Craig and Madi are siblings who both have Type 1 diabetes. They were both diagnosed in 2012 and with in 4 months of each other. Craig (16) and Madi (7) are awesome kids and here you will see the everyday things that come with Type 1. There is no cure for type 1 diabetes. Thank you so much for reading!!
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If you would like to send an email to Madi or Craig, you can do so here: teriprice05@hotmail.com

Saturday, June 9, 2012

Day 12

Day 12 and 13 will be the story of the kids diagnosis.. Here is Craigs: I guess it started about 2-3 weeks ago... Our oldest was having a few "issues" and we though he was just growing..he was eating tons of food, and always thirsty.... then about a week ago (I was out of town) my husband realized something was wrong with our kiddo...He called me and said I needed to make an appt at the doctor because he was having to go to the bathroom very frequently..well, that meaning at least every 45 minutes.even at night.. SO immediately I thought UTI..of course thats what it was, all he needs is an antibiotic and we're good..So I made an appt, but they couldnt get him in till this morning(I called tuesday)....SO he did a urine test..then the doctor called me in (you see, Craig is just too cool to have his mommy in the room anymore...sad..sad..) The doctor then tells me that he has no infection..and immediately Im thinking "well SOMETHING is wrong, clearly!"...then he says he has type 1 diabetes... My mind went completely blank......I literally was in shock... I was completely unprepared for that answer....Then my mind started going crazy.. MY kid? Craig? Diabetes? what in the heck? He is a healthy young man.. whats going to happen? Will he be okay? The doctor was answering all of my questions and then I couldnt be strong anymore, you see Craig was right there in the room and I did not want to freak him out, or make him feel bad...but at this point the tears started coming...I mean no one wants their child to suffer, or have something like this, which is a life long disease...so Im trying to stop tearing up and take in everything the doctor was telling me.. Then the doctor was trying to console me..ha.. poor guy!! I wasnt freaking out, but anyway, I tried to calm down for Craigs sake.. I just kept thinking "I dont want him to have this..to have to worry about this, or to suffer" Its just something a parent does not want for their child.... When we left my little boy just cried, he said he was scared...and then I teared up again..Then he was fine..He acted fine anyway, but I could tell he was concerned, and worried... He went back to school though....crazy enough!! As soon as I got home I fb'd if anyone knew anything about it..I figured I needed some close friends resources for sure on this one! I almost didnt because I didnt want to blast it, but at that point I needed some support and answers.. and I also called someone from church who I knew their child had it..As part of the Primary presidency I had learned of her because any time we had treats we would have to let them know..SO she was the first person I thought about to call.. She was amazing..she was supportive and offered answers, what to expect in the next few weeks and just tons of help. after that, I googled it...and got some more info..trying to figure out what it all meant.. I still felt completely overwhelmed..I am a worrier, I've said it a million times.. but its true, I worry about my kids SO much..I worry about everything..and I am a planner... but the near future is unsure, I know a tiny part of what Craig is going to go through, I dont know what doctors visits will hold, how this will all play out, how he will get his insulin..how long it will take for him to start feelign better...I just dont know and that is very hard for me... The next day We got up at 6 am to go get his labs done. It was his first time ever getting blood drawn..and I even told the lady that, well lets just say he did not have a good experience.. She was really insensitive.. he looked like he was gonna faint and he was super shakey... He was glad it was over to say the least! so we went home and I told him he could stay home..I felt like he needed to stay home..Well the hubby said he was fine, send him to school..So I did..and I really did not want to...I had a bad feeling about it...I didnt voice that very well..but I was second guessing myself.. So I figured I would call the doctor at 9 or 10 to see if they got at least the sugar levels..but they said no, that it would take 5-7 days to get back to me..That didnt sit well with me..I just had a terrible feeling, so I called a friend whos daughter has Type 1 as well..she said that was way too long..and he should really be checked.. My knowledge on this was not very good, and I wasnt sure if I was being paranoid mommy, or if I needed to just get him and figure something out... The spirit told me clearly to go get my son now. I did.. I called my friend again, and she offered to test him..we