Type 1 Diabetes

As I mentioned in my last post, we have had yet another complication added to our lives in the form of Georgie's type 1 diabetes. The diagnosis was a bit of a shock and I think it's worth recounting it so that anyone reading this is not only aware of the signs, but also of what it means to live with the condition.

Type 1 diabetes is not the same as type 2--which is far more common. Those who suffer from type 2 have underproductive pancreatic function as well as a resistance to the insulin their body produces. Controlled diet, exercise, and weight loss are often enough to bring their blood sugar levels under control. Type 1, however, is an autoimmune disease and occurs when the body's immune system attacks the pancreatic islet cells which secrete insulin. As the cells die off the body becomes incapable of producing insulin at all and regular injections are need to control the body's blood glucose levels. And let me tell you--keeping sugars balanced is far more difficult than you would imagine. Without insulin injections the body cannot absorb glucose and must flush it from the blood stream via urine while, almost ironically, using up the body's stores of fat for energy instead-- a process which causes something called diabetic ketoacidosis--a serious condition which can cause serious long term and permanent damage to the body.

At camp I had noticed that Georgie was needing the toilet several times a night (hard to miss when you are in a tent) and she was apparently thirsty as well. She looked skinnier than usual, but of course that's hard to gauge when they are 6 because they tend to get lanky around that age anyway. She had plenty of energy and felt fine, but all the same I was concerned. Before camp she was absolutely ravenous and I knew these were all signs of type 1 diabetes as I have a friend whose son was diagnosed with the condition when he was 4. I tend to be a bit paranoid about health concerns, but in this instance it was a good thing that I panicked a bit. I hauled her in to the doctor as soon as we were back from camp and I was dead right. Her blood sugar was sky high and she had glucose in her urine. Luckily we caught it well before she was ill. Many children are so ill they are almost comatose before they are diagnosed.

I was floored when the doctor called with the news. Georgie had been zooming around the driveway on the scooter all afternoon-- I couldn't believe she had a serious illness. She spent 3 days in hospital so the doctors could adjust her dosage and teach us to test her sugars and count her carbohydrate servings and she came out happy as a clam feeling as though she had just had a magnificent holiday.

She's a tough cookie. The needles don't bother her and she can test her glucose herself now. The fact that she eats nothing but healthy whole foods all the time and isn't picky has made a big difference, and I am so glad that menu planning was already established. All in all the change has been surprisingly easy to manage. She gets two doses of insulin in the morning and two in the evening and it has been more than a little tricky to predict when her sugars will peak and by
how much but she is essentially doing just fine.

There is no cure for type 1 diabetes and no idea what really causes it, but the technology for managing it has advanced amazingly since I was young and is advancing rapidly even now. And if anyone can cope with this it's Georgie. When she was diagnosed I anointed her with myrrh from the miraculous Iveron icon of Hawaii, which was given to us. It has cured diabetes before, but my prayer for Georgie was for strength, not a cure. And mostly strength for myself which has most definitely been granted to me.