Happy 1 Year Diabetes Anniversary Nathan!
How should we celebrate? Eat cake? Doesn't seem like a logical way to celebrate.
I won't say it has changed our lives, but I wouldn't say it hasn't changed our lives.
We control the diabetes, we don't let the diabetes control us.
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Monday, April 21, 2008
Why did Nathan get it?
You have to ask the question...Why me? Or in this case...Why Nathan. I'm strong in my faith in God and believe there is a reason for everything. I don't think Nathan getting diabetes was a fluke. I think it was planned by God. But, I can find good in anything. I don't think it has been 100% revealed why Nathan got diabetes, but in time, I think we'll know for sure.
Right now I think it might have been to help Nic. Nic is Nathan's friend at school that has been diabetic since he was a toddler. Sometimes I think God gave Nathan diabetes so that Nic would have someone like him. Nic was the only diabetic in the school. Now he has a "friend".
Sometimes I think that Nathan got diabetes for a future career path/choice either for him or for me. Since his diagnosis, we have started to become involved with JDRF (the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation). As we have the chance to get more involved, I could foresee myself and/or Nathan doing more with diabetes education/work. Or maybe Nathan will become an endrochronologist. He's smart enough.
I already know we are educating a lot of people about diabetes. We treat our diabetes a little differently than many people. Nathan tests out in the open and in front of people all of the time. Kids especially want to watch and know why. We have the "explanation" down pretty well now. It is a rewarding experience seeing kids want to know why and understanding why. It's amazing the number of people with diabetes that "have come out of the woodwork" since Nathan was diagnosed. We had no idea these people (who we've known for quite awhile) were diabetic. They kept it hidden. I thought that was what we were going to do too, but since most of his friends knew, it was just easier to make sure everyone knew.
A few weeks ago, I was teaching my father how to change Nathan's site so that this summer Nathan can spend some time at their house. The whole family (my sister, brother in law, 2 nieces, brother, my mom and my dad) all gathered around to watch. They were intrigued. They wanted to know how it worked. We were glad to show them. So my advice for anyone who has a child who needs something special in order to live, don't try to hide it. Show it to others. Educate others. As humans we seem to be attracted to car accidents, medical emergencies, rescue vehicles. We always want to know what's going on. I don't think it's much different with Nathan and his diabetes. People want to know. They want to understand. You've heard of "the fear of the unknown". Let's take out the unknown. Lets all share it and make this world a more understanding (less fearful) world to live in.
Right now I think it might have been to help Nic. Nic is Nathan's friend at school that has been diabetic since he was a toddler. Sometimes I think God gave Nathan diabetes so that Nic would have someone like him. Nic was the only diabetic in the school. Now he has a "friend".
Sometimes I think that Nathan got diabetes for a future career path/choice either for him or for me. Since his diagnosis, we have started to become involved with JDRF (the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation). As we have the chance to get more involved, I could foresee myself and/or Nathan doing more with diabetes education/work. Or maybe Nathan will become an endrochronologist. He's smart enough.
I already know we are educating a lot of people about diabetes. We treat our diabetes a little differently than many people. Nathan tests out in the open and in front of people all of the time. Kids especially want to watch and know why. We have the "explanation" down pretty well now. It is a rewarding experience seeing kids want to know why and understanding why. It's amazing the number of people with diabetes that "have come out of the woodwork" since Nathan was diagnosed. We had no idea these people (who we've known for quite awhile) were diabetic. They kept it hidden. I thought that was what we were going to do too, but since most of his friends knew, it was just easier to make sure everyone knew.
A few weeks ago, I was teaching my father how to change Nathan's site so that this summer Nathan can spend some time at their house. The whole family (my sister, brother in law, 2 nieces, brother, my mom and my dad) all gathered around to watch. They were intrigued. They wanted to know how it worked. We were glad to show them. So my advice for anyone who has a child who needs something special in order to live, don't try to hide it. Show it to others. Educate others. As humans we seem to be attracted to car accidents, medical emergencies, rescue vehicles. We always want to know what's going on. I don't think it's much different with Nathan and his diabetes. People want to know. They want to understand. You've heard of "the fear of the unknown". Let's take out the unknown. Lets all share it and make this world a more understanding (less fearful) world to live in.
