Austin's Big Change

February 19th changed our lives forever and Austin's realized his life changed the next day when we told him we thought he had Type 1 diabetes. It has taken me 'til now to write about it for a couple of reasons. I sent a message to a few of you but I already had so many things to learn and so many people to talk to about the changes (such as coaches, teachers, friends, parents, etc.) i could not talk about it to anyone else.

We noticed at the start of the week that Austin was having trouble concentrating, especially getting his homework finished. He was taking hours to accomplish tasks that should have only taken a short amount of time. He also brought home some tests and quizzes with C's, which is very unusual for him. On Friday night, we went to dinner and on a short shopping trip to Ikea. Austin had four or five glasses of water at dinner and when we got to Ikea, he complained about being thirsty until we bought a couple of water bottles. He drank on immediately and started the next. I started putting all of the pieces of the puzzle together. It was like a flashback of the week where every sign became a warning that something was amiss. I didn't say anything to Marci at that point, but I don't think I needed to - she had the same insights as I did.

When we arrived home, I tested Austin's blood sugar on my machine, telling him I was just interested to see the results. It would not register on my machine. I immediately tested again, just in case it was a malfunction. Again, it was too high to register (meaning above 600). My heart sank - it is hard to describe the flood of emotions, knowing what lies ahead. We sent him off to bed and then spent the night dealing with our emotions. It was a long night - one of those nights where you rely on the Lord and a strong spouse. Of course we made it through and the light of day brought fresh perspective.

Austin is such a homebody, and even though he is mature, does not like the hospital, emergency room, blood, etc. We decided to not put him through the trauma of the ER on a weekend and instead called a family friend who practices medicine in the area. We described the situation and he agreed that Austin likely would be diagnosed with diabetes. So, we began to administer insulin to manage his blood sugar. Austin took the news with little more than a few tears. If Marci and I had not been so emotional, I think Austin would have not shed a tear. Even the first few shots, he did not raise one complaint.

I could write forever on the difficulty in dealing with the medical establishment on Monday morning. A self diagnosed diabetic, taking insulin and testing their own blood sugar is not the norm...and not a welcome call, as we came to find out. We spent most of the day in the ER, wasting our time and money, but finally "got in the system" enough to get some prescriptions and an appointment with my doctor's office. We now have a great practice we go to together and they are taking great care of us. It was funny, Austin kept asking when they would release us from the ER. Every hour he would inform the nurse what subject he was missing and ask when we could go home. When we were finally released, (which is NOT the norm in the medical world!) Austin asked to hurry home so he could get ready for basketball practice, and off he went!!

Austin has been magnificent through the entire process. Exceeded all my expectations - he has been so grown up and mature about the schedule and necessary steps to have a "normal" life. Obviously we have learned a lot - much more than we even knew - living with a diabetic all these years. It is never good that your dad has the same trials but it put us light years ahead of most families in the same situation.

The doctors and nurses have been impressed with Austin and how well he had adapted to the necessary changes. I don't know how much most of you know about diabetes but Austin will test his blood sugar about 8 times a day. His target is 100 and we adjust according to what his blood sugar reads on his meter. He is taking Novalog for his quick reacting insulin and takes a unit of insulin for every 20 carbs he eats all day long. He also takes Lantas at night which is a 24 hour insulin that helps keep all the readings level...they call this "background" insulin.

He has become great friends with the nurse at school as they require everything to be kept in the office. He makes many trips to the office to "check his blood" and rarely complains about having to manage his body.

I'm happy to say that Austin does not see any limitations in how I live my life and does not see any for himself. I agree whole heartedly and have to remind myself to make sure he takes the necessary precautions as he heads out to play sports or ride his bike, or whatever.

A friend I work with has type I diabetes and so does his daughter. He mentioned to me that Marci is in rare company, a person who will have to support a child and spouse with diabetes. He joked about his wife taking abuse from two people with highs and lows in managing their sugars. Marci has been great and has stepped up to learn and take charge of every situation where someone needs to be educated. So far, Aust and I have managed to keep Marci in the loop when we are feeling highs or lows!!

Well, probably enough about our trials and tribulations. At the end of the day we have so many blessings - and I have no doubt we'll find that even this trial is being given to bring about blessings for us - or others we've yet to meet. Upon moving to Wheaton we discovered Austin's fifth grade teacher and elementary school principal both have type I diabetes and that the doctor's office where I am a patient has one of the best pediatric diabetes offices in the state, all within a few miles of our home. We continue to see the Lord's guiding hand as we move through our adventures. Although life changing, we're thankful to have the tools, knowledge and access to experts to manage through the challenges. Thanks to all of you who have provided such immediate support - especially Cory and Lori who provided that first line of support in taking our kids, helping with blessings and most importantly loving us through the first few days!!