Obviously, I have a son with type 1 diabetes; however, what you need to know is that I almost lost my daughter to this disease about 6 years ago when she was first diagnosed. Diabetes did not “run” in our family; therefore, we had no idea what the signs and symptoms were.
On Valentine’s Day that year, we woke up to find her in a coma. We rushed her to the hospital only to find out that she was diabetic with a current blood sugar level of 1482. At that point, my heart sank. The fact that she was diabetic didn’t even cross my mind at the time. It was the mere fact that she was in a coma and she had to be airlifted to St. Louis Children’s Hospital.
When we arrived in St. Louis, it was only then that I realized the seriousness of the situation. As good as the doctors and nurses are, they were only honest when they told us that they didn’t know if they could bring her out of the coma or not. Only time could tell. It was pure torture to wait as long as we did, but after 36 hours, my daughter woke up to discover that her life had changed.
Being a parent of a child with type 1 diabetes means being vigilant at all times. My daughter has literally put us through a lot, as she likes to “fool around” and see what she comes up with. We’ve caught her sneaking insulin shots just so she could eat more, instead of telling us she was hungry. We have caught her lying about what her blood sugar levels are (compared to her glucometer) so that we would not know that she has, once again, been stealing food and/or candy. We had to go so far as to lock her diabetic kit so she couldn’t open it without our help.
She’s older now (but still in high school) and it seems that as time goes on, she’s getting more and more daring. I have found out, here recently, that she is still angry about her illness. She has even said that she hates her life and that others hate her because she is diabetic. Although I would give my life to change with her, it is simply not a possibility.
As a parent, you must be strong for your child. What your son is going through is difficult. They simply do not understand how or why this has happened to them. It makes them different from other children, and they are not “normal” to them. They need the support of friends and family until they are old enough to realize that this is something that simply cannot be avoided and that they will have to learn to live with it in peace. One of these days, I pray that I can accept her illness for what it is and learn to live in harmony with it.
