Five years ago today I was trying desperately to figure out what was wrong with my third kid. He was lethargic, he had lost 10 pounds really rapidly and he didn’t have 10 pounds to spare, he was just off. There was something wrong but nothing that I could put my finger on. I was just worried and not sure what the the next step to take should be. I sent him to school that Wednesday and around the end of the day I got a call from the school nurse…and she wanted to let me know that he had been in her office, taken a nap and was just not feeling well. He didn’t have a fever or any major symptoms but he was saying that his throat hurt and his tummy was bothering him and she wanted to give me a heads up! Finally I had an idea of what it could be…STREP! I made arrangements with my boss, got off work a little bit early and made an appointment at the local minute clinic as I was after normal business hours for our family doctor! We were going to get a diagnosis and he would start feeling better…little did I know we would get a diagnosis…just not of strep…something else, something bigger. 

The minute clinic nurse practitioner saved my son’s life that night…she went over his symptoms, listened to my concerns and point blank told me that she didn’t think it was strep or a virus…it’s more serious than that…she did the strep test…it was negative, she looked him over and then got out a Blood Glucose Meter and did a simple finger stick…which then read HIGH. I made her do a finger stick on me…I was at 92…normal range…and then she did it again…and it was again HIGH. She told me…he has to go to the Children’s Hospital tonight…its extremely serious and he needs immediate care. I called my best friend who is a nurse and asked for her advice and recommendation for which hospital we should go to and she agreed that he needed immediate care and said we should go to the downtown hospital. 

We discovered that he does in fact have Type 1 Diabetes. His blood sugar at admittance was 530 and he had ketones of 5.9…full blown DKA diabetic ketoacidosis. We were admitted and spent 2 nights in the hospital learning about diabetes. After you are released the real learning begins and you are taught how to do everything…carb count, give insulin, check blood sugar, check ketones, all the ins and outs…it’s so much information that they don’t teach it all at once…we had a second class about 2 weeks later where we learned more. We have since gotten a CGM(continuous glucose monitor), pump and learned the best ways to track his symptoms, carbs and stuff.

So today we are celebrating his Diaversary…this is a term in the diabetes community where you celebrate another year of kicking diabetes butt and staying alive! Since it’s his 5 year diaversary we are having cake and being thankful for my son and another year of life…it’s not his birthday but it’s an important milestone to celebrate! Thankful for all the ups and downs, all the learning that has happened and for the gift of life!