Today, 12th June is the start of Diabetes Awareness Week. So, I thought that I would write a blog each daybthis week to do my bit for raising awareness.
To kick it all off I have decided to start with the obvious..... The signs/symptoms of type 1 diabetes. If we can get the message to enough people, then lives WILL be saved. Children will stop dying due to mis-diagnosis. It really is that important.
So.......here goes:
1) Extreme thirst
2) Tiredness, no energy
3) Weight loss
4) Frequent urination
5) Blurred vision
6) Thrush
If you, your child, or anyone you know has one or more of these symptoms then talk to your doctor.
Type 1 diabetes can affect anyone at any age. My husband was 25 years old at diagnosis, my son was 4. Early diagnosis is very important so please if you have any concerns talk to your doctor as soon as possible. You may well save a life.
Sunday, 12 June 2011
Saturday, 11 June 2011
The Summer Term 2011
The final half term of the school year is upon us. Six more weeks at school and the summer holidays will be here. Up and down the country children are counting down the days until 'no more school', and up and down the country parents are counting down the days for a completely different reason 'how am I going to entertain these children!'
However, as everyone is relaxing spare a thought for us 'D' parents, because in our world there'd is no relaxing and this part of the school year is very busy and very stressful.
The first thing to worry about is who the next teacher is going to be. Are they going to be understanding and realise how serious type 1 diabetes is. Now as I have said in previous posts I have no problems at all with Westwood. I know all of the teachers and whoever Samuel gets I am confident that there will be no problems, but there are still things that need sorting out. This brings me on to the second thing to worry about, the dreaded 'care plan.' This needs to be reviewed every year. Luckly for me nothing has changed since I wrote it this time last year, although I do need to have a look just to make sure.
The third thing is of course the meeting with the teacher to go over the care plan, which reminds me...... I must make sure I inform the teacher that Samuel has been known to play tricks with his machine and scroll back his numbers.
Finally there is the move from primary to secondary school. Thankfully Samuel is only in year 1 so I have a good few years before I have to worry about that. Although just thinking about it feels me with dread, because more of the control is handed over to the child.
So as school is winding down for the summer remember us, and the fact that even the most simple of events is made so much harder once diabetes is added to the mix.
However, as everyone is relaxing spare a thought for us 'D' parents, because in our world there'd is no relaxing and this part of the school year is very busy and very stressful.
The first thing to worry about is who the next teacher is going to be. Are they going to be understanding and realise how serious type 1 diabetes is. Now as I have said in previous posts I have no problems at all with Westwood. I know all of the teachers and whoever Samuel gets I am confident that there will be no problems, but there are still things that need sorting out. This brings me on to the second thing to worry about, the dreaded 'care plan.' This needs to be reviewed every year. Luckly for me nothing has changed since I wrote it this time last year, although I do need to have a look just to make sure.
The third thing is of course the meeting with the teacher to go over the care plan, which reminds me...... I must make sure I inform the teacher that Samuel has been known to play tricks with his machine and scroll back his numbers.
Finally there is the move from primary to secondary school. Thankfully Samuel is only in year 1 so I have a good few years before I have to worry about that. Although just thinking about it feels me with dread, because more of the control is handed over to the child.
So as school is winding down for the summer remember us, and the fact that even the most simple of events is made so much harder once diabetes is added to the mix.
Saturday, 4 June 2011
It's complicated.......
Diabetes by nature is a complicated condition, you get to realise that very quickly. You can be plodding along, everything within range, and then CRASH....a growth spurt, BANG.....a cold, WALLOP....a hot day, and the levels are all over the place. Actually the doesn't even need to be a reason for it all to go wrong, sometimes it just happens because unfortunately that's just how diabetes works. We are told very early on to try our best to keep levels within range because the longer we have 'good' control the chances of complications occurring are reduced.
