Welcome to D-Club!
Q & A
Wait! What is this club?
What do you mean? What do you do? What’s it about?
D- club is just like any
other club, you get together, you talk.
No, but what’s it like?
Think of it like a train
collectors club…..
Like a what?
Lets just say that once you
get started you’ll just keep chugging along.
I don’t get it…..
Think math club,
calculations, estimations, averages
I don’t think you have
convinced me……..
It is sort of like a sports
club, you know hoops and goals.
No I don’t know
Well it’s kinda like science
club…
Really?
Ya, like you will learn all
kinds of scientific words and how to do science stuff.
That sounds interesting.
Tell me more
Some of it is kinda like a
book club, there’s lots of reading and note taking.
O.K. so how often does this
club meet?
Well you’ll participate
every day but meetings are every 3 months and we have a really big get together
every year.
So, what are the people
like?
Well, there are all kinds,
from all walks of life, we don’t discriminate and everyone is really
supportive, and they will listen to your story, share theirs……..
Oh that’s good!
O.k. What else?
Well, there are dues.
So, how much are we talking
about?
A lot……..
How much is a lot?
It depends…..
So if I decide I don’t want
to be in the club anymore I can just quit and get my money back?
No, once you're in, you're in,
no refunds.
But I won’t know what it’s
like until I am in and then it will be too late.
Correct.
Well, I don’t think this is
for me.
It’s too late….. You’ve
already been signed up……
No I didn’t sign up for
anything!
No, no one ever does……
Each year 15,000 children and 15, 000 adults and their families become members of D- club.
November is National
Diabetes Awareness month and so in honor of my son (a Type 1 Diabetic) I am
posting today.
This is our story
Our family with the
exception of my youngest had been suffering for about a week with a cold. That Thanksgiving in 2009 was one where my
little boy, age 3, ate nothing, drank excessively, and cried most the night. We
assumed he was getting what ever this bug was for days but he never had any
cold symptoms. I had grown weary and was growing concerned, he looked awful but
nothing was happening and I wasn’t sure if I was imagining it but he seemed
thinner- but he’s always been thin. So that morning I called the Dr.’s office
to see if they were even open the day after Thanksgiving- thank God they
were.
My father in law who
had been with us for the Holiday said he would
drive me while the Hubs stayed with the girls- I think he was just as concerned
as I was. When we got in I was relieved, we were at the Dr.’s office all would
be well. The Doctor would say he had a cold and we would pick up an antibiotic
or not and all would be well. We went in and they asked him for a urine sample-
no problem, got it. We wait, I am sitting in the room for a few minutes and the
nurse says they want to check him for strep even though she doesn’t think he
has it. She sticks a large cotton swab down his throat and he doesn’t flinch.
Now I am really worried. I hear talking, no strep, now they want a blood
sample. Just a finger prick o.k. done- he doesn’t cry or make a sound. I hear
them talking outside the door (Dr. and Nurse) and I know that’s not good but I
can’t exactly make out what is being said. My son’s Dr. comes in. He looks a
little nervous but the guy is funny and I wasn’t sure if he was just being
goofy. He says I have bad news- I am still smiling at this point because I could
not ever imagined what he was about to say to me. He is Diabetic. Gulp! I don’t
say anything but hold up one finger in protest as to scold a child and tears
flow. I say (o.k. plead) no, wait I gave him orange Juice right before we came
in! He shakes his head at me. We need to go to the E.R. now.
I walk out to the
waiting room like someone with shell shock and say to my father in law he is
going to be o.k. ( I know now I was saying this to my self)and we need to go to
the hospital- I explain in the car and call the hubs to get the kid s ready so
we can all drive him in ( I do not recommend this but at the time I wasn’t
thinking) we get home which is 3 minutes from the Dr.’s office and less than 5
minutes later we are on the way to the hospital.
When we arrive we are
put in a lovely new kids ER with lots of great kid stuff – none of which my son enjoyed. We meet 50 million people- I stand there and answer questions and
repeat the story of “what’s going on” to everybody and there brother. They ask
me what his glucose level was at the Dr.’s. If they told me I don’t remember.
