Wednesday 24 November 2010

It could be worse......it's only diabetes.....

These are the dreaded words that parents of diabetic children don't want to hear, and do you know what, when Samuel was first diagnosed I said them myself, and I do sometimes still find myself saying them.

Yes, it could be worse, it could be so much worse. I have a friend who's son has muscular dystrophy, and my heart breaks for them, as he is friends with my daughter and we have known them for about five years. You watch the children in the Great Ormond Street Advert advert, asking for you to donate money each month so that the hospital can carry on its great work to save the children, and yes there are children suffering horrific abuse, injuries and diseases.

But .......Type 1 diabetes is no walk in the park!

This is what diabetes is for us:
  • At least four injections a day,
  • At the very least six finger prick blood tests a day,
  • Hospital appointments every two months, seeing not only the consultant, but the diabetic nurses, the dietitians and the psychologists.
  • The yearly review,
  • The carb counting every meal he eats,
  • The working out the insulin dose using the carb ratios,
  • The good carbs, bad carbs, fast carbs, slow carbs, low GI, high GI
  • The high sugar levels, the low sugar levels, ketones, DKA
  • The constant watching for hypo signs,
  • The constant worry that they may not wake up in the morning, because of dead in bed syndrome,
  • The fact that just because they are  diabetic their life expectancy is reduced by 15-20 years.
  • Its sharps bins, needles, care plans and hypo boxes.
  • Its not being able to go to a friends house for tea, or a sleepover,
  • Its the nightmare of trying to carb count party food.
  • Its growth spurts, the common cold, a stressful day at school.
  • Its sick day rules
It never stops, it never goes away.......
But its ok........It could be worse......Its only diabetes.....

1 comment:

  1. The dead in bed syndrome is just outright scary sounding. And every diabetic child's parents worst fear. :o(
    Just every day life for us...

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