Complications....there's a word....there's lots of them. You have the short term ones, the most common hypoglycaemia, this is blood glucose levels of below 4.0, this level is too low to provide enough energy for the body to work. DKA...diabetic ketoacidosis this occurs due to constant high levels. If that wasn't bad enough in comes the scary long term complications. Diabetics have an up to fivefold increased risk of developing CVD (cardio vascular disease) this includes heart disease, stroke and all other diseases of the heart and circulation. Diabetic retinopathy...damage to the 'seeing' part of the back of the eye. This is the most common cause of blindness among working age people in the UK. Kidney disease is very common in people who have had diabetes for over 20 years.
Then comes neuropathy....nerve damage. This can be split into three separate types:
SENSORY these are the nerves that carry messages from the skin, bones and muscles to the brain.
AUTONOMIC these are the nerves that control involuntary activities of the body, the stomach, intestine, bladder etc.
MOTOR these are the nerves that transmit signals to the muscles enabling them to carry out movements like walking and moving the hands.
Lastly there is the thought that diabetes reduces life expectancy by 15 years, and every parents worst nightmare...dead in bed syndrome...and yes it is exactly what it says, they go to bed and don't wake up.
As a parent it is my job to worry about all of the above, but our children need to be aware of the complications, and realise how important it is to try and control levels, but when is the right time to make Samuel aware. He is 6, he doesn't need to know at the moment, but he will. The question is when do I tell him, and how much do I tell him?
I don't know the answer to that now, but I am sure when the time comes I will.
Complications....there's a word....there's lots of them. You have the short term ones, the most common hypoglycaemia, this is blood glucose levels of below 4.0, this level is too low to provide enough energy for the body to work. DKA...diabetic ketoacidosis this occurs due to constant high levels. If that wasn't bad enough in comes the scary long term complications. Diabetics have an up to fivefold increased risk of developing CVD (cardio vascular disease) this includes heart disease, stroke and all other diseases of the heart and circulation. Diabetic retinopathy...damage to the 'seeing' part of the back of the eye. This is the most common cause of blindness among working age people in the UK. Kidney disease is very common in people who have had diabetes for over 20 years.
Then comes neuropathy....nerve damage. This can be split into three separate types:
SENSORY these are the nerves that carry messages from the skin, bones and muscles to the brain.
AUTONOMIC these are the nerves that control involuntary activities of the body, the stomach, intestine, bladder etc.
MOTOR these are the nerves that transmit signals to the muscles enabling them to carry out movements like walking and moving the hands.
Lastly there is the thought that diabetes reduces life expectancy by 15 years, and every parents worst nightmare...dead in bed syndrome...and yes it is exactly what it says, they go to bed and don't wake up.
As a parent it is my job to worry about all of the above, but our children need to be aware of the complications, and realise how important it is to try and control levels, but when is the right time to make Samuel aware. He is 6, he doesn't need to know at the moment, but he will. The question is when do I tell him, and how much do I tell him?
I don't know the answer to that now, but I am sure when the time comes I will.
Wednesday, 11 May 2011
A mothers paranoia
I have been giving this some thought and I truly believe that with diabetes comes paranoia, they are best of friends. I have always considered myself fairly laid back with regard to Samuels diabetes. I have always thought that there is no point stressing and worrying about things that you can't control or change. Granted, I have times when I don't listen to myself, but hey I am only human.
When our first child was born we always had the underlying worry that she would develop diabetes. My husband has type 1, and it was, and still is a constant worry that he will 'give it' to the children. This worry eased and we went on to have three more children.
However, when Samuel was diagnosed the guilt returned ten fold, more so for my husband. I remember thinking that if any of the children were going to develop it it would have been my first. I had bottle fed her, and breast fed all the others, and breast feeding reduces the changes of developing diabetes......... right?
Anyhow, Samuel has now been diabetic for two years and I find myself watching the girls more closely. Looking for any sign, any hint that diabetes is going to force itself on another of my children. My oldest has taken part in the D-GAP study, this looks at four antibodies of 'unaffected siblings of a diabetic child diagnosed under the age of 16.' We know that she has 2 or more of the 4 antibodies, this means that she has a 1 in 5 (20%) chance of developing type 1 within the next 5 years. My youngest has recently had chicken pox. Evidence has shown that viruses, in some people, can cause the pancreas to shut down and they develop type 1 diabetes. Chicken pox is viral and Samuel had had bad case of flu three months before he was diagnosed.