The Hard Times
This post is dedicated to the hard times we've faced in the past year.
Classroom Parties/Treats: A year ago a classroom party was a celebration...now it is a pain. Trying to figure out how to keep your child a child and have all the great things a child should have, but keeping them healthy. Honestly...the worst holiday was Valentines. I have a great kid. Many times in the last year I've had to tell Nathan to save a treat for later (until a meal time) and he has always been great about it. I am truly blessed!
Stomach Flu: A year ago when my child got the stomach flu, we did what "normal" people do. Plenty of rest, fluids, etc. Now the first thing we do is check his blood sugar, check his urine to see if he is spilling keytones and call his doctor. I would have never thought about calling a doctor for a stomach flu a year ago. Now it is routine. In the last year Nathan has had the stomach flu twice. The first time resulted in a short emergency room stay. The second we celebrated because he didn't have to go to the ER. I would have never thought of taking my kid to the ER for a stomach flu a year ago. The only other thing that sucks about the stomach flu is that I have to test him every hour. Conveniently, Nathan got sick in the middle of the night, so waking up every hour to test his blood sugar creates a sleepless night.
Low Blood Sugars: Have you ever tried to make a very sleep 8 year old wake up in the middle of the night and drink a juice. Sometimes it is a little challenging. Sometimes you have to do it more than once. Have you ever had your child tell you he feels inside out. Or that he's sweaty on the inside. Have you ever had your child tell you his blood sugar is 26 and go into panic mode because he could be point away from going unconscious?
Other than that, I honestly can't think of any more things that are terrible about my child being diabetic. We constantly say, it could be worse! If we have to have something...we'll take diabetes!
Classroom Parties/Treats: A year ago a classroom party was a celebration...now it is a pain. Trying to figure out how to keep your child a child and have all the great things a child should have, but keeping them healthy. Honestly...the worst holiday was Valentines. I have a great kid. Many times in the last year I've had to tell Nathan to save a treat for later (until a meal time) and he has always been great about it. I am truly blessed!
Stomach Flu: A year ago when my child got the stomach flu, we did what "normal" people do. Plenty of rest, fluids, etc. Now the first thing we do is check his blood sugar, check his urine to see if he is spilling keytones and call his doctor. I would have never thought about calling a doctor for a stomach flu a year ago. Now it is routine. In the last year Nathan has had the stomach flu twice. The first time resulted in a short emergency room stay. The second we celebrated because he didn't have to go to the ER. I would have never thought of taking my kid to the ER for a stomach flu a year ago. The only other thing that sucks about the stomach flu is that I have to test him every hour. Conveniently, Nathan got sick in the middle of the night, so waking up every hour to test his blood sugar creates a sleepless night.
Low Blood Sugars: Have you ever tried to make a very sleep 8 year old wake up in the middle of the night and drink a juice. Sometimes it is a little challenging. Sometimes you have to do it more than once. Have you ever had your child tell you he feels inside out. Or that he's sweaty on the inside. Have you ever had your child tell you his blood sugar is 26 and go into panic mode because he could be point away from going unconscious?
Other than that, I honestly can't think of any more things that are terrible about my child being diabetic. We constantly say, it could be worse! If we have to have something...we'll take diabetes!
Thanks to our Supporters
Tomorrow marks the 1 year anniversary of Nathan having diabetes. Should we celebrate? Celebrating seems the wrong thing to do. How do you celebrate a disease? It definitely will be a date I will remember for the rest of my life...
To celebrate, I'd like to thank those who gave my son things this past year that he would have never had if he wasn't diabetic.
First to Medtronic. Nathan got to throw out the first pitch at a baseball game. Medtronic sponsored the even and bought diabetic families tickets to the game. Thanks Medtronic. Nathan would have never had that opportunity if he hadn't been diagnosed with diabetes.
Thanks to Woods Brothers. They purchased tickets for diabetes families to attended the spring football game. This was the first game for my 3 children. It was an exciting event.
So...even though having diabetes isn't always fun and games...some very generous people have given my child (our family) opportunities we wouldn't have had without the disease.
To celebrate, I'd like to thank those who gave my son things this past year that he would have never had if he wasn't diabetic.
