My son Kendall, who is 16 now, was diagnosed at age 2 1/2. We noticed he was leaking urine through his diaper, seemed to be losing weight, and then one Sunday night we noticed he was breathing a little fast. We took him to the pediatrician Monday morning, one of the practice's other doctors saw him and insisted he had asthma - even after I insisted he didn't, and sent us home with a nebulizer and steroids.
By Tuesday morning he was practically comatose. They rushed us to Children's Hospital in Buffalo, where he was in severe Ketoacidosis. He spent 36 hours in ICU, and for the next few days we learned all about dealing with Type I diabetes, Insulin, shots, glucagon.... It was a difficult time but we got through it.
Kendall has taken it all in stride, and has done very well. He skipped 3rd grade, and is not only a senior in high school, but is the class Valedictorian (358 in the class). He Is a National Merit Semi-Finalist, and has taken/takes Honors and Advanced Placement classes. He plays baseball on numerous leagues in the summer, and is active in many school activities and sports. He will be starting college at age 17 in the fall of 2014.
I guess our message to all out there is Type I doesn't have to hold you back!
Tonawanda, NY