Every time one of the girls goes to the toilet more times than they did the day before, or has had more to drink, or looks tired the first thing that springs to mind is.... is it a sign? Should I be worried?
I KNOW that the likelihood of the girls developing type 1 is slightly higher as they have a parent and a sibling affected, but it is not that high.
I KNOW that there is actually nothingbi can do to prevent them from developing it.
I KNOW that I can't spend the rest of my life watching and symptom spotting.
I don't want to turn into a paranoid mother reading too much into everything that they do. The chances are that they are drinking more because it is a hot day and they are thirsty. Although it surely can't hurt to do random testing........say, once a month..... can it?
When our first child was born we always had the underlying worry that she would develop diabetes. My husband has type 1, and it was, and still is a constant worry that he will 'give it' to the children. This worry eased and we went on to have three more children.
However, when Samuel was diagnosed the guilt returned ten fold, more so for my husband. I remember thinking that if any of the children were going to develop it it would have been my first. I had bottle fed her, and breast fed all the others, and breast feeding reduces the changes of developing diabetes......... right?
Anyhow, Samuel has now been diabetic for two years and I find myself watching the girls more closely. Looking for any sign, any hint that diabetes is going to force itself on another of my children. My oldest has taken part in the D-GAP study, this looks at four antibodies of 'unaffected siblings of a diabetic child diagnosed under the age of 16.' We know that she has 2 or more of the 4 antibodies, this means that she has a 1 in 5 (20%) chance of developing type 1 within the next 5 years. My youngest has recently had chicken pox. Evidence has shown that viruses, in some people, can cause the pancreas to shut down and they develop type 1 diabetes. Chicken pox is viral and Samuel had had bad case of flu three months before he was diagnosed.
Every time one of the girls goes to the toilet more times than they did the day before, or has had more to drink, or looks tired the first thing that springs to mind is.... is it a sign? Should I be worried?
I KNOW that the likelihood of the girls developing type 1 is slightly higher as they have a parent and a sibling affected, but it is not that high.
I KNOW that there is actually nothingbi can do to prevent them from developing it.
I KNOW that I can't spend the rest of my life watching and symptom spotting.
I don't want to turn into a paranoid mother reading too much into everything that they do. The chances are that they are drinking more because it is a hot day and they are thirsty. Although it surely can't hurt to do random testing........say, once a month..... can it?
Friday, 22 April 2011
Welcome to hypo city........
There is no doubt about it, this April has been fantastic weather wise. The sun has been shining for the whole school holidays, (well here in Essex it has) and this Easter weekend is set to be one of the hottest, if not the hottest on record. But what this glorious weather brings with it is nightmare blood glucose levels. Welcome to hypo city !!!!
Hypo city is where Samuel is currently residing and by looking at the comments from the online diabetic community I know that he is not alone. Its a place that is full of plummeting sugar levels, hypo gels, reducing ratios and families struggling to regain at the very least a little bit of control over the dreaded diabetes.
This is what has happened to Samuel today. He woke on a 6.8, now as numbers go, this was a good starting block for the day. However, it wasn't going to stay this way for long. We didn't quite make it to lunch time. Granted it was close, it was only half an hour away, I don't know why he came to test, because he said he was feeling ok. That's the thing with Samuel at the moment, he wants to test ALL the time. I think he wills it to be low, that way he 'can have something', those are his exact words. Anyway, he came in from the garden to test and it was 2.2!!!!! He had signs, he said that he was feeling ok, and if he had had his way he would have been in the garden still running around. So we treated with his orange juice, like we always do and because it was close to lunch time I made all of the children their lunch. I waited until about half an hour after he had eaten before I gave him his injection as he was still charging around the garden like a loon.
