Introduction

This blog is about the journey with Type 1 diabetes. Joshua, age 9, was diaganosed with Type 1 (Juvenile) on June 22, 2009. This is Leslie, Joshua's mom, writing and hoping that Joshua will also join in writing on this blog. He liked the idea of a blog so we'll see how it goes.

Here is a little background of the beginning of our journey. Joshua had exhibited symptoms for weeks, more than a month, but it had gotten really bad the week before diagnosis.

The most obvious symptom was frequent urination. Unable to "hold it" at all. Even for a short time. It reminded me of a toddler. He was also drinking a lot and eating a lot, though I didn't really see this as all that unusual as he is an active boy. In hindsight, I also saw that he was more difficult emotionally (irritable, challenging). I didn't really know why he was acting this was as it wasn't in character, but since diagnosis, this has all disappeared.

We went on a week long family vaction beginning on the 14th of June. On the 4 hour trip to the beach, we stopped at least every hour for a bathroom break. I called the following morning to schedule a visit to the ped to test for diabetes. I had asked friends on a message board if there were other things I should be looking for - other symptoms. I heard a number of people say that their children had been through something similar and it ended up being a short-lived phase (the frequent urination). I hoped that would be true for us too.

Over the course of the week though, it seemed to get worse. We could also see how very, very thin Joshua had become. He has never been big - well, except when he was a very chunky baby - but this was more than normal. He hadn't been able to gain any weight recently even with eating as much as he did.

We went to the ped the Monday after we returned from the beach. Our appt was at 3pm. I called again to confirm that they could do a test for diabetes. The nurse said that typically they like to test after fasting - not a great option when your appt is at 3pm! She said they would do what they could and he could come back on a day later in the week for a fasting test. So, I went into the appt not really thinking we'd get answers on that day.

Joshua did a urine and blood sample for testing. The ped came in shortly after that and said words I didn't want to hear. "You were right. Joshua does have diabetes." What mom wants to be right about something like that? I think God had prepared my heart for this news, but it still hurt. I felt like I needed to hold it all in too. I didn't want to upset Joshua by just crying at the impact of those words.

The ped then told us we'd need to go to the hospital. Joshua's blood sugars were off the record for what his machine would read (over 500). We were given the choice of two local children's hospitals. Both very good! One with which we have experience - though in cardiac and general surgery - not endocrinology. The ped preferred the other hospital for this diagnosis, so off we headed.

We went home to pack a small bag for what we thought was going to be an overnight stay. I phoned my husband who planned to meet us there. That was the beginning.

We'll share more on that in the next post. If you are reading, please pray for us as we learn to manage this. Please pray for a cure!

Blessings
Leslie