Type One

Nothing he asked for.

Nothing he did to cause it.

Nothing he can do to erase it.

A life long dependency on insulin.

Forever a part of his life.

An autoimmune disease of the pancreas.

The start of the autoimmune destruction is unknown.

His Endocrinologist speculates that 4-5 years ago a virus caused his immune system to destroy his insulin producing cells.

I would do anything to trade places with him.

But this is the card he was dealt.

It is his story.

I want to journal it to always remember how God showed up.

How God has already walked the road in front of him.

How Jesus is alive and is here walking right beside him.

 

Wednesday I picked up Brett from school and took him to the doctor wanting his blood sugar tested.  

I ignored my instinct that something was wrong for a few months.  There were many signs that I would justify. Signs like thirst, well it is good to drink water.  Weight loss, at some point a teenage boy is going to slim down as he gets taller.  Signs of frequent bathroom trips, well obviously if you drink 3 glasses of water in a row numerous time a day you need to use the restroom.  Getting up in the middle of the night to use the restroom.  Sticky urine when cleaning the bathroom.  I could justify them all in my mind.  Then my Mom and I took the kids swimming over Easter and I saw him with his shirt off for the first time in awhile and I could not justify that kind of weight loss.

I know a mother's instinct is a nudge from God.  After seeing him with his shirt off the nudge became stronger.

The doctor matter of factly walked back in the room and said your blood sugar is over 500 and they are waiting for you at the hospital. 

Brett instantly broke down in tears.  I'm not sure if it was the word diabetes or the word hospital.  The word diabetes did not shock me I had known deep inside for a few months.  I put my arm around him and assured him that God had already walked the road he had in front of him and promised him I would never leave his side at the hospital.  We went home to pack a few things and headed to the hospital.

We were sent to the hospital that serves the tri-state area with pediatric patients diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes.  God made no mistake 9 months ago when we picked up and moved once again.  These past 9 months I have questioned God as to why we are here and I heard you are in Minnesota for a reason, there is no mistake.  Not a coincidence that Children's hospital in St. Paul is just a hop, skip and a jump from our home.  Thank you God.

After sitting in the Emergency Room for 4.5 hours we finally made it up to his room.  It was 10:30 pm by then and the boy was starving.  They checked his blood sugar, which was now just a bit over 300 thanks to the IV of saline solution. 

His wonderful nurse gave Brett his first shot of insulin so he could eat.  He turned his head, closed his eyes and expected the worse.  He was pleasantly surprised when he wasn't even sure if he felt the shot.

Brett was fortunate that once his blood sugar was under control he was able to get rid of the annoying IV.  We were learning his new normal of counting the carbs he was going to ingest and checking his blood sugar to correct if needed.

These numbers show Brett's calculation for insulin. It took me a couple classes and different nurses explaining it to me for it to click.  Brett caught on the first night in the hospital and could figure out the number of units of insulin he needed before the nurses had finished their calculations.  Part of the dosage calculation is to take the total amount of carbs he is going to eat and divide that number by 12.  The kid can divide any number by twelve in his head.

I know God blessed Brett with a gift of math!

I blogged about God placing the perfect teachers in my children's lives this year.  And that could not be further from the truth.  The 2nd day we lived here we went to Brett's orientation at his new Middle School.  We walked into the school and this beautiful lady was sitting at a table right as we walked in.  I instantly knew there was something special about her.  She made Brett feel more than welcome, told him she hoped she was one of his teachers and said bring your schedule back if you see my name on it.  Brett happens to spend 3 hours a day with her.  I felt at ease sending him to school and she promised me she would take good care of him.  Now for the God part.  You see Mrs. M has Type 1 Diabetes and was diagnosed around Brett's age.  She found out from the school nurse that Brett was in the hospital.  She sent me an email first apologizing for giving him a hard time about having to use the bathroom all the time and asked if she could come up and let Brett know this is not the end of the world.  She showed up with her beautiful baby girl, balloons, a stuffed animal, many apologizes for the hard time about the bathroom :) and plenty of words of encouragement.  Brett is still in awe that Mrs. M would take time out of her night to come visit him at the hospital.  He can't get over that one of his teachers would care so much about him.  Thank you Jesus for Mrs. M!!!!!

I know Brett will be in excellent hands while in school.  

A coincidence the school nurse has a son named Brett who also has Type 1 Diabetes?  I think not. Brett and I meet with her at 7 am tomorrow morning.  

Mrs. M brought up a get well card from some of the students.  Not to worry Brett's mellifluous voice will be back Monday morning!

We spent our days in the hospital going to classes with nurse educators, dietitians and a pharmacist.  We also met two different Endocrinologists that will be his doctors.  

After a few days in the hospital, I am confident that we got this!

Brylee of course made Brett several get better cards.

It was a blessing that Bryan was home and able to take care of our 2 little ones so I could devote 100% of my time and energy with Brett.

Brett was not too impressed with the Diabetic bear they gave him to practice giving shots on, but he knew exactly who to give it to.  Not to worry Brylee is taking good care of Rufus the bear and has given him no less than 100 shots.

Jake on the other hand gave Rufus one shot and after he poked himself a couple times he decided giving shots is not his cup of tea.

It is wonderful to have my boy back.  Another symptom he had was he was extremely irritable.  I chalked it up to him being a 13-year-old teenage grumpy bear.  We all missed him!  But he is back to his old-self.

After 3 days we were full of information on how to make diabetes be part of his life but not control it.

We packed up and headed home ready to find his new normal.  We stopped at the grocery store on the way home.  Brett jumped right in, reading labels and making his own food choices.  On the way home from the grocery store he said...."This is a management disorder, that's all.  It's not so bad."

I told him he is smart enough to find the cure!

At times I draw my strength from him.

There may be times he finds himself upset, angry or sad and I want him to always remember how God showed up in a big way.

I know this is just a part of his story and can't wait to see what God does with it.

Blessed he calls me mom!