Whirlwind

So, the last few days have completely turned out lives up side down. Noah has been diagnosed with Type I Diabetes.

For the past two weeks or so, he has been exceptionally thirsty, and thus has been peeing quite a bit more than normal. But we've been outside a ton, running fast, playing hard. What little Boy wouldn't be pretty parched? It wasn't until he started completely flooding his entire bed at nap (while wearing a diaper) and twice at night that I began to wonder what was up. Over the weekend, I began tallying how many ounces Nosy was actually drinking. After coming up with numbers between 80-100 ounces a day, I really started to get concerned.

Bright and early Monday morning, I called the pedi and apologized for being such a paranoid Mom, worrying that my toddler may have diabetes. Surely not, but would they mind checking just to be sure? I didn't feel quite as paranoid when they sat down to break the news to me and told me to pack my bags, we were headed to Children's.

We sat in the Children's ER until 1am, completely surrounded by swine flu. I think I could feel the germs crawling up my leg. I just kept praying God's protection over our health. Nosy's blood sugars were in the 400's. An IV was started and lots of labs drawn. Poor baby was such a trooper. He just kept crying, "I want to eat at home!" Alas, no food for Noah for awhile.

Finally we got admitted to a room. There was a fold out chair for Jeremy, and Nosy and I shared the hospital bed. Pretty close quarters, but it felt good to have Noah sleep on my chest, safe and sound and blissfully unaware of how his life was about to change. He hadn't slept on me since he was teeny tiny. I cherished every minute.

Tuesday was probably the worst day of my life. His blood sugars were so high, he would scream for 45 minutes after every blood sugar check and insulin shot (minimum of 4/day), he was starving but couldn't eat much. There was nothing we could do to console poor Nosy-Posy. Plus, Tuesday was diabetic education day...and it was intense! I know I am a nurse, but I have not dealt with diabetes since nursing school, eons ago! It was so much information and the consequences for messing up are so severe. Jeremy and I felt like we were under so much pressure, and it is our little boy's life at stake. We hadn't slept since Sunday night and hadn't really eaten in over 24 hours. We were emotional wrecks.

Tuesday evening, my Mom and Dad brought Owie up to the hospital to visit. He had been so anxious about Noah, telling my Mom how much he missed his brother and how very worried he was about him. It was so nice to snuggle with O for a bit and try to reassure him the best I could. Sadly, Nosy cried through almost their entire visit. And do you notice the mimi (paci) in every pic? I don't think the plug was pulled for three days straight.

Wednesday was met with a new perspective. We had slept a little and eaten and were feeling a little more encouraged. Noah perked up a bit (between traumatic "pokes"). O came again and we all spent some time in the playroom together, just being a family. A Child Life specialist spent time with both Boys, just explaining what diabetes was and why Noah will have to have shots every day forever. They got to play needless syringes and lancets and pretend to check our blood sugars and give us insulin. It was so good for both kids!

Nosy got his IV turned off around 10:00 and there began to be talk of discharging us home! Jeremy and I were very nervous, but the doctors assured us that everything would be fine and we were prepared for every scenario. We spent the morning bopping the ball around the bed and reviewing what we had learned the day before.

Around 3:00pm, we packed up and headed home, feeling quite apprehensive about what lay ahead. But at least we'd be in our own house, with Owie back with us and our families close by...

...To be continued...