Our Tough Little Boy

Two weeks ago I didn't know almost anything about diabetes. Last weekend, Keane was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes, and now I am fast becoming an expert on the disease ;-) . Here are a few frequently asked questions when people find out that Keane has diabetes, and their answers.

FAQ's:

1. How is Keane feeling?
He is feeling good most of the time, although about once a day his blood sugar gets too low (due to the doctors having to adjust and readjust his insulin dosages during this first tricky week), and he starts to feel very weak and lethargic. A shot of Juicy Juice and a package of peanut butter crackers is all it usually takes to get him back outside jumping on the tramp in about 15 minutes.

2. Does Keane have to get insulin shots? How does he handle them?
Yes, he gets four shots a day (one at each meal and a long-acting morning one). He is getting progressively less scared of shot time ever since we decided to let him watch a short Youtube video of his choosing (lately it's been a little four minute clip from Kung Fu Panda) while the shot is being administered.


3. How are Pablo and I (and the rest of the kids) feeling?
It depends on the day. Sometimes the disease seems really manageable, and other times, Keane's body reacts exactly the opposite of what we were expecting. On those days, it seems like the whole day is devoted to trying to stabilize his glucose levels. It feels a lot like the workload of coming home from the hospital with a newborn, except, instead of having this new little adorable child, we just have diabetes as our fifth child. Instead of taking my diaper bag full of diapers and formula with me wherever I go, I have to make sure I have Keane's glucose gun, his juice box, and his crackers on me at all times.
Babysitting is something else we're having a hard time getting our head around - I can't just drop Keane off at my friend's house if I need to run errands for a couple of hours, like in the old days. In fact, I haven't left Keane with anyone since we've come home. I'm sure I will go ahead and take the plunge sometime, but it is just a lot to ask from a babysitter, and I feel like I need to really get Keane stabilized before I do it.
So bottom line: It is just so much work. I just hope the other kids will sit tight until we can pay more attention to them again, someday ;-).
And one more feeling floating around in my feelings pool that surfaces from time to time; I'm just so glad Keane came to our family - although we've got our flaws and our foibles, we're at least stable enough and loving enough to give him the care that he needs for a normal life.

4. What type of diabetes does he have?
He has Type 1, the kind that usually manifests itself during childhood. A person doesn't "develop" Type 1 through health choices - he is born with it. His body will never again make enough insulin to balance his sugars, even if he eats right and exercises, so he will need shots or a pump for the rest of his life.

5. How did you find out that Keane had diabetes?
About mid-April, we noticed that he was urinating a lot more frequently than usual, and that he was pretty thirsty most of the time. I thought it might be due to the hot weather in early April, or that it could possibly be some kind of urinary tract infection, so I decided to take him to the pediatrician after about a week of the above symptoms. They tested his urine, which had large ketones (yeah, I didn't know what that word meant either), and told me to take him immediately to the ER. It was a shocker, let me tell ya.

6. How was the hospital stay?
It was three and a half days of H-E- double hockey sticks. We went in on Friday, April 16th, and were discharged on Monday night. The nurses were awesome (they almost always are - I just LOVE the nurse personality type on the whole) , but they had to take so much blood, and it was so hard to get into Keaney's little flat veins, that three people would have to hold him down while the phlebotomistwould try to find the vein with the big needle. And this happened about six times in two days - I'm sure Keane felt like he was in a concentration camp, and he couldn't understand why his mother wasn't protecting him. I felt just so, so bad. The best times were when all the family could come visit and we had at least a couple of hours of normalcy. Coming home was oh so sweet, the trauma of the hospital had taken it's toll - Keane was a lot more aggressive than usual for a couple of days. Luckily the pent-up aggression has worn off, and he is back to his adorable self.

7. Have you had to make big diet changes?
The overall answer is: Yes. I have always been big on healthy high-fiber breakfasts and lunches for the kids, but I have to say that we all ate way too many sweets, and not enough protein. Most of our calories came from carbs, some healthy, and some not so much.
But sweets wasn't even the biggest problem for our family. . . grazing was. I almost never would have a set time for lunch or dinner, and I was too unorganized or lazy to stop the kids from plundering the kitchen at pretty much all hours of the day, although I made token attempts at getting a little more organized in my meal planning. Now, I have no choice but to provide healthy meals and healthy snacks at pretty much the same time everyday, and I have to say that this might be just what the family needed to prevent some health issues down the road (for instance, Pablo has been a little worried about developing Type 2 diabetes, since his dad has it, and the changes that we've implemented are going to go a long way toward keeping my husband around for a long time, I think).

8. Do we need anything?
Just your prayers, and I'm not saying that flippantly. Our friends have been awesome, bringing us dinners all week, but really what we need is for those darn sugar levels to even out.