A few days ago, on March 11, I took Hayes to the doctor for quick check up on a rash that wouldn’t go away. I mentioned to the dr. that in addition to the rash, he had been going through diapers like crazy and had been super thirsty. Dr. Minkus agreed to check his blood sugar..and now the recent history is a muddy blur. Hayes was admitted to UK Children’s Hospital within hours and was started on insulin. Hayes has Juvenile Type 1 Diabetes. His sugar was way out of whack the night we got to the hospital. The needles and lab tests were became a practice for what our world will take us through from here on out. Hayes receives insulin after every snack and meal. We check his blood sugar 4-6 times a day. We count his carb intake at every meal or snack and correct his insulin shortage artifically based on his immediate need. He gets one shot of a long acting insulin at bedtime each day.
We’re in day three of battling this disease. The scary thing is that his doctor and I didn’t really see a sick kid that day. He’s as healthy as he ever was. The only symptoms he had were LOTS of diapers and a remarkable thirst. Hayes is teaching us that everything is going to be ok. This process is harder for us than it is for him.
How can you help us? Pray for Hayes’ health. Everytime we give him insulin, we are giving him health. This is just not fair. Why do kids get sick? I wish I understood why. This is a tough one.
Check out JDRI (Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation International) at jdrf.org. Right now there is no cure, but some day there will be.