First to Medtronic. Nathan got to throw out the first pitch at a baseball game. Medtronic sponsored the even and bought diabetic families tickets to the game. Thanks Medtronic. Nathan would have never had that opportunity if he hadn't been diagnosed with diabetes.
Thanks to Woods Brothers. They purchased tickets for diabetes families to attended the spring football game. This was the first game for my 3 children. It was an exciting event.
So...even though having diabetes isn't always fun and games...some very generous people have given my child (our family) opportunities we wouldn't have had without the disease.
Thursday, April 10, 2008
The First Days of School
We were lucky. Nathan had a friend, Nic, in his class that was also diabetic and had been since he was a toddler. The school already had a system for dealing with diabetic children. This was a blessing and an annoyance both. It was fantastic that I knew I didn't have to worry, but sometimes it seems we were thrown into something that wasn't ours. We had to do things Nic's way. Sometimes I feel like we aren't given choices in our son's health at school and the health tech doesn't value my decisions as much as she does Nic's mom's. It doesn't help that Nic's mom is a registered nurse, but I think mostly it is the perception that she's "been doing this longer" than I have. What I want to say is that my kid isn't Nic. Every diabetic is different. But I don't feel this way often. Most of the time I feel blessed to have our wonderful health tech Sandy.
Sandy is a gift from God! Nathan's first days back at school (Thursday and Friday) I had to go to a conference out of town (an hour away). I was a little nervous being so far out of town so soon, but Sandy e-mailed me 3 or 4 times each day and things went great.
I alway say Sandy treats my child like a mom treats her own children. Nathan has a "plan" that if you are a school nurse, I've noticed they stick to it 100%. Sandy isn't afraid of not following the plan 100%. For example, if his blood sugar is below 100 in the morning when he gets to school, he is supposed to have a snack. Now a nurse won't give him a snack if he is at 101, but Sandy will.
From day 1 the school has taken great care of my child and I've never felt nervous about sending my child to school. I'm lucky.
Sandy is a gift from God! Nathan's first days back at school (Thursday and Friday) I had to go to a conference out of town (an hour away). I was a little nervous being so far out of town so soon, but Sandy e-mailed me 3 or 4 times each day and things went great.
I alway say Sandy treats my child like a mom treats her own children. Nathan has a "plan" that if you are a school nurse, I've noticed they stick to it 100%. Sandy isn't afraid of not following the plan 100%. For example, if his blood sugar is below 100 in the morning when he gets to school, he is supposed to have a snack. Now a nurse won't give him a snack if he is at 101, but Sandy will.
From day 1 the school has taken great care of my child and I've never felt nervous about sending my child to school. I'm lucky.
The Teacher Mess Up
While in the hospital with Nathan, I would run home once a day (my husband/Nathan's dad would stay at the hospital). I would check my e-mail, write my lesson plans (I'm a teacher), shower and change my clothes.
I got home on Monday and had phone calls from parents concerned about Nathan. I was a little blown away. I had called the school to let them know that Nathan would not be at school and that he had been diagnosed with diabetes. Apparently, Nathan's teacher had decided to take that information and share it with Nathan's class. The ironic thing about it was that I had talked with Nathan hours earlier that we were going to keep this information to ourselves and not share it with everyone because health is a personal matter. Now all of his friends new. They even made get well cards.
I e-mailed the teacher telling her "officially" of his diagnosis. I had only talked to the secretary at the school.
Sometime that week the school principal e-mailed me and asked whether I had given permission for the teacher to tell the whole class, and I said absolutely not. Later that week she asked to talk to me and she apologized for how the information was handled. I told her I was a little blown away, but it would be okay.
The next Monday I felt almost as if the teacher was harassing me. She had to speak to me. She wouldn't speak to my husband. She bothered me at work. Finally, I was forced to take her phone call. She apologized and then told me that she thought my e-mail was permission to tell the whole class. That was when I truly was "mad" at her because that was a lie. I went back and looked at my voice mail messages in comparison to my e-mail to her. The voice mails were on Monday. My e-mail to her was on Tuesday. She had told the class before I had e-mailed her. She lied. I don't deal with lying very well. I forgave....I just haven't forgotten.
Yes I know I could have probably taken some legal action on her, or the school system, but were not "sue happy" people. I also had to consider that this school system was also the school system in which I was employed...not the same school, but the same school system.
