My 4 year old was diagnosed in Feb. 2018 and has just been angry lately about what having T1D means. We can tell he feels alone since we don’t know anyone else with the diagnosis. I was hoping to connect with another family in the Pittsburgh area who has a child around his age and maybe meet up. I am hoping that if he sees first hand he is not alone, it might help.
Hi Katie @Katie5, I can understand the “alone” feeling your son has and I also suspect that you have similar feelings not knowing anyone else in your situation. I know how I felt when diagnosed 60+ years ago and of course there wasn’t an internet to search and to meet; it was about 15 years before I met another person with diabetes with whom I could talk, share and learn techniques - she was the first to show me that my abdomen was a good place to inject insulin.
You can very easily find diabetes related activities, and your son can meet people like himself and you can meet parents of T1D. Click on the “Events TAB” at the top of this page and enter your zip code. Also go to the JDRF main webpage [jdrf.org] and click on the “JDRF Near You” in the upper center. There are JDRF Chapters and events in the Pittsburgh area - I attend a monthly meeting in my area and still, after so many years living with diabetes, get inspiration.
Hi Katie, our son Jennings was diagnosed in January while in DKA at Children’s Hospital in Pittsburgh. He just turned 5 in March. We live in Grove City (exactly 1hr north of the city). If you are interested in talking and possibly meeting, please let me know. Jennings has been an absolute trooper since his diagnosis. He has yet to meet anyone near his own age that is also T1D. He has 9yr old twin brothers…perhaps that is why he is so tough lol! Don’t hesitate to call if interested.
-Mitch and Amy Augustine
724-679-0156
@Jennings-T1D
I would absolutely love to chat and find a way to meet up. We live in Oakmont and while our son has been a huge trooper too, I think he’s love to need something “just like him”. I will send you a text tomorrow! Also, what doctor are you using at children’s? We aren’t very pleased with the one we saw for his first follow up.
I just had to look to find her name but Dr. Muzumdar is the one we saw most at the hospital and at his one appointment since. I see now that she is chief of staff??? No complaints really. The education staff can be a bit blunt, for lack of better term, but I guess that is the tough love we need as parents.
He was actually fitted with the DexCom today for the next week to see if that is something that we would like to do. Do you guys do a monitor like DexCom or a pump yet?
@Jennings-T1D we have been using the dexcom for about a month now and it has been a blessing. Our son doesn’t have any signs of high, more importantly lows and has been a literal lifesaver in keeping him from passing or from a low. It was hard to adjust mentally as a parent, seeing his number every five minutes, but once we got comfortable with how to use the dexcom and arrange his care around it, I couldn’t be happier with having it. My number is 724-8896558 and I can give you some tips and tricks another parent told me that has worked great for keeping the sensor on well.