Our First Scare

They tell you it could happen. They give you literature about it. They show you videos about it. You know it could happen.

Then it does.

Now it's time to apply all you've learned.

Hypoglycemia.

This is not time for panic as every minute counts. Remember the signs? Shaky, muscle weakness, rapid heartbeat, sweaty, anxious, confusion, dizziness, and hunger.

It was after dinner. Sawyer went out to play for a while, nothing strenuous, just playing in a dirt pile we lovingly call 'Chia Pet'. He came in for a bath and was hanging out with his siblings reading a book. I was doing the same when he came into my room to tell me he was so dizzy and didn't know why.

I took him by the hand, armed with glucose tablets, and checked his blood glucose. It was a shocking 32!  It should never be under 70 mg/dl.

He rested his head on the counter. No! Don't go to sleep. I poured him some orange juice and told him to drink. He took a sip and told me he was hungry. "Can I have something to eat?" He asked. 

"Drink up, Sawyer." I wanted to get the juice into him before he passed out.

Sensing the urgency in my voice, he guzzled down the juice then we cuddled in a chair and waited the recommended twenty minutes before re-checking his blood glucose to make sure it had risen by 40 mg/dl.

I asked him what he'd been doing when this spell came on.

"I was playing with the cat and spinning around," he told me.

I imagine he felt like he must have been doing some serious spinning to feel that dizzy.
I doubt it had anything to do with playing with the cat.

When he started to snap out of it, he asked me if he'd drunk the juice. "I don't remember drinking it," he said.

"Yes you did," I told him.  Then he noticed his sneakers in the middle of the room. "I don't remember putting my shoes there," he said. He was confused.

Then I asked if he'd thought playing with the cat and spinning around had made him dizzy.  He thought about what I'd asked then said, "I just couldn't think," he said.

That's a seven-year-old's way of relaying that he'd been confused. 

I spoke with his older sister later who told me he hadn't been playing with the cat. He'd been reading a book.

"I was coming down the stairs and I got so dizzy," Sawyer said. "I thought I should go tell mom about it."

Good call. As confused as he was, he was able to get to me and let me know that something was not right.

His blood glucose came up more that 40 mg/dl. He was back to his old self, playing with his siblings and raising a raucous.

A good sound.


**Treatments for low blood sugar include:

1/2 cup fruit juice
2 tbsp. raisins
3 graham cracker squares
5 vanilla wafers
1/4 cup sherbet
1 cup of skim or 1% milk
1/2 cup regular Jell-O
1/2 cup of regular pop
1 small tube of cake mate frosting
1 tbsp. honey
1 tbsp. maple syrup
1 tbsp. jelly
3 BD brand glucose tablets
4 Dex brand glucose tablest
1 Insta-Glucose tube.

Check Blood Glucose after 15-20 minutes to make sure it has risen 40 mg/dl. If it has not, re-treat until blood sugar rises appropriately.

** I chose to administer a glass of orange juice because it works quickly and I didn't have to worry if he would be able to chew properly. As the blood sugar level drops, muscle coordination can diminish.

The Emotional Side

So, how are you doing?

Let's face it, this is a real blow. It hit me like a lead Zeppelin fallen from the clear-blue sky and onto my head. It happened so fast there was no preparation. My little boy was healthy one moment and chronically ill the next. 


I looked at him and sadness filled my heart. It was my fault. I had done this. I had given it to him. How could I live with myself knowing I had passed this disease on to my son?


The blame game. What mom hasn't done it? Everything bad and evil in the world that befalls our child is put on us, not by us alone but also by society. 


Why didn't you catch this sooner? Why didn't you test him earlier? Why did you let him eat maple syrup? (See 'The Beginning')


As I let my thoughts pour from the wellsprings of my heart during a visit with my chiropractor, he reminded me that diabetes isn't contagious. He also told me not to do this to myself, that I hadn't given my son diabetes. He also expressed his sorrow at the news and told me things would be fine.

He was right. Things would be fine. 


In that moment I realized that what was done was done. The important thing to do now was be a rock for my child and teach him the appropriate way of managing his condition. 


I had my moment of weakness. I allowed myself five minutes to cry while Sawyer wasn't in my presence. Sawyer needed me to be strong for him.  Allowing him to see me cry would only create in him a sense of guilt. Children often carry the burden of their parents sadness, whatever the cause. I didn't want Sawyer to feel he was the source of any sadness in my life. Although his lifestyle would be under construction the prognosis was good. 


A smile, a hug, and praise for his good attitude goes a long way. He is facing this like a champion and I am proud of him.  

As we face this together, I hope I can make him proud of me too.