I got home on Monday and had phone calls from parents concerned about Nathan. I was a little blown away. I had called the school to let them know that Nathan would not be at school and that he had been diagnosed with diabetes. Apparently, Nathan's teacher had decided to take that information and share it with Nathan's class. The ironic thing about it was that I had talked with Nathan hours earlier that we were going to keep this information to ourselves and not share it with everyone because health is a personal matter. Now all of his friends new. They even made get well cards.
I e-mailed the teacher telling her "officially" of his diagnosis. I had only talked to the secretary at the school.
Sometime that week the school principal e-mailed me and asked whether I had given permission for the teacher to tell the whole class, and I said absolutely not. Later that week she asked to talk to me and she apologized for how the information was handled. I told her I was a little blown away, but it would be okay.
The next Monday I felt almost as if the teacher was harassing me. She had to speak to me. She wouldn't speak to my husband. She bothered me at work. Finally, I was forced to take her phone call. She apologized and then told me that she thought my e-mail was permission to tell the whole class. That was when I truly was "mad" at her because that was a lie. I went back and looked at my voice mail messages in comparison to my e-mail to her. The voice mails were on Monday. My e-mail to her was on Tuesday. She had told the class before I had e-mailed her. She lied. I don't deal with lying very well. I forgave....I just haven't forgotten.
Yes I know I could have probably taken some legal action on her, or the school system, but were not "sue happy" people. I also had to consider that this school system was also the school system in which I was employed...not the same school, but the same school system.
Hospital Stay
On our way to the emergency room I called my mom and told her the news. She was devastated (she herself is a type 2 diabetic). We spent a couple of hours in the emergency room. The worst part of the emergency room part was the IV. Nathan was so strong. He didn't even shed a tear. He squeezed my hand and said ouch about 20 times, but never a tear rolled down his cheek. The first blood sugar reading we got was 420. I often wonder what his highest blood sugar was. One of my biggest regrets was that I didn't feed him before going to the emergency room. We hadn't eaten lunch that day (big pancake breakfast). When we got to the emergency room it was close to dinner time. Nathan was starving. I wanted to feed him, but of course they wouldn't let him eat anything. By the time he got to eat the next day it had been 24 hours since he had eaten. Have you ever tried to deal with a starving kid?
After the pediatrician on call came in and talked to us, we were admitted to the hospital. Nathan was in the hospital Sunday, Monday and we were released Tuesday morning. Nathan loved the hospital. Most of it. He loved the hospital food. He loved that he got to play Nintendo all day. He got to skip school 3 days in all. It was great. He had great nurses, great doctors.
The only thing that wasn't great was blood draws. Okay...this is a message for all the lab techs out there. If you are NOT good at taking blood from children, please don't. We had a few that were good. We had a few that were terrible. The only tear Nathan shed that whole time was when some lab tech didn't hit the vein and kept digging around trying to find it. It killed me to see him in such pain. Or those techs who missed the first time and had to try again. Kids are going through enough in the hospital. The last thing they need is unneeded pain. Although maybe it was for a reason. Now Nathan's pain threshold is pretty great and everything is all relative. Compared to an IV and missed veins...nothing seems to hurt.
I remember the moment of acceptance for me. It was 5:00 in the morning on Tuesday. I was trying to make a list of foods Nathan could eat for my daycare provider using a carb book the dietitian had given me. I started with cereal. When I found that a serving of "sugared cereal" was less carbs than rice kripies, I knew everything was going to be okay. I had thought my child wouldn't be able to be a child anymore and that is what upset me the most. Knowing my kid could still eat his Lucky Charms, made the world of difference.
It wasn't long before I figured out that Nathan could eat anything in the world. We just needed to know how many carbs were in the food he was eating and then just treat him accordingly with the insulin. Really his eating hasn't changed at all. He eats the same "junk" as before diagnosis. Well...mostly the same. We look at carbs on packages a whole lot more and purchase more things lower in carbs. I do restrict him sometimes, but overall, he eats what he wants.
After the pediatrician on call came in and talked to us, we were admitted to the hospital. Nathan was in the hospital Sunday, Monday and we were released Tuesday morning. Nathan loved the hospital. Most of it. He loved the hospital food. He loved that he got to play Nintendo all day. He got to skip school 3 days in all. It was great. He had great nurses, great doctors.