Half past three saw Samuel come in from the garden saying that he didn't feel very well. So we tested.....3.4, once again we reached for the orange juice. Hopefully we will make it through the night with decent levels, but like always, with diabetes, you can never be too sure.
Today's levels are not uncommon and whilst the weather remains warm they will continue. We all love the sunshine, and enjoy the warm days, but whilst you are sitting in the garden watching your children run around without a care in the world, think of those families stuck in hypo city. Those families struggling to keep those levels above 4, wishing, not for the first time that OUR children could play, could run around without feeling rubbish because their levels have crashed, having to come in, stop what they were doing, and having to wait for the levels to rise. Wishing that they could play without a care in the world, like ALL children deserve.
Hypo city is where Samuel is currently residing and by looking at the comments from the online diabetic community I know that he is not alone. Its a place that is full of plummeting sugar levels, hypo gels, reducing ratios and families struggling to regain at the very least a little bit of control over the dreaded diabetes.
This is what has happened to Samuel today. He woke on a 6.8, now as numbers go, this was a good starting block for the day. However, it wasn't going to stay this way for long. We didn't quite make it to lunch time. Granted it was close, it was only half an hour away, I don't know why he came to test, because he said he was feeling ok. That's the thing with Samuel at the moment, he wants to test ALL the time. I think he wills it to be low, that way he 'can have something', those are his exact words. Anyway, he came in from the garden to test and it was 2.2!!!!! He had signs, he said that he was feeling ok, and if he had had his way he would have been in the garden still running around. So we treated with his orange juice, like we always do and because it was close to lunch time I made all of the children their lunch. I waited until about half an hour after he had eaten before I gave him his injection as he was still charging around the garden like a loon.
Half past three saw Samuel come in from the garden saying that he didn't feel very well. So we tested.....3.4, once again we reached for the orange juice. Hopefully we will make it through the night with decent levels, but like always, with diabetes, you can never be too sure.
Today's levels are not uncommon and whilst the weather remains warm they will continue. We all love the sunshine, and enjoy the warm days, but whilst you are sitting in the garden watching your children run around without a care in the world, think of those families stuck in hypo city. Those families struggling to keep those levels above 4, wishing, not for the first time that OUR children could play, could run around without feeling rubbish because their levels have crashed, having to come in, stop what they were doing, and having to wait for the levels to rise. Wishing that they could play without a care in the world, like ALL children deserve.
Wednesday, 20 April 2011
All carbs are NOT created equal!!!
This statement reminds me of the George Orwell book, 'Animal Farm', when the animals are making their rules....'All animals are equal' but by the end of the book the statement has changed to 'All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others'.
Carbohydrates, carbs, complex carbs, simple carbs, whatever term you use to describe them are basically the ideal source of energy for the body. This is because they can be converted more easily into glucose, the form of sugar thats transported and used by the body, than proteins or fats can.
We have been counting carbohydrates for about a year now , and the concept is straight forward. For every 10g of CHO (carbohydrate) that Samuel eats he requires 1 unit of insulin for breakfast, and 0.5 units for lunch and dinner. Simple, most foods have the nutritional information on the labels, or if not the information can be found in my carbs & cals book, or I can check online. Its just a matter of weighing out Samuels food, calculating the amount of carbohydrates in the meal and working out how many units of insulin he needs. He will then have perfect blood glucose levels 24 hours a day, 7 days a week! In theory it sounds perfect, and simple, and the answer to our prayers.
However, back in the real world and for those of us who live alongside diabetes know that it is not that simple. It SHOULD be simple though, but as the title says 'all carbs are NOT created equal'.
For example, breakfast..... a bowl of rice krispies (45 g), or two weetabix. Both have a total carb value of 30. So for Samuel 30g CHO requires 3 units of novo rapid insulin, asy. But, what we also have to take into consideration is the GI (glycaemic index) value. The GI is a measure of the effects of the carbohydrate on the blood suger levels. Carbohydrates that break down and realise glucose into the bloodsream quickly have a HIGH GI, thand those that breakdown slowly have a LOW GI.
