Sunday, December 11, 2011

Delbin has Type 1 Diabetes


My oldest son Delbin, who is only 11, had been having headaches for the past couple days and we took him into the doctor on Friday. They took his blood, did some other tests and noticed he had lost 7 pounds since his last visit. They called that night to say his tests showed unusually high glucose levels (in the 700 range) so possible diabetes. They told us to take him to the ER that is at the hospital across the river from us so they could do more tests. My husband took him and I have been home with the other kids. They transferred him to the Doernbecher Children's Hospital at OHSU in Portland to get check ups with a Pediatric Endocrinologist (He actually saw one of my daughter, Tatiana's doctors.) and he has been there with my husband ever since. Late Friday night I got word from my husband, Brian. The doctors said Delbin should have been comatose with the levels he had. He wasn't really acting that sick to me, but I am glad we got it checked out when we did. They gave him saline solution through an IV and slowly his levels lowered to within the 400 range.

Saturday I got word that his glucose levels were back to normal in the 100 range. The doctors had diagnosed my son, Delbin with type 1 Diabetes (Juvenile Diabetes) and he has been getting insulin before every meal. They were taking out the IV as I was on the phone with my husband that day. I was so relieved that Delbin was OK.

I feel as if I should get an honorary nurses degree/license after all that I have been through with health issues in my family. My daughter, Tatiana, had all sorts of diagnoses because of a resected brain tumor and passed because of lobar pneumonia in April of 2010. My husband has a rare condition called Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS) that he just came down with around May of this year and is now being treated with medications for it...and now my oldest son has Type 1 Diabetes. All these things just came on so suddenly and without warning. I guess it is true that "Life Happens". My family has been through a lot, but I also feel that there is nothing that is dished out that I can't handle. Like I said in my post about my miscarriage I had August of 2009, these things only make me stronger.

At this time Delbin hasn't been released from the hospital. I am hopeful that I can learn as I did with my daughter, Tatiana, to take care of him and make sure that he gets the best care possible. This might actually be a blessing for him, because he could use more responsibility. I am hoping he sees this the same way as I do and in time prospers with the knowledge that this disease will not ever defeat him!

Do you know of anyone with this diagnoses? How are they dealing with it? Please share your experiences, thoughts, recipes for healthy Diabetes friendly foods, etc.! Thank you!

2 comments:

Jen said...

(((HUGS)) My sister has type 1 she is now 22 and we found out when she was 11. It's a learning curve for sure! Make sure you do everything the Dr says! My sister still has issues and Even at 22 don't take it as serious as she should. We have to always be on her! He will learn really fast when he has a low or high by how he is feeling. My sister was able to have so many carbs per meal so we had to watch everything so close. Also make sure you work closely with the school nurse if he goes to school to make sure he is staying on plan while at school.

Mary T said...

I'm praying that God will give you the strength to care for your family. It is a heavy load to bear, that's for sure, but God will not give us more than we can bear.