On October 9 2005 my son was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. He was 3 years old. I was visiting my Grandmother in Germany (I live in Canada) when Hayden started to show symptoms. He was drinking and peeing alot, at first I thought it was a bladder infection. After a few days later he started to loose weight so I took him to a doctor as soon as we got to the clinic Hayden started to vomit. In broken english the doctor told me that it was just gastrianits, take him home and give him lots of fluids and get him to eat. So what do I do, I try to hydrate him with ginger ale, apple juice or anything he is willing to drink! The following day Hayden was not responding to me so I rushed him to another clinic with one look and a quick explanation of what was going on the past few days he was rushed to emerge where he was diagnosed and addmitted. Our lives have changed forever. Hayden is now 7 and doing great! But that fear of loosing him will haunt us for the rest of our lives. We will never sleep the same again. We will never eat the same or play the same.
People dont understand this deasease because it is silent. I struggle with this because I really do feel alone. We live in a small town, Hayden is the only child in his school with diabetes. We really dont have anyone to talk to that really understands what we are going through.
I understand how your family may feel alone, especially since none of the other school kids have type 1 diabetes. Assuming you still live in Canada, you should really look into events there. Have you checked out the Canadian Diabetes Associations website at www.diabetes.ca/ ? If you go there you can go to 'About Us', 'In Your Community' and then select your region to see what's going on in your community. Also, your son is at a good age for diabetes camp and that would probably be a lot of fun for him and he would also get to make friends with other children who have to deal with the same things as he does (carb counting, insulin dosing, etc). You can also go to www.childrenwithdiabetes.com/camps/ to find a camp near you. Diabetes can be very overwhelming, so just know that you are not alone, and there are lots of resources out there! Hope this helps!
that funny, the day you posted this thread was the day my 2 year old son got diagnosed with diabetes. just wanted to say hi. i am still very new at this whole diabetes thing, we have only been at it for a couple weeks and we are still adjusting. it is such a huge adjustment for the whole family. i am still trying to learn everything i can about how to best help my son. thanks
Your Son is old enough now to go to many diabetes camps. there are day camps, residential camps, as well as family camps. You should look into them, they will help him, as well as you, form more of a sense of community and further understanding.