Rice krispies have a high GI value, so the glucose is realeased quickly, this can result in a rapid spike in blood glucose level, and an equally as rapid drop, so hypos can occur mid morning. Weetabix on the other hand has a low GI so the process is much slower, and the rapid spikes don't occur.
So know we understand the effect of the GI value we have it sussed, but no, what about the effect of the fat content of the food. White bread, and a jacket potato both have a high GI value, however put butter, or sunflower spread etc on them, and the release of glucose is slowed down, as the body works on digesting the fat first.
In all honesty I have to say, that a year ago, before we started I thought that carb counting would be easy, it's just maths, and I am quite good at maths. It's just a numbers game, and let's face it everything to do with diabetes is numbers. What quickly becomes apparent though is that the body is an amazing machine, especially when it is working correctly. We can eat what we like, it's digested, and the blood glucose levels remain level as the pancreas steps in and releases that all important hormone insulin. Maintaining that balance artificially is hard! It's complicated, and the most important thing I have realised is that diabetes plays by, and changes it's own set of rules.
It would be so much easier if 'all carbs were created equal' but it's just not meant to be. So we plod along, doing our maths, doing the best we can, hoping that it is good enough.
Carbohydrates, carbs, complex carbs, simple carbs, whatever term you use to describe them are basically the ideal source of energy for the body. This is because they can be converted more easily into glucose, the form of sugar thats transported and used by the body, than proteins or fats can.
We have been counting carbohydrates for about a year now , and the concept is straight forward. For every 10g of CHO (carbohydrate) that Samuel eats he requires 1 unit of insulin for breakfast, and 0.5 units for lunch and dinner. Simple, most foods have the nutritional information on the labels, or if not the information can be found in my carbs & cals book, or I can check online. Its just a matter of weighing out Samuels food, calculating the amount of carbohydrates in the meal and working out how many units of insulin he needs. He will then have perfect blood glucose levels 24 hours a day, 7 days a week! In theory it sounds perfect, and simple, and the answer to our prayers.
However, back in the real world and for those of us who live alongside diabetes know that it is not that simple. It SHOULD be simple though, but as the title says 'all carbs are NOT created equal'.
For example, breakfast..... a bowl of rice krispies (45 g), or two weetabix. Both have a total carb value of 30. So for Samuel 30g CHO requires 3 units of novo rapid insulin, asy. But, what we also have to take into consideration is the GI (glycaemic index) value. The GI is a measure of the effects of the carbohydrate on the blood suger levels. Carbohydrates that break down and realise glucose into the bloodsream quickly have a HIGH GI, thand those that breakdown slowly have a LOW GI.
Rice krispies have a high GI value, so the glucose is realeased quickly, this can result in a rapid spike in blood glucose level, and an equally as rapid drop, so hypos can occur mid morning. Weetabix on the other hand has a low GI so the process is much slower, and the rapid spikes don't occur.
So know we understand the effect of the GI value we have it sussed, but no, what about the effect of the fat content of the food. White bread, and a jacket potato both have a high GI value, however put butter, or sunflower spread etc on them, and the release of glucose is slowed down, as the body works on digesting the fat first.
In all honesty I have to say, that a year ago, before we started I thought that carb counting would be easy, it's just maths, and I am quite good at maths. It's just a numbers game, and let's face it everything to do with diabetes is numbers. What quickly becomes apparent though is that the body is an amazing machine, especially when it is working correctly. We can eat what we like, it's digested, and the blood glucose levels remain level as the pancreas steps in and releases that all important hormone insulin. Maintaining that balance artificially is hard! It's complicated, and the most important thing I have realised is that diabetes plays by, and changes it's own set of rules.
It would be so much easier if 'all carbs were created equal' but it's just not meant to be. So we plod along, doing our maths, doing the best we can, hoping that it is good enough.
