Finding Out Jericho is T1D

I decided to blog about our journey with Jericho's diabetes.  This blog post is quite long and most of the reason for that is so that he can read it as he gets older.  Feel free to skim and read what you'd like!

Jericho has been increasing more and more thirsty the last few weeks and was going to the bathroom constantly.  He also had some accidents and considering he has been potty trained for a year, Myron and I considered limiting his fluid intake.  The night before I took Jericho into his doctor, the word diabetes popped in my head and I quickly looked up the symptoms.  Although he had quite a few of the symptoms and I wanted to get him checked, I think there's always the hope in your mind that there's no way he could be diabetic.  From what we knew, there was no history of diabetes on either side of the family.

The next morning, after a breakfast of french toast (completed with syrup of course), we made our way to the doctor.  I told Jericho that he wasn't getting any shots because the best I knew, he would just be taking a urine test (boy did I have a lot to learn).  After his urine test, they came back for a blood test and although he was only poked one time, they came back two times after that to continue to get blood samples.  By then I was suspecting that there was a good chance he had diabetes.  On the third time they came back to get more blood, they asked him and Judah if they wanted a sugar free sucker.  That was another sign to me that things weren't looking good.  The doctor finally came back in and told me that Jericho's glucose levels were in the 300's and that it looked like "early onset diabetes" and that they were securing us a bed at the Children's Hospital and needed to go right now.  At that point, I cried and mostly because I couldn't figure out why it was serious enough to go to the hospital and the other reason was because Myron was a couple of hours away and I had 3 children that were 3 and under to care for.  I called a couple of friends and got their voicemail.  Our friend, Nicole, called back fairly quickly and came to the hospital to be with my younger two boys while I attended to Jericho.

The hospital stay was rough at the beginning as they drew more blood and put an IV in.  Both of those were very difficult on a child who hates needles (I don't know anyone who loves needles I guess).  They diagnosed him with Type 1 Diabetes and his levels were in the 600's from the blood they took at the hospital.  His levels were that high because the pediatric nurse assigned to our room told us that Jericho could eat what he wanted and that we would just correct it with insulin.  He had a few bites of an apple and orange juice before his blood draw.  So basically, that day, Jericho had two of the foods/liquids that drive the blood sugar up the highest, juice and syrup.  Oh, and I also forgot the ice cream social that was going on in the lobby of the floor of the hospital we were on.  Guess if he was going to be diagnosed as diabetic, he was going to go out with a bang!

We spent 1 night at the hospital while Jericho was rehydrated and while Myron and I learned the most we could in a 24 hour time period about diabetes.  There was a lot they expected us to self learn through DVD's and books.  That's the last thing we were wanting to do as we attended to our children's needs as well as tried to inform friends and family but at the same time, we needed to learn how to care for Jericho when we were able to take him home.

We have learned a lot this last week and feel a lot more comfortable with the blood draws, counting carbs and giving insulin.  Although Jericho is still having a hard time with it all.  He doesn't understand why we need to poke him and at one point during this past week, he said, "I don't like this game" and continued to say that as we take blood and give insulin.  Oh Jericho, how we wished this were just a game.

While I'm so grateful that insulin exists and that Jericho can live a long and healthy life, I can't help but grieve our life as I knew it.  No more just giving a sandwich at lunch and when the boys are hungry again, giving them some fruit snacks.  Honestly though, I'm so grateful for the relaxed lifestyle I had before last week.  I'm grateful for the times we stopped to get donuts on a Saturday morning or when we stopped through McDonald's to get an ice cream cone.  Our snacks now consist of string cheese and peanuts.  Our lifestyle has changed and it has changed for the better...this is something our whole family will benefit from.  I'd have to say that the biggest adjustment (other than all the pokes/shots and counting carbs) is that our meals must be planned, well balanced, and he must eat everything he wants for that meal at one sitting.  That last one is tough for a toddler!

We are learning our new normal for now.  We do believe Jericho can be healed since we serve a God that we have seen heal of many diseases and aliments.  Until we see the healing that we know God can give, we will treat with insulin and through diet.

The two biggest misconceptions I've found that others don't always know about diabetes is that 1.) there's nothing that a child or parent does to receive a diagnosis of diabetes and 2.) while diabetes can and should be controlled by eating healthy, a diabetic (especially a child who is diabetic) should still eat carbohydrates.  They have to count their carbs and compensate with insulin but the diabetic specialists still recommend that children eat carbs because they need them to grow properly.

Since Jericho has been diagnosed, I have had many friends tell me that either they or their children are diabetic.  In most instances, I had no idea that they or their child has diabetes.  I am so grateful for the support of these families but also of other friends and family who are praying for us and Jericho in particular.  Not sure where we would be without the peace we have from Jesus and the support we have from friends and family.  Love you all!