Living with Diabetes

I have people ask me all the time how Johnny is doing and what is it like for a child with Diabetes. Yes...there are needles, but I would say the biggest part of the disease is maintaining a routine and counting your carbohydrate intake. For now EVERYDAY Johnny has the same routine:

(between)7:30-7:45 am ~ Wake-up

7:50 am ~ Check Blood Sugar

7:55 am ~ Get Insulin

8:00 am ~ Eat Breakfast (45 Carbohydrates...total)

(between)10:00-10:30 am ~ Eat Morning Snack (15 Carbohydrates...total)

11:50 am ~ Check Blood Sugar and Get Insulin if needed

12:00 pm ~ Eat Lunch (45 Carbohydrates...total)

4:00 pm ~ Eat Afternoon Snack (15 Carbohydrates...total)

(between)5:30-5:45 pm ~ Check Blood Sugar

(between)5:35-5:50 pm ~ Get Insulin

(between)5:45-6:00 pm ~ Eat Dinner (45 Carbohydrates...total)

(between)8:00-8:15 pm ~ Check Blood Sugar and Get Insulin if needed

(between)8:15-8:30 pm ~ Eat Evening Snack (30 Carbohydrates...total)

3:00 am ~ Check Blood Sugar and Get Insulin or Snack if needed

I swear it's like Groundhogs day over here. As Johnny gets older we can change his Insulin to something that gives him more freedom, but for now this is the best one. Some days I wish for the moment that I won't have to wake-up at 3am anymore, but I know that the minute that day comes I will be laying in bed freaking out with wonder over his blood sugar levels. He is getting better about telling us when he is feeling funny, but we still have many times where he is very low or high and he showed no signs and says he feels fine. That FREAKS me out. It really freaks the school nurse out too. That poor lady :(

Through all of this Johnny has been just plain amazing!! To only be five years old and have everything that you've known change and barely blink an eye. I am in awe of him. I know that I most certainly would not be handling it this well if it were me. Isn't it wonderful how resilient kids are. They just keep going and don't look back. With that being said...there are bad days.....but the good by far outnumber them!!

I did have a heartbreaking moment a few weeks ago though. I was folding laundry upstairs and Johnny came up to me and said he couldn't wait to tell one of his friends that his Diabetes is gone. I calmly asked him what he meant by that and he said "You know Mom. My diabetes is gone. I only had it at the Hospital". I swear I just wanted to grab ahold of him and never let go. Overall John and I are adjusted to all of this, but there are those moments where we just feel like loosing it. I still have random nights where I lay awake and wonder how this is even real.

One of the hardest things to adjust too though is the way people look at you when they find out. Or just the way they look at John. He is the same little boy he was four months ago. There is a Mother of a child that Johnny knows who was extremely friendly every time I saw her....until one time in a passing conversation I mentioned Johnny's Diabetes. She has avoided me like the plague ever since. WTF does that mean? Is she freaked out by us know? She can't be friendly anymore?? It just seems cruel.

Anyways....for any of you who were wondering about a Child's life with Diabetes....There it is. Not the best situation, but definitely doable!!

Does he look any different to you? He sure doesn't to me!!