-guessing.
Did I give him the right dosage?
What if I gave him the wrong kind of insulin?
Did I inject it all?
I’ve seen what happens if it gets high, but what if his blood sugar gets too low?
What if he crashes?
Is he acting okay, like himself?
What if something happens at school?
How do we manage ______ (fill in the blank/ex: restaurants)?
What if… ?
Yesterday was Jedi’s first day back to school since the diagnosis. It was a day of wondering and worry, on my end. His school nurse called after lunch to inform me he his number was high. Not over the target range, but only a couple points short. I stressed the remainder of the day. When he came home, and I tested again, he was fine. In fact, he was all smiles and happy, having had a great day.
I know it gets easier in time, but right now this is what our days revolve around. It’s a numbers game. Don’t let it get too low, keep an eye on it if it gets too high. 3 meals a day, regular snacks, carbs, 15g, 30g, glucose readings, injections, balance, schedule schedule schedule.
It’s a lot. It really is. But he’s worth it. He really is.
September 01 2010
Since I have a few minutes this morning, I wanted to say thank you for all your good thoughts, prayers, concern, comments, and get well wishes. They mean more than I can say. I also thought I’d take the moment to answer a couple questions I’ve been asked.
Is he diabetic?
He wasn’t before. He was the picture of perfect health before, nothing more than a cold, and even those were very rare. He is now. Type 1, or juvenile, diabetes. His body’s insulin production has shut down, so he’s going to need daily injections from here on out. I’ve already met his endocrinologist and we’ll work on the schedule at his first appointment.
So this was sudden?
Completely sudden, at least from the outside. I think he began not feeling like himself late Sunday afternoon, but he still ate dinner and played around like normal. Monday morning, though, he wasn’t having it when I tried to get him ready for school. He looked horrible: sullen, gray, dry, exhausted. We assumed it was just a bug and he might have been getting better that night. Obviously not. All he’s talked about for 2 days are drinks, what can he drink, what he’ll drink next. Seriously, that is ALL he’s talked about.
Are you going to watch for it in your other kids?
We’ll be changing our diet pretty drastically after this and we’ll definitely keep an eye on it. I have to say, our food intake has never been the healthiest. That’s going to change. They say it’s not necessarily from poor eating habits, though, but most likely genetic or could even be caused by a virus. I guess anyone is susceptible.
How is he doing?
He was able to sleep some. When I called this morning, J told me his blood sugar was at 180 and, since he’s stabilized, they’re thinking of taking him off the IV and getting him used to shots. He’ll also be allowed to eat today, after not having anything all day yesterday and just a few bites of chicken noodle soup the day before. I’m going up for a few hours this afternoon, but it sounds like he’s doing a lot better.
August 31 2010
The scariest day of my life.
That’s been today.
I had some light-hearted post ready to publish this morning. But Jedi still wasn’t feeling well, his eyes sunken and his mouth dry and he was just so tired, that I put it off until after we took a visit to the doctor. I was expecting to come away with an obligatory bottle of pink antibiotics and call it a day. It’s just an ear infection, I thought, or some other kind of bug picked up from his first week of kindergarten. Instead he was sent for blood work and we were advised to stick around, we would have the results stat.
When they finally came in, we were told to drive immediately to the hospital. His blood sugar numbers, which are supposed to be around 100, were over 820. Whatever they call the number that measures dehydration, which should never be any higher than 20, was at 50. He needed fluids and insulin, stat.
I had no idea. How is it possible to not have any idea something so wrong is going on in our body? My son, my little 6 year old, spent the day getting IV’s poked in his hands and fingers pricked. In the PICU. More blood drawn. More medicine. More fluids. His sodium levels were high. His potassium numbers were off. Apparently, his system was going haywire. Or shutting down. Or, God, I don’t even want to think about it.
The light-hearted posts can wait. Until he’s back at school, with a new regimen of unfortunate but necessary injections and healthier habits. Ones that he’ll need to keep for the rest of his life. We’ll make it work, he just needs to get better. Stat.
I'm Crystal. A 30-something mom to 3 young kids living in the Midwest USA. When I'm not chasing my children, I'm a freelance writer and web designer. I like to tell stories from our days and share what we enjoy...
