Juvenile Diabetes- First Two Weeks After Diagnosis

When my nephew was first diagnosed with Juvenile Diabetes at two years old, he was admitted to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at Childrens Hospital Oakland. He was held captive in the hospital for the next two weeks until his blood sugar stabilized. Hospital rules were strictly enforced: Until the parents convince the hospital staff they are capable of caring for a Type 1, insulin dependent child, the child will not return home. His life was now dependent on his parents ability to test his blood sugar, evaluate his health and provide several injections each day.

A memorable event for my sister was learning to give injections with the syringe. She was handed a fresh orange  and practiced injections under the watchful eyes of the nursing staff. “Not too far, not far enough, too hard, watch the angle…” it was a challenge for parents unfamiliar with caring for a diabetic child. They were also educated on nutrition, safety, developmental growth and the needs of a child with Juvenile Diabetes.

I remember one phone call in particular where my sister whispered her tears, “Chris, some of the kids here are worse than my son. I know he’s really sick, but there are children here with no hair, kids who are in pain, parents who just saw a child die. It’s an awful place to be and some of these kids are so very sick, they may not come home. I feel so sorry for the parents who are here.”  In another phone call, my Brother-in-Law whispered almost the same words. The hospital environment was difficult to digest. Both parents stayed at the hospital and slept in the room with Lizard Boy (his preferred nickname) until he was well enough to return home. It was a cold and bitter reality that their precious child was entering unfamiliar territory and an uncertain future.

After his hospitalization, he was carefully monitored by the Diabetic Care Nurses and he required more visits and follow up care. Once more he was transported to the hospital after his release, with another call from my sister “pray with me, he’s in an ambulance again and we’re going to emergency.” He was too young to appreciate the drama of an ambulance ride.

Our family life was strained by stress hormones in our bodies.  We all felt ongoing exhaustion in our lives from my husband’s near death from ITP, a rare blood illness, to my nephew’s trauma with his low blood sugar. In three months we spent a lifetime of prayers, hope and faith for two people we willed to live.

A child with Juvenile Diabetes touches the lives of his family, Grandparents, Teachers, Pastor, neighbors and friends. This little guy was so small, limited in his vocabulary and too tired for the terrible twos that other parents often complain about. He faced a mountain of blood sugar instability coated with painful injections, constant blood tests, and uneven energy.

In the next post, I’ll fast forward his story from a toddler to starting school.

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The author of this article is not a member of the medical community and not qualified to assist or diagnose any medical condition.

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