Chapter One: The Dreaded Diagnosis

If you are reading this book your doctor has just told you that your most prized possession has an incurable disease that will affect them for the rest of their life. Take as long as you feel you need to panic, cry, ask God why, and generally stomp around alternately angry, distraught, and guilty that this has happened to your "baby". That's just what I did. That's what everybody does!

Diabetes doesn't care how much you already have on your plate or what else is going on in your life. Diabetes is a huge amount of stress for the first few weeks for your entire family. Fortunately the stress is right up front where you can recognize it and deal with it. Later on it gets sneakier, but we'll talk about that later. Right now just remember, millions of people have been where you are right now. Frightened for the future of our children, not wanting to believe this has happened, and sometimes looking for someone or something to blame. THERE IS NO ONE TO BLAME! It's not your fault, it's not your child's fault, and nobody is being punished for some past transgression. Diabetes happens.

The experts can give you some indicators but they don't hold true for everybody. Nobody knows why a child develops Type 1 Juvenile Diabetes. Rest assured the emotions you are feeling and the thoughts racing through your head are perfectly normal. I promise it will get better. I was an emotional wreck. Our adventure started about a week before the actual diagnosis. Kari was thirsty all the time and the poor kid had to pee constantly. She drove me nuts. "Daddy I have to go to the bathroom, Daddy I have to go to the bathroom". She couldn't make it through dinner without having to get up to go.

We were at a carnival and she was so thirsty she was crying. She can be a bit of a drama queen at times so I was more annoyed than concerned. Looking back, I'll feel guilty about that for the rest of my life. The next morning she came to me and said "daddy I think I have a mosquito bite on my vagina, it itches". I had her show me and it looked like she had a yeast infection. Being a complete diabetes ignoramus my first thought was some kind of urinary tract infection. I called the doctor that morning and made an appointment for later that afternoon. I was told to bring a urine sample.

We showed up, handed over the sample and were shown to an examining room. I hadn't even opened my magazine when a nurse popped her head in and asked if I had used a clean container for the sample. Duh! I almost told her that except for a little left over salsa it was pretty clean. I'm glad I kept my mouth shut for once. Almost immediately the doctor came in and said "I want you to take her to the Children's Hospital Emergency Room. I think your daughter may have diabetes. I'll call and tell them you're coming".

That was the beginning of the panic.

We got to the emergency room and her blood sugar level was somewhere in the 800's. They couldn't figure out why she was still on her feet. We got out of the emergency room around midnight with instructions to report back to the Endocrinology Department first thing the next morning. I went to the hospital for the first day of diabetes training with my hair standing on end. I had trouble understanding the million or so pieces of information that they were trying to teach me. Add to that everything began with "H". Mix this "H" with that "H" but first charge this "H" with air, then draw this "H" first followed by that "H" but make sure you roll this "H" between your palms and for crying-out-loud don't shake that "H". I hit an all time low when they tried to teach me how to draw up the insulin.

My head was so full of the dire possibilities that nothing was getting through. I went home that evening after about eight hours of training convinced I would never get it. Since my daughter had been diagnosed in the emergency room around midnight and I had just spent the next day at the hospital starting at 8:00am, I hadn't had an opportunity to call anyone. So I called my cousin first. He and I are very close and he loves my kids. I was pouring out my panic to him. All of a sudden I found myself explaining to him step by step how to charge the different types of insulin vials, in what order, and everything else I thought I would never be able to grasp. I was stunned. I could do this! All I had to do was quit worrying about the disease (and quit feeling sorry for myself) and start taking care of Kari. In other words, I'm the tall one. I'm the parent. It's my responsibility to care of her.

From that point on I was able to approach this entire problem with a positive attitude. Right there is the secret. Your lives are not coming to an end. They will be changed but it's not over. Everything you used to do together as a family will still happen. Favorite foods, favorite activities, school, dancing, scouting, all of these things will still be part of your child's life. Your doctor probably told you all of this. If you're like most of us your first thought was, "How can that be?" Well, I'm here to tell you that what they told you was all true. However, in this book I will try to help you integrate that knowledge into your daily lives


 Next

Chapter Two: The Day They Turn You Loose


 

Legal Statement

The Book "So Your Child Has Diabetes" A Step by Step Plan for You and Your Child , is Copyright © 2004 by Russell A. Turner.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any other means: electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without prior written permission of the copyright holders. This book is supplied for information purposes only and, as experienced in this subject matter as the contributors are, the material herein does not constitute professional medical advice. This publication is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information with regard to the subject matter covered. It is sold with the understanding that the publisher and contributors are not engaged in rendering medical, psychological, or other professional advice. If medical or other professional assistance is required, the services of a competent professional should be sought. The reader is advised to consult with an appropriately qualified medical professional before making any medical decision. The publisher and contributors do not accept any responsibility for any liabilities resulting from decisions made by the purchasers of this book.

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