It’s been six months since I was diagnosed. It feels like yesterday.
Let me take you back to the weeks leading up to this whole diabetes bombshell.
I had lost weight. Like close to 10 lbs over a month or so. I didn’t think that much about it as I also grew about 3 inches in a short period of time. My parents didn’t even notice as I am built like a tall skinny kid and they thought I was having a big growth spurt and that’s why I was skinny.
I was playing baseball and what I really noticed was I was having a hard time concentrating on hitting the ball. I even had one game where I let go of the bat after a hard swing and almost killed the third base coach. I couldn’t explain it.
Then a couple of nights later I had to run to the bathroom at the end of almost every inning. Sure it was hot out and I was drinking lots of water but I had to go every like 15 minutes. Not normal.
Fast forward to 4 pm on a Friday of a long weekend, and I'm getting a blood test. Mom's thinking we won't hear squat till Tuesday, but nope, Saturday morning at 8 am, the phone's blowing up. Our doctor and the lab doc are like, "You need to take him to the ER, his blood sugars are through the roof."
So, there I am, chilling in the back of "Emerge" for nearly 10 hours, waiting for the blood work to drop.. The ER doc drops the bomb, “you’ve got type 1 diabetes” and tells me a doc from the pediatric floor is coming to have a chat. I ended up getting admitted and they spent the weekend treating me for the high sugar levels but not much help on what happens next, that they said will be done at the clinic. I wasn’t sure what they meant but I knew it meant more doctors appointments.
So, after that first weekend, Monday breezed by, and Tuesday afternoon, we got transferred to Markham Stouffville's Pediatric Diabetic Clinic for patients dealing with type 1 diabetes. Meeting the new squad was interesting, figuring out the ropes and all. They're a cool bunch, I gotta say. The team over there is top-notch, super understanding, not just from a medical standpoint but also trying to understand me. They may not fully get what it's like for me, but they're there.
Markham Stouffville's Diabetic Clinic – you either gotta love it or live your life battling against diabetes forever. It's kinda complicated like that.
My first appointment was a bit overwhelming. Lots of stuff to take in. This confirmed to me that I need to find more information for teens.
Until next time.