Well, it's been a month almost since I last posted. I was so excited to get back from my respite at the Monastery and tell you all about it, but Matthew got sick. We'd been noticing that he'd been hungry all the time and needing to go pee a lot. At first, we didn't think much of it. He was perfectly fine in every other way. However, right after I came back from the monastery he began to be thirsty all the time. Not just your regular, my throat is dry, thirsty. No, he was begging us to give him something to drink all the time. I knew he was getting plenty and wasn't losing it all when he played outside. As a nurse, my instincts told me diabetes, but I prayed I was wrong.
We went to the doctor on Monday and they did a urine test to see if he was spilling any sugar (glucose) into his urine. People with undiagnosed diabetes do this. This came back normal and his pediatrician (who is absolutely fabulous by the way) and I thought this was possibly just a phase and we would watch him closely.
However, on Wednesday night he was up every hour going to the bathroom and then begging for something to drink. I knew this wasn't right and I called the doctor the next day. They immediately set us up for a fasting blood sugar and urinalysis. The doctor called me almost immediately and confirmed what I thought . Matthew has Type 1 Diabetes. Shock! Fear! Sadness! I couldn't talk, but I did get my husband on the phone and he came home from work right away.
We told Matthew what this meant and he cried. We all cried. Life would be different from now on. We rejoiced that his disease was manageable and not life-threatening, but we prayed for God's strength.
We were immediately sent to Children's Hospital (they are fabulous) for a 3 day stay to get his blood sugars on track and start his insulin. We were educated and trained by wonderful doctors and nurses about diet, exercise, and the 4 shots a day plus finger sticks that Matthew would be on for the rest of his life. Cole learned quickly and I had my nursing experience to help me out. (This by the way, did not trump my mother card and I went home from the hospital absolutely terrified for that whole first day).
Matthew had a rough first week with his emotions and blood sugars, but we all worked as a team and made it through. He is having a good week this week. Our life is still not "normal" yet, but we know that soon this new life will be our normal.
We have signed up to walk in the American Diabetes Association's Step Out to fight Diabetes walk in September. This raises money to help fund research for a cure for diabetes. Check out the link and if you feel led, donate to our team or come walk with us.
http://main.diabetes.org/site/PageServer?pagename=OUT_homepage
Relying on Him,
Paige
We went to the doctor on Monday and they did a urine test to see if he was spilling any sugar (glucose) into his urine. People with undiagnosed diabetes do this. This came back normal and his pediatrician (who is absolutely fabulous by the way) and I thought this was possibly just a phase and we would watch him closely.
However, on Wednesday night he was up every hour going to the bathroom and then begging for something to drink. I knew this wasn't right and I called the doctor the next day. They immediately set us up for a fasting blood sugar and urinalysis. The doctor called me almost immediately and confirmed what I thought . Matthew has Type 1 Diabetes. Shock! Fear! Sadness! I couldn't talk, but I did get my husband on the phone and he came home from work right away.
We told Matthew what this meant and he cried. We all cried. Life would be different from now on. We rejoiced that his disease was manageable and not life-threatening, but we prayed for God's strength.
We were immediately sent to Children's Hospital (they are fabulous) for a 3 day stay to get his blood sugars on track and start his insulin. We were educated and trained by wonderful doctors and nurses about diet, exercise, and the 4 shots a day plus finger sticks that Matthew would be on for the rest of his life. Cole learned quickly and I had my nursing experience to help me out. (This by the way, did not trump my mother card and I went home from the hospital absolutely terrified for that whole first day).
Matthew had a rough first week with his emotions and blood sugars, but we all worked as a team and made it through. He is having a good week this week. Our life is still not "normal" yet, but we know that soon this new life will be our normal.
We have signed up to walk in the American Diabetes Association's Step Out to fight Diabetes walk in September. This raises money to help fund research for a cure for diabetes. Check out the link and if you feel led, donate to our team or come walk with us.
http://main.diabetes.org/site/PageServer?pagename=OUT_homepage
Relying on Him,
Paige
Comments
much love,
Sweetie