Diabetes

As many of you know Meeks has Type 1 Diabetes and due to the increased likelihood of our children having it we have always kept a fairly close eye on the boys. Earlier this week Mitch started exhibiting some of the classic symptoms which are frequent urination and needing to drink lots of water. Meeks did a blood glucose test yesterday and he was higher than normal although not long after it had returned to a more normal level. This morning we did a test before breakfast and it showed a much higher level than it should have been after not eating for 12+ hours.

As a result we have spent the day talking to various doctors and the last 4 hours or so in the children's hospital. At the hospital, the blood glucose test they did returned a normal result which is good. They took some blood and will do a bunch of tests to find out what is going on. In the mean time they gave Mitch his own glucometer and we will need to test him about 4 times a day over the next week or so to see what is happening with his blood sugar levels. His normal reading in the hospital indicates that he is not 100% certain of diabetes, but is a borderline case. Either way it is very good that we have appeared to have caught it early.

It has been a very stressful and teary day as we have been considering the consequences of having an (almost) 4 year old with insulin dependent diabetes. Certainly there are worse medical conditions to have and he will still be able to lead a long and largely very normal life, but it is a chronic lifelong condition with no cure. Mitch is only 4 so certainly doesn't understand the consequences and impact on him, but he does understand that something is not right and having Mummy and Daddy do pin pricks on his fingers for blood glucose tests is no fun at all. We are trying to get him interested and involved, but at the moment he just wants us to leave him alone. He loves attention but when that "attention" involves pricking his fingers to get blood, he'd rather not have it! We get the blood test results next week and will keep you updated.