This time exactly a year ago, I really started considering that my child was not okay. Something was wrong. He was not healthy. I knew there was something wrong for a few weeks prior to this, but it was THIS week that I REALLY knew I had to do something, and quick.
A lot of concerned parents have asked me what his signs were. What were the reasons why I was so concerned and took action? As November is National Diabetes Awareness Month (I still remember the doctor joking about it while Con was in the hospital-“Well, you will never forget that November is National Diabetes Awareness Month since he was diagnosed in November.”) it seems fitting that I should share his story with you now.
Attitude Change
Con was only 2 1/2 years old when he was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes. So picture that. Remember back to when your kids/nieces/nephews/grandchildren/friend’s children were 2. Remember the whole “terrible twos” saying? Multiple that by 10 and you will understand how “terrible” Con’s temper tantrums and fits were. He would throw himself on the ground and cry for literally hours. There would be absolutely no consoling him and he would do it in response to the littlest, seemingly insignificant reason. “No Con, you can’t have another glass of water right now. You just chugged a whole glass!” <Throws himself on the ground and is inconsolable for easily an hour or until you gave in and gave him more water.> But again, it’s just the “terrible two” stage, right? He is just a little worse than our oldest was when he went through it. <–my justification for his actions.
Extreme thirst
I’m not sure I can explain this one with words. It was one of the “you have to see it to believe it” times but I will try. Con would literally chug water (any liquid we would give him, really, but we would usually just give him water.) We would joke that we could put him in a beer chugging contest and he would have no competition. That wasn’t the only strange part though.-he would get done chugging a glass of water, slam it down on the table and DEMAND more. (Remember the “terrible twos?”) Screaming for more. It got to the point where water was a “treat” for him. “Con, eat that chicken nugget and I will give you more water.” <Eats the chicken nugget and chugs his next glass of water, slams it down and demands more.> Well, it has been hot lately, it is understandable that he would want water. <–We had an excuse for everything when really, we should have known something was wrong.
Frequent Urination
Con was fully potty trained in June of last year. No accidents, at all. October/November came around and he was peeing his pants every ten minutes. He would go to the bathroom, come back out and sit on the couch to watch tv and I would check on him ten minutes later and his pants were completely soaked through. Must be all the water he has been drinking lately.
Sudden Vision Changes
Con would tell us randomly that “his eyes hurt.” He would rub them and cry. I had no excuse for this. This is one of the signs that I really started paying attention to.
Lethargy, Vomitting
The day before I finally emailed his doctor to say that something was wrong, he was at my mom’s house while I was working. She called to tell me that she thought he had the flu because he had been laying on the couch all day and just threw up. I told her to keep an eye on him and I would come get him. I will never forget the way he looked lying on her couch. I know why he looked so bad-he was dying. His body was giving up on itself. All the water drinking, urinating and vomiting was his little body’s way of getting rid of the sugar that was in his blood. But that would never work. He needed the insulin, that his body was not producing anymore, to keep living. I still didn’t know that yet though. So, of course, I did what probably most parents would have done. I googled his symptoms and found that they all pointed to Type 1 Diabetes. I was in denial. This can’t happen to MY child. Nope, these kind of things happen to OTHER people’s children, but NOT MINE! I emailed his doctor that I was concerned about his symptoms and that I thought it might be T1D. She wrote me back and said “I will put in an order for a urine test so we can rule that out.” She later apologized to me for doubting me.
Of course we got angry at him for all these things. And I wish more than almost anything but taking Diabetes away from him that I could take that anger back. That is probably one of the lowest, feeling guilty moments of my life. I don’t know if that guilt will ever really go away. He was in pain, he needed us to understand what he was going through and we just got angry with him for things that he could not and still cannot control. I will spend the rest of my life making up it up to him and that is another reason why I can’t stop. I can’t stop writing, advocating and educating as much as I possibly can. I can’t stop trying to make people understand. To try to make everyone see that he didn’t do this to himself, he didn’t ask for this.
T1D is commonly misdiagnosed as the flu. Mostly children but even adults (Diabetes is not discriminatory-it can happen to anyone at any age. Even Type 1 which used to be considered Juvenile Diabetes) have been sent home from doctor’s offices, hospitals, etc. as having the flu when really they are in DKA and need insulin to survive. Some cases these people die when they don’t have to.
The hospital told us that we actually caught it early in Con. That he had had T1D for about 3 months prior to being diagnosed but since we were essentially only giving him water, his body was able to flush out the ketones and sugar so he actually never went into DKA. Which is glorious news and warranted us some very confused looks from the doctors and nurses at the hospital. We were asked so many times how we caught it so fast. My response-“he could have still died. We did not catch it fast enough.” But really, it is because I paid attention, I had the proverbial Motherly Instinct that my child was not okay and I took action.
Please know the signs. If you have ANY concerns-tell your doctor, your child’s doctor, anyone who can give you or your child a simple urine test. That’s all. Just pee in a cup. it took our doctor a few hours to tell us that Con needed to go tot the hospital but in some instances they can tell you instantly. (We had this done with our oldest just as a precaution.)
I get an average of 40 views on each blog post. If even half that number were to share this post on their Facebook page and they had 100 friends-that would mean that 2,000 people would see the signs of T1D and could potentially catch it in themselves or someone they know before it is too late. That’s all I ask. Please share the knowledge. You won’t win anything, you won’t be entered into any drawing but it doesn’t hurt anyone and it doesn’t cost anything. It might annoy your friends a little but you know what? You could potentially save a life too. Wouldn’t that be a great feeling!??
Happy National Diabetes Awareness Month!!! Please let me know if you have ANY questions! I would LOVE to answer them! ❤
I am a Pancreas 