As soon as we found out that Bart's urine was full of sugar I took
him to his pediatrician hoping that they would tell me that this was only temporary but knowing that they would not. His sugar
tested at the doctor at 588 and he was starving. The nurse found some peanut butter crackers for him to eat.
I then knew where all that food he was eating was going. Out with the urine. A reading of
160 is the kidney threshold meaning that sugar will spill into the urine from that point on instead of be driven into the
cells for growth and energy.
The doctor arranged for us to meet at Vanderbilt University Children's Hospital for admission.
This was on a Friday afternoon. Little did I know that the admission was not so much for Bart but for us to be educated how
to manage the disease. I was to stay with him during this process and Alan and my parents were to take care of Flo, who was
not diagnosed yet.
The nurses gave Bart a couple of shots the first night then they brought the syringes, insulin
bottle, alcohol preps, and told me I would be doing it from now on. I was scared to death and had had several crying episodes
already, not to mention the information overload I was suffering. Bart didn't seem to be suffering at all. He was playing
with one of these "ride 'em" cars the nurses let him bring to his hospital room.
They showed me how to wipe off the insulin bottle with alcohol then draw the insulin into
the syringe, all the time remembering not to touch anything to it for fear of contaminating it . How was I going to remember
all this and carry on with the rest of my life?
They showed me how to inject Bart with the insulin and he did not like it one bit. Every
time either his finger was stuck for a glucose check or he was injected with insulin he screamed. I didn't know how long I
was going to be able to stand those screams without screaming myself.
Now that I was good and confused about all that the dietitian showed up to explain about
the food. I swore when I had kids that I would never battle with them about when they ate or if they ate knowing that they
would not let themselves starve. I see mothers all the time begging their kids to eat and think to myself, if they only knew.
Now food is an issue every time my kids eat. It has to be portioned, carbohydrates counted, and insulin doses calculated.
They cannot reach for a cracker without doing this.
Now that I was totally confused about both the insulin and the food another nurse came in
to educate me about hypoglycemia. Hypoglycemia is a potentially dangerous condition, also known as an insulin reaction, also
known as low blood sugar. It comes on suddenly and without much if any warning. If not treated the diabetic will pass out.
The brain cannot function in the absence of glucose so it "passes out." The nurse explained that fruit juices would treat
hypoglycemia as would the commercial instant glucose gels and glucose tablets. This is providing they have not passed out
yet. Should the be unresponsive there is yet another treatment: a shot of Glucagon. This was also explained. Inside I was
scared, and my mind was screaming "I'll never get this!" I asked the nurses if it was possible we would not have to deal with
hypoglycemia and she said it was certain that we would if we wanted to keep the blood sugar under control. A three year old
cannot be depended upon to let you know if they have low blood sugar. It is likely they won't have a clue. Signs
include lethargy, eyes trying to close, shakiness, inability to walk(Bart would keep falling down), extreme hunger, and abrupt
mood changes--usually from good to bad to temper tantrums. But three year olds have temper tantrums. It is a hell of a thing
having to test your child's blood sugar when they are misbehaving so you'll know whether to discipline him or to feed him.
On Sunday they packed us up with all the diabetes supplies and sent Bart home. I was totally
freaked because in the hospital I could ring for the nurses if I had a question. Now we were faced with having
to do this on our own.
The pediatric endocrinologist, Dr. Jennifer Najjar, was kind and patient and asked that
I call her with any concerns but I couldn't go calling her 10 times a day. She had other newly diagnosed patients. At
the time I had no idea how I would manage all this, and I was so afraid I would do something wrong. I had no idea at
the time that in a few months I'd feel like an expert on the subject.
