Our Type 1 Diabetes Diagnosis Story

    A lot of diagnosis stories are similar.  The parents are not looking for signs of diabetes, so they usually go unnoticed until the child is lethargic and almost in ketosis.  Those stories are always scary and I am usually glad that it is not ours.  Boaz was diagnosed on October 6th, 2012.  We had gone to the endocrinologist about a month before and just had some routine blood work done.  Because Boaz has Down syndrome we see a lot of specialist just because.  I was shocked when the endo called and told us that Boaz was showing early signs of diabetes.  So, the same day we received those results, we headed to Savannah to get some more blood work done.  We were given a Blood Glucose meter and told to check his sugar 1 hour after bed once a week.  The first night that we did this was the night before the Buddy Walk and it was high.  I really wanted to go to the Buddy Walk, since it was our first one with Boaz and the thought of spending the day in the hospital was upsetting.  Our endo told us to check his fasting sugar in the morning and if it was over 150 that we would need to come in to see him.  We checked it the next morning and it was not over 150 so we were able to participate in all the Buddy Walk activities.  After Josh and I ate lunch (Boaz was sleeping), he woke up and we checked his sugar again.  This time it was over 250, so we headed to the hospital where he was eventually diagnosed.  So, like I said, our story is not quite the scary ketosis story.

 Well, that's what I thought anyways.  I was remembering yesterday the time that Boaz had croup.  The doctor called us to the office on a Sunday and gave Boaz a steroid shot so that we could go to Savannah the next day and see my cousins.  While we were in Savannah, Boaz threw up and was extremely lethargic.  We took him to the hospital and were eventually released with a nebulizer and sent home.  I realized yesterday that I think that's our ketosis story!  This was a few months before diagnosis and we were definitely not looking for diabetes. It is only by the grace of God that Boaz's body was producing enough insulin to bring him out of that on its own!