Thursday, 7 April 2011
Samuels second anniversary
Otherwise known as Samuels diabetic birthday. Samuel is like the queen, he has two birthdays. One is in October, which celebrates e day of his birth, and the other, the one you could live without is 15th March. This is the day, two years ago that diabetes decided to knock on our door, and enter our lives, the most unwelcome houseguest to ever arrive. For once diabetes has come through the door, it lays down it's roots and never leaves.
I remember the day he was diagnosed as if it were yesterday. It was a Sunday, and in the afternoon Samuel had been hounding me for a drink. This was more apparent after we had had our Sunday roast, he hadn't even finished his drink and he was asking for another one. As my husband (Scott) has type 1 diabetes I knew that excessive thirst was a symptom, so I mentioned it to Scott and he said that he hadn't really noticed.
As the evening went on I became more bothered by it so Scott said to check, we had the urine sticks and it would put my mind at rest. So the next time Samuel went to the toilet I got him to wee on a stick. The result was instant, and I knew straight away. I showed it to Scott, the reading was in the 20s. We then got out the blood glucose monitor and tested Samuels blood, the machine was flashing HI, this meant that it was in the 30s and was too high for the machine to read. We both knew what this meant, our four year old son was diabetic.
As we have three other children and at this time the youngest was only seven months old, we needed to find a babysitter whilst we took Samuel to the hospital. That was a mission in itself. We had no house phone so had to use our mobiles but the orange network was down. So I was running round the neighbours to try and find someone who was in, with a phone that I could borrow.
I called my dad, and he came over and took charge. Scott and I were initially going to drive Samuel to the hospital ourselves, but my dad called an ambulance. The first response car came out, and once again tested Samuels blood, by this time though, Samuel was having none of it!! He was screaming and crying, it was heartbreaking. Again, the machine was reading HI so an ambulance was called.
Scott went with Samuel whilst I followed in the car with the baby. Throughout the drive all I could think of was my poor boy, I felt physically sick and thought why did my boy have to get it. Anyway, we arrived, and the time we were there (6 hours) went SLOWLY. We went up to a ward, and they ran some blood tests. We were eventually told to go home, and return at 8:00 am so that they could see what his levels were on waking, before eating breakfast.
On the Monday morning that's what we did. I arranged for my friend to take the children to school, and my mum was going to collect them. We spent another 4 hours at the hospital, and after we were again sent home. This time we were given a monitor and told to test before each meal, two hours after each meal and before bed. We were told to return on Wednesday. I remember feeling quite upset at the hospital, as once they knew that Scott was diabetic they ignored me and only talked to him. One nurse said to me that it must be reassuring to already have a diabetic in the house. I remember looking at her straight in the eyes and informing her that Scott was the worst diabetic you would ever meet, as he doesn't look after himself at all!!
Wednesday arrived and we were back at the hospital and we finally found out what insulin samuel was going to be on.
We went back on the Thursday for our training, and the diabetic nurse came out to the house on the Friday. By the end of the day my head was spinning with all the information, and I already had an understanding of the condition.
In the early days it was all to easy to feel sad and upset. Scott, I know blames himself for Samuels diabetes, that it is his fault, that he somehow gave it to him.
However, we celebrate Samuels diabetic birthday. This year Samuel told his teacher, the dinner ladies, actually anyone that would listen. He wanted to take sweets in for his class, so he did. Well it was his birthday!!! We went to McDonalds for tea, Samuels choice, and the children had ice cream with chocolate I. It!
The way I see it, and I know that not everyone thinks like me, I won't allow diabetes to beat us, or to bring us down. I won't let it consume my every waking hour, for one I have three other children to look after, and two, it takes up too much energy and negative emotion to dwell on it.
Obviously I have bad days, and so does Samuel. There are days when he asks why he has to be diabetic, and if I could take it away from him, I would, I would do it in a heartbeat. But I can't, and so embrace diabetes and all that it brings, and we accept that this is what our life is now. However, along with the acceptance there is a warning.......
Diabetes..... You will NEVER win, you are NOT a welcome visitor, which actually is the wrong word, visitors leave! We WILL tolerate you, and we CAN live side by side. You will NOT take him from me. All I ask is that you please play nice, and play by the rules, at least MOST of the time, as I know it will never play nice ALL of the time.
