My husband and I had noticed in the previous week that our son, age 6, had been going to the bathroom a lot, especially at bedtime and during the night. I had asked his teacher to keep track of his restroom use, and had even called the pediatrician about my concerns. A few minutes into the hayride, P said he had to go to the bathroom. We told him he would need to wait until we were finished with the hayride. But as the ride went on, P became more pale and quiet. My husband took him off of the hayride, went to the bathroom, and walked back to the house. We knew at that point we needed to do something! We needed to at least check to see if he had a bladder or kidney infection. We were sure that's what it was.
So after the hayride, we headed to MedExpress. I dropped P and Shon off at MedExpress and my daughter and I went to Target. I hadn't heard back from Shon, so we headed to Gabes. A few minutes later, I received a phone call that shook me to my core. Shon told me that I needed to get to MedExpress right away that they were telling us to take P to the ER. Thank goodness it was a quick walk to MedExpress from Gabes!
When the nurse practitioner came into the room, he asked if we had a family history of diabetes. At that point, I was in disbelief. He said that P's sugar in his urine was high and we needed to get to the ER.
So off we went to Morgantown...still in disbelief and feelings of uncertainty. I could never have imagined what would happen next!
We didn't sit in the waiting room at Ruby long. In triage they again asked about a family history of diabetes. Now it was starting to sink in. I couldn't stop shaking. P was scared...and honestly, so was I. It took some convincing, but the nurse was finally able to do a finger stick to check P's blood glucose level. I could tell by the look on the nurse's face that something was wrong. His sugar was somewhere over 600. (Normal would be 80-150).
They were able to get us a room right away and it wasn't long until they were putting an IV in P's arm. That was also very difficult. This event was probably the worst for P of the whole experience. (The nurse joked with P that his mommy must be a party-time wrestler, since I had a good "head hold.") Once the IV was in, they drew some blood for blood tests and gave him IV fluids.
About 9:30 p.m., the doctor came in and told us, "I am sorry that I have to be the one to tell you, but your son has Type I diabetes." We were somewhat prepared for this, since we had both been searching diabetes on our phones. He said they would be admitting him to the pediatric ward for a few days and a diabetic educator would be training us on how to care for P in the next few days as well.
I just have to pause here and praise God for such wonderful care at Ruby. All the doctors and nurses were (and still are) so caring and compassionate! Our pediatric endocrinologist is top notch! He is also a big joke teller. P is working on some jokes to share with him the next time we visit him. (Feel free to share if you have any good ones!)
The nurses and doctors just loved P. Everyone kept saying that we caught it just in time before it could get bad. We were very fortunate and very observant parents. It was still in the early stages and easily treated.
The diabetic educator came to visit us early Monday morning. We had a crash course in type I diabetes, high blood sugars, low blood sugars, and general treatment. Monday afternoon we learned how to check P's blood glucose level, draw insulin into a syringe, and give him his insulin shot. Shon was the first to give him a shot, I was too chicken!
Tuesday we learned how to carb count and to use an insulin pen. Then she said we were ready to take care of Payton on our own. I wasn't ready. I was nervous. I wanted to stay there and have the nurses to help! But we knew we had to do it on our own at some point!
We left the hospital around 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, October 18. Our lives have changed immensely since those few days. As P says, "We'll all be healthier now!" He's such a positive thinker!
We've all adapted to our "new normal" and things are going great. Everyday I see God working. So many people have been kind to our family, especially to Payton. He's been showered with gifts and cards.
Looking forward to the next month and trusting God for every moment.
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