My Life with Diabetics

I don't think I've talked about diabetes in my blog before. I guess I spend so much time with it that I get tired of it. Super D has been diabetic for years. Life with him has been mostly being on the lookout for hypoglycemia (low blood glucose). You learn the subtle cues. When Super D's blood glucose (BG) begins to decline, his speech slows, and his sentences don't make much sense. He pauses more often to put his thoughts together. Severe low BG looks like he's drunk. He thinks he's funny. But he's not. Well, maybe that day when we were dating, and he threw his shoe across the room. That was funny. When we first married, he wasn't able to notice the symptoms quickly enough, and he would let it drop so fast that he had seizures. Scary.

When A was born, Diabetes Watch began. We knew that diabetes tends to have genetic links, so the chances of us having a child who develops diabetes was high. Fortunately, she has shown no signs of the disease.

When C was born, we were equally concerned for him and continued the Watch. He developed normally with few childhood illnesses. Neither of my children was sick very often. When C was 2, he began potty training and started giving up his afternoon nap. Everything was good.

But when he was 2 1/2, he began wetting his pants again. He started falling asleep in the afternoon. I didn't think much about it. I missed the first signs. All of my friends were struggling with their children, too. Why should I be concerned if he wets his pants? The day I realized something was wrong was the day I found my son drinking rainwater from a puddle because he was so thirsty. I still feel like a lousy mom for that. Here I was, supposedly paying attention, and I missed it.

A visit to the doctor. Lab tests. Waiting for lab results. A trip to the ER. A shot of long-lasting insulin. And we found ourselves at the Endocronologist's office for 2 days of intense diabetes training.

Caring for a diabetic toddler is much different from living with a diabetic husband. It was almost as if I had contracted the disease. I had to check blood sugars, count carbohydrates, give shots, and go to doctor's appointments. I had to be on, every second of the day. Even during the night, because if his BG dropped too low, his body would go into Todd's Paralysis, a condition where he can't move. Scary.

As C has aged, I have tried to educate him, letting him be in control of his disease as it is age-appropriate. He now checks his own blood sugar, calculates his carbs, and gives himself insulin through his insulin pump. I've tried not to be a helicopter mom. I don't want to hover. I will always worry. I think the hardest time for me is still ahead, as he enters his teenage years and becomes more independent. I can't even conceive of what it will be like when he is driving and out on his own. I will have to pray that he takes care of himself as good as I would. Scary.

And Diabetes Watch continues, as I pray that my daughter doesn't develop it, too. After all, her dad was a teenager by the time his pancreas shut down. Scary.