I remember the day he was diagnosed as if it were yesterday. It was a Sunday, and in the afternoon Samuel had been hounding me for a drink. This was more apparent after we had had our Sunday roast, he hadn't even finished his drink and he was asking for another one. As my husband (Scott) has type 1 diabetes I knew that excessive thirst was a symptom, so I mentioned it to Scott and he said that he hadn't really noticed.
As the evening went on I became more bothered by it so Scott said to check, we had the urine sticks and it would put my mind at rest. So the next time Samuel went to the toilet I got him to wee on a stick. The result was instant, and I knew straight away. I showed it to Scott, the reading was in the 20s. We then got out the blood glucose monitor and tested Samuels blood, the machine was flashing HI, this meant that it was in the 30s and was too high for the machine to read. We both knew what this meant, our four year old son was diabetic.
As we have three other children and at this time the youngest was only seven months old, we needed to find a babysitter whilst we took Samuel to the hospital. That was a mission in itself. We had no house phone so had to use our mobiles but the orange network was down. So I was running round the neighbours to try and find someone who was in, with a phone that I could borrow.
I called my dad, and he came over and took charge. Scott and I were initially going to drive Samuel to the hospital ourselves, but my dad called an ambulance. The first response car came out, and once again tested Samuels blood, by this time though, Samuel was having none of it!! He was screaming and crying, it was heartbreaking. Again, the machine was reading HI so an ambulance was called.
Scott went with Samuel whilst I followed in the car with the baby. Throughout the drive all I could think of was my poor boy, I felt physically sick and thought why did my boy have to get it. Anyway, we arrived, and the time we were there (6 hours) went SLOWLY. We went up to a ward, and they ran some blood tests. We were eventually told to go home, and return at 8:00 am so that they could see what his levels were on waking, before eating breakfast.
On the Monday morning that's what we did. I arranged for my friend to take the children to school, and my mum was going to collect them. We spent another 4 hours at the hospital, and after we were again sent home. This time we were given a monitor and told to test before each meal, two hours after each meal and before bed. We were told to return on Wednesday. I remember feeling quite upset at the hospital, as once they knew that Scott was diabetic they ignored me and only talked to him. One nurse said to me that it must be reassuring to already have a diabetic in the house. I remember looking at her straight in the eyes and informing her that Scott was the worst diabetic you would ever meet, as he doesn't look after himself at all!!
Wednesday arrived and we were back at the hospital and we finally found out what insulin samuel was going to be on.
We went back on the Thursday for our training, and the diabetic nurse came out to the house on the Friday. By the end of the day my head was spinning with all the information, and I already had an understanding of the condition.
In the early days it was all to easy to feel sad and upset. Scott, I know blames himself for Samuels diabetes, that it is his fault, that he somehow gave it to him.
However, we celebrate Samuels diabetic birthday. This year Samuel told his teacher, the dinner ladies, actually anyone that would listen. He wanted to take sweets in for his class, so he did. Well it was his birthday!!! We went to McDonalds for tea, Samuels choice, and the children had ice cream with chocolate I. It!
The way I see it, and I know that not everyone thinks like me, I won't allow diabetes to beat us, or to bring us down. I won't let it consume my every waking hour, for one I have three other children to look after, and two, it takes up too much energy and negative emotion to dwell on it.
Obviously I have bad days, and so does Samuel. There are days when he asks why he has to be diabetic, and if I could take it away from him, I would, I would do it in a heartbeat. But I can't, and so embrace diabetes and all that it brings, and we accept that this is what our life is now. However, along with the acceptance there is a warning.......
Diabetes..... You will NEVER win, you are NOT a welcome visitor, which actually is the wrong word, visitors leave! We WILL tolerate you, and we CAN live side by side. You will NOT take him from me. All I ask is that you please play nice, and play by the rules, at least MOST of the time, as I know it will never play nice ALL of the time.
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