Kenny, my son, appeared to be losing weight, so tired, and a thirst he could not quench. I googled the symptoms and all that popped up was Type 1 diabetes. I was convinced that was not what was wrong with my son. The next day a coworker of mine who is a Type 1 herself listened to what my concerns were. She wanted to check his blood sugar, but just by looking at him she knew. She said "I'm so sorry" and tested him. Her meter just read warning high blood glucose. We immediately went to the ER where they came in with the news. Your son is a Type 1 diabetic and his blood sugar is over 950, he will need to be transferred to another hospital. His fragile body was loaded into the ambulance and his journey began. He was admitted into pediatric ICU for 5 days, we heard words that we almost could not comprehend....kidneys shutting down, body was turning against him, insulin, shots, blood sugar checks, carb counts, it was almost too much to handle. Then it was my turn to give him his first insulin injection, my hands shook and tears were in my eyes. 1,2,3...I did it! Then I looked into the eyes of my 11 year old son who said "is this how it will be the rest of my life mom", and with such a heavy heart I told him yes, and how sorry I was. He looked up at me with a smile on his face and told me it would be alright, that we could do this. We learned a whole new way of life in those 5 days, and he was right....it is alright. We are 4 1/2 years into this now, and it's not always alright, but we always overcome. Today Kenny is a typical teenage boy who enjoys hunting and fishing, a typical boy who quietly battles this disease...and never gives up hope that a cure will come. He is an example that he may have diabetes, but diabetes will never have him.

Trish
Poplar Bluff, MO