The "D" Word

No, not that word, but in all honesty, I wish that were what this post was about. These last few days have been quite the whirlwind at our house. We found out on Wednesday that Blake has Type 1 Diabetes. To say we are shocked would be an understatement.



So, here's how it all came about. Last Monday Blake was getting ready to leave for school and said he felt like he was going to be sick. Within seconds, he was puking all over my bedroom floor. Without even hesitating, I just told him to go ahead and go back to bed and I would call the school. He spent most of the day in bed but was feeling better by early afternoon. He was able to eat and drink with no problems and actually seemed to feel a little better after he ate. I just chalked it up as being a "bug."

Tuesday he seemed fine and went to school but just after lunch he called and said he wasn't feeling well again. I talked to the nurse and she said he didn't look so good so she suggested he come home. As soon as he walked in the door, he grabbed a bottle of water and went up to his room where he slept until the other kids came home from school.

By dinner time he seemed to be feeling better so again, I thought it was just a "bug." By the time Matt came home, Blake was feeling much better so of course Matt thought maybe Blake was trying to get out of something at school (normally Blake does not like to miss school) or was just overly tired from being up all night long going to the bathroom because he was drinking so much water lately. I did explain to Matt that the nurse called and sent him home and that I didn't think Blake was faking it.

Later that night after the kids went to bed Matt came in and told me to read something adn that we needed to get Blake to the doctor right away. He had googled insulin which took him to a site all about diabetes. As soon as I saw the symptoms, I thought of everything that was going on with Blake or things that he has complained about recently.

Increased thirst and frequent urination
Weight loss (Matt had just mentioned how skinny Blake was looking)
Blurred vision (the week before last Blake was complaining about not being able to see)
Extreme hunger

Even though he had all they symptoms, I still didn't think that is what he had so by morning I had actually forgotten about it until Blake came down looking yellow and saying he had really bad stomach cramps. I left him here to take Mylee to school and called the doctor who said they could get him in around 9. So I came home, picked him up and off we went for what I thought was just going to be a "he just a a virus, give it a couple of days and he will be fine" visit.

We explained to the doctor what was going on and he went ahead and sent us to the lab. While we waited for the results, I could hear the nurses on the phone talking with someone about extremely high levels. Then, the doctor walked in, shut the door, and asked that Drew turn off the game he was playing. I knew this was not going to be good news. The diagnosis, Type 1 Diabetes. He started off by saying that he didn't know how Blake was able to walk into the -office because his blood sugar was so high. A normal level is between 70-120, Blake's were over 500! He said that usually when a kid comes in with numbers that high, they are being carried in or are immediately admitted to the hospital.

At this point we were told to drop everything because we were being sent to an Endroconologist and he would start insulin that day. So, I called Matt, he left work, came home made arrangements for our kids, had the daycare kids picked up and Blake, Matt and I were off to the hospital here in town. Blake had more labs done and then we sat for over 4 house listening to a nurse tell us about Diabetes, and how we were going to manage this. Basically until Blake gets leveled out, he is checking his blood sugar at least 4 times a day by pricking his finger. He also has to have insulin shots 4 times a day (breakfast, lunch, dinner, and bedtime). The biggest change is going to be his diet. Protein is going to be his new best friend and he is only allowed to have at least 330 grams of carbohydrates in a day. What he eats and how much is very important. Everything has to be measured and counted if it has any carbs in it. He can have as much protein as he wants, but he also has to balance his proteins and carbs out throughout the day. For now we are keeping a record of his blood sugar, carb intake, and how much insulin he gets (his insulin amount depends on what his blood sugar is) and then we have to call that into the doctor every morning so they can decide what needs to be upped or lowered.


This is what Blake uses to check his blood sugar.

These are his insulin pens. The blue one is used throughout the day and the gray one is the long lasting one that he takes before bed.



For now we are still trying to come to terms with all of this. For the most part Blake is doing really well. At first he was upset because he didn't think he was going to be able to play football or eat anything "good" ever again. Luckily, he can and will continue to do anything he wants. He can also eat anything as long as he stays within his allotted carbs for that meal or snack. We have been told that he will probably go through some depression and grieving as he tried to understand everything. I think right now the biggest thing is all the attention he is getting. He wanted to hang out with his friends this weekend, but as soon as he hear there were going to be girls there, he declined. He said he didn't want to deal with the girls so he would rather not go. Apparently the girls may have felt sorry for him and he said he just didn't want to deal with it (we will see if that is how he feels in a couple of years).

I think school is going to be his biggest adjustment for now. He has to really watch what he eats at school, and pay attention to his body and how he feels. He also has to take his blood sugar and give himself an insulin shot at lunch everyday. I am anxious for him to get home today so I can see how everything went.

We have had an enormous amount of information given to us and now we are trying to sort through it all and learn as much as we can about Diabetes so Blake can live as normal a life as possible. We would appreciate any and all prayers for Blake right now and his transition to his new lifestyle.