In April 2010, my first born son who is 9 started to use the bathroom very urgently and was also going in his bed at night, he was drinking like a fish and I just didn't know what was wrong. At first I thought he was under the weather and didn't think much else of it. Then more symptoms started kicking in, he was starving all of the time and had this fruity smell to him, which come to find out later that is the tall tale sign of Diabetes. I took him to the doctor, they ran some test’s and got the worst phone call and mother can get. "Ma'am, you have to take Rial in to the hospital asap, I'm afraid to tell you but your son's blood sugar levels are around 600 (a normal persons is between 70-120) and we think he has Diabetes."
Now coming from families that have no history of Diabetes, I didn't know what to do. I rushed him to Children's Hospital in DC and all sorts of things were running through my mind. Mind you, I had no idea between the difference of Type 1 or Type 2 Diabetes, I just thought it was people that did not take care of themselves and really ignorantly never gave it more thought. I thought, what did I do? Did I feed him too much McDonald's? Was I not healthy enough? Was it the swine flu shot that made him this way? I was just a mess, and my son Rial was just as scared and asking a million questions I did not have answers for.
My eternal D-Day was on March 26th, 2010, we are in the emergency room and the nurses are running around taking blood samples, putting my baby on an IV. Then someone from the Endocrinology department comes to his bed side and lets me know that Rial does in fact have Type 1 Diabetes and saying that we were very lucky to have caught it when we did since he could have gone into DKA (Diabetic ketoacidosis) which can lead to severe illness or death if diagnosis is delayed. So we are admitted to the hospital and taken to our own room. I proceed to ask them questions, exactly all the ones that were running through my mind on the drive there. They very quickly brought me back down to reality and let me know it was nothing I did, nothing I could have done would have prevented this. Let me just say that no matter how many times I was told this in the hospital, there will always be a sense of guilt, since I am his mother, I am the one who is supposed to prevent these sorts of things from occurring. So we stay in the hospital for a couple of days until he is better and we learn all we need to know about Insulin, proper way to use needles, blood sugar tests, his eating habits, what is healthy and not healthy. All this information to take in and all coming from no knowledge once so ever, but willing to know everything I can to help Rial and take away any anxiousness he may feel.
Today Rial is doing great! We have been living with Diabetes for 2 months and he is in his honeymoon stage (which means his body is producing its own insulin) he still has a lot of lows in the morning which Children’s Hospital and I are working very hard to treat this on a day by day basis. He went from having 3 shots a day to only having one. When we we’re in the hospital they said this may happen and it’s hard to determine how long it will last but happy it’s lasted this long. Rial is a very active kid; he plays all sorts of sports from football, soccer, basketball etc…. He always tells me “Mom, why is this happening to me?” I tell him, “It’s not only happening to you, it’s happening to many children & adults across the world and now that we are educated about it we can help spread the word so nobody has to feel alone, feel sorry for themselves or be down in any way since we will do anything and everything to help FIND A CURE!”
Let me just say that I am so grateful that he doesn't have a life threatening disease and with proper management he can live a long healthy life. Everyday there are new strides in the Diabetes movement and just hope that before Rial hits 18 there will be a cure, I do not mind one ounce to take this stress of the daily grind just so he can have peace when he goes off to college and becomes a adult. I can only hope that one day there will be a cure but must say since I am a mother of 3 if any of my children were to have Diabetes I rather it is Rial. He is such a strong, level headed, conscious, kind hearted kid and with both of us together we can beat anything that comes our way and with the support of family we will take over this disease and toss it where the sun don’t shine!
As I was writing this letter I have tears streaming down my face but not since I feel sorry for myself, or have pity for my son but because as a mother you just want them to be healthy. You know.... The feeling before your about to have a baby and others ask you “what do you want, a boy or a girl?” and all you can say is “I don’t really care as long and he/she is healthy!” Well that’s just how I feel, I just want healthy children and when something comprises that you just want to SCREAM. So this is me screaming to the world; learn, act and help stop diabetes.
