Dayona,
When a parent feels the inability to protect their child, the guilt and depression that arises can be unbearable at times. You are not alone.
I’m a nurse of emergency services for nearly 10 years, prior to that, I was a paramedic for 12 years and my husband is currently a paramedic of 20 years. When our son was diagnosed with T1D almost 2 years ago at the age of 8, we were completely devastated despite all of our training and history.
I had many “why God?” moments. Then one day at work I had the task of taking care of a 20 year old patient who came into the ER from a rehabilitation facility. He was born with severe scoliosis and mental impairment. His contorted body was the size of a 4 year old, he was non-verbal and without physical response, and he was completely dependent upon a ventilator to breath. As I sang the birthday song to him upon his mother 's request for me to assist her in wishing him a Happy Birthday, I couldn’t help but to thank God for the beautiful, energetic and charismatic boy the I have been blessed with. Sure…his diagnosis of T1D will be work for me, but he’s so worth the fight.
Roll up your sleeves and prepare to fight for one of the greatest blessings you will ever be granted. When you have those fleeting moments of fear or frustration, remember that it could be worse by far.
Blessings,
S. Allen
Hi Dayona. It’s been a few months since you were this and somehow I missed reading it until now, so forgive me for being late in the game. I’m not a parent but was diagnosed in 1963, at 3 years of age. My parents have both passed so I can’t ask for my mom’s perspective but I do recall going to diabetes camp a few summers during my childhood. In addition to the general fun of summer camp we learned and practiced things appropriate for our age and development level. That was back in the dark ages where (get this!) there were no home BG meters so you checked for sugar in your urine(!). They did have meters at camp but they were big and bulky, and it was believed that only medical professionals - not patients (even adults) could understand how to use them. We’ve come a long way since then and I’m sure camps have as well. I imagine they have campers who use pens and various pumps; ones who do fingersticks only, and those who use CGMs. You will want to verify but they are or certainly should be staffed with qualified medical professionals. I think it was a nice break for my mom (and dad), knowing I was in good hands for a few weeks, as well as a fun time for me.
I hope things are going better for your daughter, you and your family. It is very overwhelming, yes, but youll get a handle on it…out of necessity. I’ve been managing my T1D for 41 yrs, since age 10. Keep on eye on it through the teenage years. I was horrible with managing it, just didn’t care, but was lucky I didn’t suffer too much from it. I went to a T1D summer camp and it really helped me to understand, cope and learn how to deal with it.