The only thing that wasn't great was blood draws. Okay...this is a message for all the lab techs out there. If you are NOT good at taking blood from children, please don't. We had a few that were good. We had a few that were terrible. The only tear Nathan shed that whole time was when some lab tech didn't hit the vein and kept digging around trying to find it. It killed me to see him in such pain. Or those techs who missed the first time and had to try again. Kids are going through enough in the hospital. The last thing they need is unneeded pain. Although maybe it was for a reason. Now Nathan's pain threshold is pretty great and everything is all relative. Compared to an IV and missed veins...nothing seems to hurt.
I remember the moment of acceptance for me. It was 5:00 in the morning on Tuesday. I was trying to make a list of foods Nathan could eat for my daycare provider using a carb book the dietitian had given me. I started with cereal. When I found that a serving of "sugared cereal" was less carbs than rice kripies, I knew everything was going to be okay. I had thought my child wouldn't be able to be a child anymore and that is what upset me the most. Knowing my kid could still eat his Lucky Charms, made the world of difference.
It wasn't long before I figured out that Nathan could eat anything in the world. We just needed to know how many carbs were in the food he was eating and then just treat him accordingly with the insulin. Really his eating hasn't changed at all. He eats the same "junk" as before diagnosis. Well...mostly the same. We look at carbs on packages a whole lot more and purchase more things lower in carbs. I do restrict him sometimes, but overall, he eats what he wants.
Diagnosis
On April 22nd 2007 my 7 year old son, Nathan was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes. Otherwise known as juvenile diabetes. Nathan is my oldest child. We have 3 very wonderful children.
Our story starts here. The real life living with diabetes. About 3 weeks or so...maybe more...before his diagnosis, he started wetting the bed. I called on a Monday and made an appointment with his pediatrician. The first available appointment was the following Monday. I went ahead and made an appointment. As the week went on, his symptoms got worse. He was drinking constantly and going to the bathroom every 15 minutes. He also couldn't get enough to eat. He would eat more than I did. Twice as much as I did, and then 15 minutes later be starving again. As I "googled" his symptoms two things would come up. Urinary track infection or diabetes.
That Saturday we attended a wrestling pot luck and then headed to my mom's for a family gathering. On our way to my mom's (1.25 hours away) Nathan had to stop along the side of the road. He was in tears. He couldn't hold it any longer. I mentioned to my mom my suspicion that he was diabetic.
That Sunday we went to church. Attended a pancake feed with lots of maple syrup. Later that afternoon Nathan started feeling dizzy. That was when I decided I couldn't wait any longer. I took him in to an emergent care center that is open on the weekends. They took a urine sample and the doctor wanted to test his blood sugar. I asked the nurse what it was, she told me the doctor would come in and let me know in just a minute. The very nice female doctor came in and told me he was diabetic. I wasn't shocked. I wasn't surprised. I had known and the doctor could tell. She sent us to the emergency room at a local hospital.
Our story starts here. The real life living with diabetes. About 3 weeks or so...maybe more...before his diagnosis, he started wetting the bed. I called on a Monday and made an appointment with his pediatrician. The first available appointment was the following Monday. I went ahead and made an appointment. As the week went on, his symptoms got worse. He was drinking constantly and going to the bathroom every 15 minutes. He also couldn't get enough to eat. He would eat more than I did. Twice as much as I did, and then 15 minutes later be starving again. As I "googled" his symptoms two things would come up. Urinary track infection or diabetes.
That Saturday we attended a wrestling pot luck and then headed to my mom's for a family gathering. On our way to my mom's (1.25 hours away) Nathan had to stop along the side of the road. He was in tears. He couldn't hold it any longer. I mentioned to my mom my suspicion that he was diabetic.
That Sunday we went to church. Attended a pancake feed with lots of maple syrup. Later that afternoon Nathan started feeling dizzy. That was when I decided I couldn't wait any longer. I took him in to an emergent care center that is open on the weekends. They took a urine sample and the doctor wanted to test his blood sugar. I asked the nurse what it was, she told me the doctor would come in and let me know in just a minute. The very nice female doctor came in and told me he was diabetic. I wasn't shocked. I wasn't surprised. I had known and the doctor could tell. She sent us to the emergency room at a local hospital.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)