considered doing if later in the day, but I really felt strongly that I needed to check him then..he was a little stressed about getting his blood checked.. Im sure it was more fear of the unknown.. so anyway we went and checked it at my friends house..At that point it was 403..A normal persons blood sugar should be between 90-120...so his was crazy high.. he was pale and looked like he was going to faint..We got him some water and he rested the way home.. I was SO glad I got him from school! I called the doctor again and told them of the reading we got.they said they were not going to do anything, so I asked if they could just send us to a specialist today and they said "His body has managed it this long, he can wait 5-7 more days, if you have any more questions check webMD" At this point I did not know if I should calm down, or trust my feeling and get him seen. We went home and he rested and ate because it was lunch time..I asked some more friends about the number and they agreed it was really high, dangerously, call the ambulance high..SO I called my friend and went over to her house again... I wanted to check it again to see if it went up or down, or stayed the same..She was so helpful in this whole process, and willing to help. SO she tested him again...It was now at 425. Craig immediately starter to break down. At that point I decided we were going to the hospital. I left Carter home (it is his birthday so I felt so sad for him... he had a lame day and I did not get to spend much time with him at all) and got a sitter for Madi.. Dropped her off and we were on our way to Phx Childrens. On the way I called my uncle who is a fire fighter and he said the same, head to the ER... that just confirmed my feelings and I felt much better about taking him.. ON the way Craig cried, he was scared and worried..then he fell asleep..I was glad to see him sleeping, and not worrying so much, he looked peaceful for a moment.. He went from being mad and saying "I hate diabetes" to scared, to this: Craig: mom, is there a fund raiser for diabetes? Me: oh yes Im sure there are a lot Craig: well we need to do one..There are other people out there dealing with this too. I honestly was a little speechless...I could not believe he said that, and he sounded like a grown up..my little boy..He has such an amazing spirit and as I was driving and trying so hard to not cry or show emotion, I just about lost it ...I felt so thankful for his thoughts and words..HIs whole life is going to change...and he isnt depressed or feeling bad for himself...There will obviously be rough days ahead, but I was thankful for his good attitude. When we got to the hospital we were approached, I told them what was going on and they got a room for us immediately..They checked his levels and they had gone even higher..then it was more pokes, blood draws, and IV and lots of people with lots of questions and information. He finally got to drink something..and he was so excited because they gave him a diet coke.. we rarely buy soda..and never caffeinated ones..ha, so he thought he was cool to get to taste diet coke!! Now we are in our room..We will be here for 3 days at least..We have been given a long binder of info to read through..I have to give him a shot in half an hour...I HATE needles, blood, shots or anything like that, so I am not sure how this will go...It totally stresses me out.. The nurses have been great and Craig is feeling better and is very optimistic..which is good since this is a life long disease. I still have lots of worries..questions and a lot to learn to be able to care for him...This will be a long emotional road...for the whole family..we need to educate the other kids so the can understand what is going on with their brother.. After this point, we spent 4 days in the hospital...

2 comments:

  1. Hi, I'm fourteen years old. I was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes about five months ago. I had the same symptoms as your son did, so my parents took me in to get blood drawn and such, they called back that night and told me that my blood sugar was 792. I kind of find it weird that your son had to spend four nights in the hospital and I didn't even have to spend one, but I thought it would be nice to hear someone else's story. I plan to read the whole blog. I'm very interested in reading someone else's experiences with diabetes.

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  2. Taylor, the 4 day hospital stay after diagnosis is just common practice at the childrens hospital in Phoenix. They have you meet with a nutritionist, get your calculations right, educate all on the disease and make sure that the kids and parents know how to deal with it when they go home.. Craigs sister had the same 4 day stay when she was diagnosed, even though we had already been there for 4 days with Craig a couple months earlier.. Each hospital has different policies:) Thank you for reading.. Hope you're doing well!!

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