Our Stories
Rylee's Story
Our story began like many others…we noticed that Rylee was drinking a lot and very grumpy. But it was also the holidays, so I figured she was just worn out. On New Year’s Eve Rylee woke up to drink water out of the bathroom sink. After doing some good old web research we discovered she had the common symptoms of Type 1 Diabetes. We only have one other family member with Type 1, she’s 87 and lives across the country so needless to say we didn’t have a good idea of what we were getting ourselves into. We went to the hospital thinking we would get some insulin and everything would be fine. When they told us we had to stay for two nights and be trained, mommy lost it. After five straight hours of training (while listening to a screaming 5 year old because she didn’t like the shots or pricks) I told the Diabetes Educator we are DONE, Come back tomorrow! There’s only so much information one can handle. At home we got organized!! Meal cards spelling out the carbs, food schedules and hours scouring the grocery store for 15g snacks. Week by week things calmed down. And as the Diabetes Educator kept telling us that day, it has just become routine!
Ethan's Diagnoses
Ten days after Ethan's 3rd birthday he had his three year well check at his pediatrician's office. It was a day like any other. I had to drag him kicking and screaming into the office. It was a bad meltdown, and I ended up in tears to even start the appointment. The nurses and other mothers there were very sympathetic and asked if I was o.k. They knew just dealing with a three year old was hard enough at times. I gave the nurse the urine sample, which the doctor asks all parents to bring for any well check of a child over three years old. (Something that I learned was quite unusual for a pediatrician to do). The sympathetic looks seemed to continue, as I would soon learn what the doctor had found. He came in and asked if the container I used was clean. I said yes. He proceeded to tell me that he was 99% sure that Ethan had diabetes. His urine was filled with keytones. (Please note that most pediatricians do not check for this and our doctor thinks that this is ridiculous, it's a .50 cent test!) The doctor himself called Ethan's Dad and we were sent to Nationwide Children's Hospital. We were there for almost four days. We were given the training that we needed to care for Ethan's diabetes. It was all VERY overwhelming. It all came with a lot of worry, questions, anxiety, tears, and fear. We were in shock, literally, as Ethan was completely without any symptoms at all as far as we could tell. But the staff at the Endocrinology department gave hope. The doctors assured us that we will be o.k. That Ethan will live a normal, long, healthy life. We needed to tackle this with strength, for no one other than Ethan. We didn't have another choice. Since then, we have come a long way. It's been almost four months at the time that I am writing this. It's a difference of night and day. Life does go on, and life is good.
