T1D

Two weeks ago, I didn't know what the difference between Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes, but now I am the educated mother of a Type 1 diabetic child.

A week before that, AJ came down with what we thought was a stomach bug, that had him lying in bed with a stomach ache, occasional vomiting and overall tiredness.  We had some snow days during that week, so he was able to stay home without missing much school.  He went back to school one day and played a basketball, but Jason mentioned that he just wasn't playing how he normally does and just looked worn down.  He got sick again that night and stayed home from school the next day.  The weekend was better and his appetite was back and he drank like he was recovering from being sick.

When Monday rolled around, he still wasn't looking the best and just seemed overall weak and tired.  At that point, I figured that it might be time to take him into the doctor just to have him looked over.  By the looks of his lips, he seemed dehydrated, so I asked him if he was drinking enough.  He said, "Mom, I'm drinking all the time, and I'm peeing all the time!"  I then asked him if his urine was dark yellow (as it would be if he was dehydrated) and he said, "No, it's pale.  Practically clear."  At that point, my medical training as a vet tech kicked in and I realized that something wasn't adding up.  I told him I would take him in the next day.

He went to school with the plan that I would get him after his last class.  He texted me soon into the day and asked if we could go earlier, so I had Jason's dad come a little earlier to watch Bella and I packed up the 6 month-old that I babysit twice a week and brought AJ to Urgent Care. 

After a brief exam from the doctor, he ordered lab work and we spent the next hour waiting for the results.  Luckily, there was a friend from our town there that was more than thrilled to help me entertain baby Maverick. 

When we were finally called back into the room, I didn't even sit down before the doctor told me the news, "He's diabetic.  His blood glucose is over 800."  (Normally, the blood sugar level is between 80-120, so needless to say, that's why he wasn't feeling well.)  The doctor then went on to tell me that he will need to be admitted to the hospital and they were starting an IV right then and there.  The severity hit us both.  The doctor left the room (one of several times) and I scrambled to figure out what I was going to do with baby.  It was now just around the time that school was getting out.  I called Jason and he was surprised needless to say.  I texted Maverick's mom, but she is a teacher, so I really doubted she would be able to respond. 

The doctor then came back into the room and told me that our hospital did not have the resources to take a pediatric T1D patient and that we would need to go to Sioux Falls and that an ambulance would arrive in 10-15 minutes to pick him up.  At this point, I knew I needed to go with him and didn't even think of driving for 2 reasons, 1) I wanted to be with him in this situation, and 2) the weather was getting pretty bad with snow.  AJ was now getting his IV in and had tears in his eyes.  I decided to call Melinda at the school and I lost it as well.  As I blubbered what was going on, she responded, "I'll come pick Maverick up.  Don't worry about it."  I was so concerned about how I was going to make this work...be in the ambulance that was arriving soon, but be there when Maverick's mom would arrive, which would take 15-20 minutes in ideal conditions, which that day was not.  The nurses came to the rescue and offered to watch him until him mom got there, and in that moment, I had to say yes to a difficult situation, but what I needed to do to be with AJ.

I grabbed everything that I thought we would need or that would be useful during an unknown length of time in a hospital and prepared both the nurses and myself for the next few minutes of getting ready for the next step.

Needless to say, our ride to SF in an ambulance was not fast.  The weather had taken a turn for the worst and we spent the next hour following 35mph traffic on a snow-covered road.  Once we got farther south, the roads got better and we were able to go the speed limit.  We joked about a few things...like that AJ was getting jipped by not being in a speeding-lights-and-sirens-blaring ambulance ride, but after I thought about it, it was better that we weren't because that meant bad circumstances.  We also got a laugh that he filled the jug to the brim that they gave him to pee in.  The EMT was impressed & said he hadn't seen that before.  LOL!

We arrived at the Children's Hospital just before supper and settled in for a few days of monitoring and diabetes education.  Luckily for him, school was cancelled 2 days that week and one was a digital learning day.  I think he only missed 1/2 a day even though we were there Tuesday to Friday.  I had to line up a ride to the local drug store to find some things that one would pack when staying away from home for several days.  Luckily, they had some t-shirts and leggings on sale and I was able to find everything I needed, (socks and underwear even!) to make my stay a little more comfortable.  His room was right across the hall from a room that had all kinds of food and snacks so I was able to eat without spending a fortune.  (I did treat myself on the last night to a meal from the cafeteria, which was wonderful, but expensive.)  We could have went home Thursday, but the storm kept us buckled down for an extra day, but it was nice to have the extra time to adjust to our new normal for him...finger pricks, glucose checks, carb counting, insulin shot, repeat. 

If that wasn't enough, Jason had his hands full with his work and a free throw scandal heard around the nation.  Not to mention trying to learn how e-learning days work and how hard it is to keep up with 5 kids with meals and cleaning while working a full-time job.  Thankfully he had family around to help when he needed it.  I was in the final planning of our Area Faith Community's Confirmation Mass, which involved 35 kids from 5 parishes.  It doesn't sound like much, but it really takes a lot of work to plan out everything that goes along with that!  Needless to say, I didn't get much done that week and the next week made up for it!

Regardless, we survived, AJ is healthy as he can be, and he is adjusting to his new normal.  We are grateful that it didn't get to the point that he was so sick he was in the ICU or even with long-term side effects.  We are thankful that it's a disease that we can manage.  Some days it hits me that he is living with a disease that if managed poorly could be life-threatening.  I am still fearful during some games that his sugar level will get low and that he will have a reaction, but I have to trust that he knows his body and that he will manage it so he doesn't do any damage to himself.  I am thankful that he can eat most things, and glad there are things that he used to eat that now he shouldn't.  Sometimes I get drained by having to analyze everything about the meals I make, but know that this will be the new normal for the rest of his life.  And some days, that hits me hard, that it's something that for right now, has no cure.  I know things could be so much worse, and that there are kids and families who are battling with way bigger illnesses that they are unsure what the outcome will be.  We know that we are blessed to have AJ back to his "normal" routine and that he's happy to be playing sports again.  (He had his best game of 19 points just last Friday!)

For now, we do our best to coach him along without making him feel different.  We try to eat things that we know he can enjoy as well (which is good for us all.)  We embrace the technology that has come so far and look forward to the future that will make it even easier to manage, and we take each day one at a time, grateful for the opportunity to look ahead rather than look back.

Here is a website for more information.  https://www.jdrf.org

This one's for Grandpa Myhre

We were recently at a varsity boys basketball game and there was a larger player from RTR that was making things difficult for one of our tough players under the basket.

Me:  Boy, he's giving Logan a run for his money!
Ian:  What?!  They get money for this?