They check him 723. They explain that they are going to start IV’s etc. I nod
and just want him fixed (I see the irony of this now).They start 2 IV’s one in
each arm and put him in boards to keep him from moving – he never cries and it
is almost impossible to keep him awake. They talk to me about swelling of the
brain and watching him for 24 hours and a gamut of things that that at the
time don’t even seem like they are really happening to you or your child. At this
point I am helpless- I just sit by his bed until they move us to the Pediatric
ICU. Jason comes in and out of the room trying to balance his desire to be with
us and checking on the girls who thankfully were with his dad in the waiting
room. We try our best to explain what is happening to the girls and start
making calls to family and close friends. The next few days are a blur.
Diabetes education, sugar checks, charts with stickers and prizes, lots of
crying- not only from my son but from Jason and I.
Jason had arranged care for the girls with multiple relatives so he could go
back and forth between the hospital and home. They decide to let us go home
after 3 days but only after we each could show we know how to give insulin. The
nurse hands me the syringe and insulin, no problem after all both Jason and I
are RN’s. I decide to do the morning shot and Jason the afternoon. Jason holds
our son for his am insulin- I can’t do it. I don’t remember who did because at
this point I am crying and when it is all done I go sit on the bathroom floor
feeling as though my guts were being ripped out through my stomach. Until then
I thought it was just an expression. Jason gives the lunch time insulin with
success and I do the dinner –now we go home.
We arrive and the girls
have welcome home and get well cards. We have some dinner and put the kids to
bed. I know that in the first few months we had calls and friends who brought
gifts and family who did all they could to help in anyway they could, although I don’t know if we even knew what we
needed at the time. I read, we cried some more, we heal, we get a taste of what
this really means for our family.
It will be 3 years
this Thanksgiving since our sons diagnosis.
Which means in the
last 3 years he has had somewhere in the neighborhood of 6000 shots and 9000
finger (and toe) pokes. We are currently
at a total of 15, 000 jabs at this point if you are keeping count- he is 6
years old…………
But the story does not
stop there. Because in the midst of all of this, there is hope. Researchers
around the world work for a cure. There
are medical advances and discoveries being made by leaps and bounds.
But more importantly
because with God all things are possible!
So why did I share
this? Was it to raise money for research? No.
Although that is a
great and noble thing.
I share this so that you can better
understand the reality of what Type 1 diabetes is. Perhaps if you meet a family
who has a type- 1 diabetic child, or you meet an adult with type -1 diabetes
you will understand them a little better. I share this because if you do not
already know someone with type 1 diabetes, you probably will. It may be your
child, or that of a friend or relatives.
I share this so that I
can share the symptoms of Type 1 diabetes and someone may receive the medical
attention they need because you knew the signs.
·
Excessive
thirst
·
Frequent
urination( in a small child’s case wetting the bed after being potty trained)
·
Drowsiness
·
Fatigue
·
Weight
loss
·
Increased
appetite
·
Blurry
vision
·
Shortness
of breath
·
Fruity
smelling breath
·
Nausea
and vomiting
·
Stomach
pain
(The first 7 are the
tell tale signs)
These symptoms require
immediate medical attention. When my son was diagnosed he was in DKA. Diabetic
Ketoacidosis. He was in the Pediatric ICU for 2 days and on the Pediatric unit
for one day following the ICU. It is a horrible thing when the hospital
requires you to sign a waver that says you know the risks of treating Diabetic
ketoacidosis- possible swelling of the brain, coma, and or death.
I share this in hopes
that one less blue candle is lit in honor of a child’s life lost to Diabetes.
So because of all
this, we blog and we walk the “Walk to Cure”.
Here are a few
pictures from this years event
 |
| The Walk to Cure 2012- I can't believe he volunteered to go up on stage! |
 |
| It's finally over |
 |
Our team shirt
|
 |
| Left over containers from test strips and a few straws turned into a rocket- I don't know how he ever thought of that! |
 |
| Practicing checking blood sugar with RUFUS ( JDRF's official bear with diabetes) |
 |
| Practice administering shots with RUFUS |
 |
| A picture of him this last week when he finally learned to ride a 2 wheeler. I have a feeling this is what it's going to look like when there is a cure. |
If you are up for a challenge visit this site where you can see what it is like to be a Type 1 diabetic for a day. Are you brave enough?
Thank you for taking this ride with us, I know it has been a long one.
Romans 12:12 Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer
