A Mother's Perspective: Polishing Off Juvenile Diabetes

Hope for a Healthy Life

I just wanted to share our story of living with juvenile diabetes.

We are grateful to have 2 beautiful children, Aiden (4) and Ellie (2). As all new parents struggle to find their rhythm, ours came crashing down when Aiden was only 10 months old. Little did we know that his intense drinking and wetting through his diapers were the devastating signs of diabetes.

As an exhausted new mom, I had a chance to go on a weekend business trip with my husband. My parents willingly took our son knowing that I would go and just catch up on sleep. The next day I received a call from my father saying they had taken Aiden to the doctor just to be checked for a small cold. While there, they happened to mention Aiden's intense thirst to the doctor. The doctor checked Aiden's blood-glucose level, but told my parents not to be alarmed.

The doctor immediately called me and calmly told me that Aiden's blood-sugar level was in the high 600's (normal is 80-120) and that Aiden would need to be admitted for type 1 diabetes. Absolutely in shock, not knowing what this all meant, I was able to get my husband out of his meeting, get to our hotel to get our suitcases, and catch the very last flight available back home.

When we arrived back in Salt Lake at 10:00 that night, I was devastated when I walked into the emergency room and saw my sweetest gift with IV's in his little arm. I just sat and held him and wept. The next three days we spent learning a crash course in insulin, shots, diet and danger signs, so we would be prepared to properly care for our baby boy.

We have been blessed with the sweetest boy. He has never cried or fought shots, and he even received the pump when he was 18 months old. He was the youngest patient in Utah at the time to be on the pump. Although the pump didn't take away the diabetes, it did make his life easier.

I am so grateful to have supporting family and access to other families' stories for strength and inspiration. I encourage everyone to support and raise money for our beautiful and innocent children so we can beat juvenile diabetes. The intensity of this disease is indescribable unless you live it, and we all need to work together in hopes that one day all our lives will be easier and our little ones healthier. My hope is that my son will never have to ask me again, "Mommy, when are you and daddy going to get your pumps?"