The Diagnosis

My life seems surreal to me.

Everything that is happening must be just a dream that I will awaken from. I'm going through the motions not really taking in that this is our life now.

We spent seven hours in the emergency room the night we rushed Sawyer to the hospital, waiting and not knowing what would happen next.

He was finally seen by nurses who inserted an IV and got him started on fluids. This process brings down the blood sugar levels without doing it so fast that it shocks his system. Once they had it down some, they gave him some insulin.

It was 1:30 in the morning when we finally got Sawyer to a room. There was one pull out bed in the room. Barely able to keep our eyes open, I zonked out on the bed while my husband went to a lounge and did some office work.

There is no such thing as sleeping in at a hospital. Awake at 6 am like usual, I got up and took Sawyer to the play room that he'd been told about the night before. The thought of this playroom held his interest all through the night and he was not disappointed.

We still hadn't seen the doctor. We were tired, stressed, and in the dark about what was going on. Our pediatrician's office back home had told us it would be one night at the hospital and now the nurses were telling us two. We hadn't prepared for that. We had obligations at home.

The staff of nurses and diabetic counselors were excellent. They got us through six hours of diabetic training in that one day. They were doing everything in their power to get us out that day.

We practiced checking blood sugar levels by poking our fingers and reading the meter. We learned how to formulate how much insulin to give to Sawyer by adding the carbs he would be eating at his meal. This number is then added to another number for 'correction' of blood sugar over 250. Also, we had to learn how to administer a shot. There was a video about what to do in the event of an insulin reaction. Scary stuff right there. If this ever happens to Sawyer we are now equipped with a shot for the life threatening situation. In fact, we couldn't leave the hospital until we had a Glucagon kit.

It was lunch time before we met with the pediatric endrocrinologist. She informed us that Sawyer has type 1 diabetes. Treatment is four shots a day; one long acting insulin and one short acting three times a day before meals.

Diabetes is an expensive disease to maintain. Not only is insulin needed, but also the needles to administer it, test strips for the testing machine, lancets, alcohol wipes, ketone strips, regular doctor follow-ups, and enough healthy food on hand to ensure a consistently well-balanced blood sugar.

My mind was reeling. And still is.

Armed with information on the disease, medication, and a network of support we left the hospital in hopes of doing a good job keeping Sawyer healthy.

So far, it's been going well. Sawyer's blood sugars have been well under control and we're getting pretty good with a needle.

Sawyer wants to have an active role in his own care. He reminds me to check his sugar at 3 am, he can poke his own finger and check his sugar, and he knows he cannot have a snack higher than 10 carbs without an injection.

I'd say he's adjusted quicker than his parents.


...Next Time...Getting the school on board with Sawyer's treatment.