After we checked into our local ER, Doctors quickly got us transferred to Children’s Hospital in Dallas for training. It was Jay’s first ride in an ambulance. I didn’t catch the EMS guy’s name but they were both so nice. Even let Jay watch Nerf war videos on his computer! Once we got to Children’s it was kind of a blur. A ton of Doctors asked a ton of questions. “Is there any family history of diabetes?” (No I had nobody on either side that I knew of at the time that has ever had diabetes type 1 or type 2.) We do have several autoimmune diseases that run in the family on both sides this is just the first time the autoimmune disease presented itself as type 1 diabetes.
They crammed a lot of knowledge into a two day stay. We had to completely train ourselves to take care of him. We had to learn how to count carbohydrates in his food to determine the dose of insulin he would receive before he could take a bite of his food. We had a nutritionist and a diabetic educator that walk us through what we were going to be doing for the rest of his life. I had to pass a test on nutrition and another on how to manage his diabetes before they would let us go home. The first day was a cram session and the next day was more like a exam session. (Where I had to prove myself and the knowledge I had received. I was a nervous wreck! I felt very uncomfortable and stressed!) Honestly I felt more scared taking my baby home that day than I did when I took him home after he was born! They did give me a “how to” binder that had answers to all the many questions I would have in the next few months. This gave me a little comfort in knowing that I get an instruction manual this time!
We own our own business and have two other kiddos at home so Dad was left to manage things back at home. But, on discharge day Dad and Papa D flew down and picked us up from the hospital!
This hospital visit truly changed our lives forever! It changed the way we eat and the way we manage Jay’s health. It is a constant struggle that will never go away. It’s our new normal and our journey is truly about to begin.
God has heard 