Type 1 Diabetes

On Thursday, I got some of the most difficult news I've had in my life. I took Z in for what I thought was a simple UTI, and instead learned that he has Type 1 diabetes. This was completely unexpected, but once I heard it, everything that's been going on with him lately really just clicked, and I can't say that I was really shocked.

We still don't know what his blood sugar was at our pediatrician's office. It maxed out their meter's ability to compute it. Three and a half hours (and eight trips to the toilet) later, his blood sugar was 413. He was in the beginning stages of keto-acidosis. Thursday night and Friday Z had an IV in each arm (one to put stuff in, one to draw blood) and a variety of other monitors to keep track of all his other vital signs. He didn't like the IV's, or the finger pokes every hour to check his blood, but he really liked flirting with his nurses and doctors (they are all girls), and watching 12 hours of Phinneas and Ferb back-to-back. Friday night they took him off most of his drips, and took out the extra IV. He started his subcutaneous insulin (shots) and they started adjusting his dosage, and since then he has been back to being a normal hyper boy who happens to hang out at the hospital and gets a shot before meals and bed.

Friday, Saturday, and Sunday Sven and I attended a crash course in managing diabetes. This included nutrition classes, classes on administering injections, classes on calculating dosages, classes on treating high blood sugar and low blood sugar, and classes on having a normal life despite diabetes. Z will not be able to be: an airline pilot, in the military, an astronaut, or an interstate trucker. Scuba diving might also be complicated. Aside from that there are very few limitations on his future because of this. I'm not sure, but I think this also means he will serve his mission stateside. Which is convenient, because when asked what he wants to be when he grows up he said, "A missionary." When asked which country he wanted to serve in, he said, "Texas".

Right now Z's diabetes is under control, and treatment-wise we are fine-tuning his doses, but he will be cleared to come home as soon as he lets mommy do his finger pokes (blood sugar tests). He doesn't mind his injections at all. We were hoping to bring him home tonight, but he had to stay overnight because he still fights the pokes. Hopefully he will do well for his 3am and morning pokes so we can bring him home tomorrow.

I want to take a moment to share a couple of the small miracles we have had this week that have really made things bearable for us. Thursday afternoon, as I was sitting in the doctor's office still reeling from the news, I got a phone call from one of my good friends in the area, Vanessa. She knew that Sven was out of town all week on a 50-mile hike with the Boy Scouts, she knew that Z was feeling under the weather, and she called to let me know that she felt like we needed dinner, it was ready, when could she bring it by. I called Vanessa, let her know what was going on, and 15-20 minutes later her husband showed up at the clinic to give Z a blessing and take the girls to their house. Vanessa gave us a bowl of chicken and pasta salad to take with us for dinner. Since then, the girls have had a babysitter every day without fail.

The next miracle we had this week started on Tuesday when one of the Scouts had a log collapse under his feet and sprained his ankle. This was very sad for him, I don't argue that it wasn't, and I am sorry that it turned the 50-mile hike into a 25-mile hike; but because of this sprain the Scouts weren't able to do their entire hike, and had to turn back early. So, Thursday afternoon, sitting in the doctor's office, head still reeling, I received a text from Sven informing me that he was on his way home. He arrived around midnight, and was able to take the girls home to sleep. Since then we've taken turns staying at the hospital and at home with the girls for the night.

The final little miracle I want to mention is actually the first one that started. Sunday evening I noticed that Z felt a little warm. The thermometer said his temp was 100 on the dot. He kept having the occasional warm spell, so on Wednesday evening when the thermometer again said 100 I decided that I should just take him in. When I took him in to the doctor his temp was normal and he hasn't had a temperature that was even slightly elevated since. Why do I call this a miracle? Because without this fever I might have waited another week before I took Z in. And in another week he would have been much more dangerously ill than he was when he went in. We caught his diabetes much earlier than most new diagnoses, and so he skipped the time in the ICU that many first-time patients have.

So, yes, these are small things, but they add up to a big thing. That has helped me so much this week. Thank you to all of you for your support and kind words. I'll keep you posted.