Posted by KenC on November 02, 1998 at 09:07:32:
In Reply to: my sons diabeties posted by tracy simpson on November 02, 1998 at 07:32:37:
Tracy:
My son is 2 1/2, Dx'd at 14 months. I know your feelings of denial at diagnosis all too well.
We as a family have done remarkably well with it, all things considered. Children are so resillient, it's the parents who need to take a step back and realize that.
The management of the diabetes becomes the principal function in life, and your own social life becomes secondary (much like any other parent, eh wot?). Our son was in daycare about a month after diagnosis and I ran around with a cellular phone on my hip as a badge of fear, worrying constantly.
Now, through awareness and understanding, we look forward to the day when a cure is found and in the meantime we resolve ourselves to the situation and press on, always remebering that our son is a child first, who deserves to live like any other two year old.
Your son now relies on you a little bit more to make sure he is a healthy, happy kid. It's no longer just food, shelter, and love you have to provide for him, you have to literally keep him alive through the regimen of tests and insulin.
For the sake of your son, keep up the good work and look optimistically toward the future when a cure will be found and you will be comforted by the knowledge that you did everything you could to keep your child healthy until the day that you no longer had to worry about the dreaded diabetes.