Just a little over a week before his 7th birthday Steve and I had made Zack an appointment with his pediatrician. Something had been just a little off with him in the prior month so we just wanted to take him in to make sure everything was all right. It started to snow pretty heavy that day. Driving in the snow still terrified me, and it was really coming down hard, so I called the Dr’s office and rescheduled Zack’s appointment. Dr. Elliott was going on vacation so the next appointment date was 3 weeks out. We set the date for 3 weeks. Not even 10 minutes after I got off the phone with the appointment line the snow completely stopped, so…I called the Dr’s office again and said that I would just go ahead and bring him in. After Dr. Elliott examined Zack he said everything looked normal. He had lost about 4 pounds from his last visit, so that concerned him. We discussed his recent behavioral issues, but there was one thing that really bothered me. Zack was using the restroom sometimes 4-5 times an hour. He said they would do a quick test; maybe he had an infection of some kind. 10 minutes later Dr. Elliott came back and pulled his chair right in front of me. He patted my hand and said, “I’m glad you brought Zack in today, his body is dumping ketones, we are going to need to admit him right away” I still did not understand what he was saying, I knew it had to be bad, as he was still patting my hand.
Then he said the words I had hoped I would never hear, Type 1 Diabetes. How could that be? He was so little, and has always been so healthy. Of course I was familiar with the term, Type 1 Diabetes. My mom had been diagnosed as an adult, and Sean, my oldest brother had been diagnosed with it his senior year of High school. Although I was familiar with the “term” Type 1 Diabetes, I was more than familiar with the possible fatal outcome of having Diabetes. My life had already been devastated by the word Diabetes almost 7 years prior when my mom passed away unexpectedly from complications with her Diabetes. She passed away only two days after Zack was born, and there it was a week before his birthday and once again the “D” word had somehow snuck into my life again.
After 3 days in the hospital we were able to finally go home. It felt very similar to when we took Zack home from the hospital right after he was born. At the hospital you have the nurses helping you, monitoring the newborn, and then you leave after a few days to face the challenges of raising and caring for this little person on your own. Instead of being overloaded with diapers, feeding times, and figuring out how exactly to use that carseat, we were bogged down with diabetic terminology, syringes, testing kits, needles, log books, insulin, and many follow up appointments.
Our first night home Steve and I looked at each other and literally said, “What do we feed him?” All of a sudden we had this carb to insulin ration we had to figure out. Even worse than figuring out what he could eat, he wanted to sleep! We laugh at it now, looking back, but those first two months were full of worry and fear, but just like having that newborn you figure out your routine and life goes on.
Here it is six months later and we have indeed settled into a routine. Zack needs 4 shots of insulin a day, and has to prick his little fingers to monitor his sugar levels even more frequently. In addition to his rigorous blood testing and insulin shots, everything he consumes must be counted and measured, and his blood levels need to be checked while he sleeps and plays. Zack has been a trooper from day one and rarely complains. As some of you have seen, he is still full of never-ending energy, questions, smiles, laughs, and seven-year-old mischief. Steve and I are so grateful to have him in our lives a constant reminder of spirit, humility, and positive attitude.
We have networked with the local Diabetic center to find events for kids with Juvenile Diabetes. This summer Zack went to Camp Sweat Pea. It was a wonderful experience for him. When I picked him up he told me, “ Mom, can you believe that ALL of those kids have diabetes?” Although he never complained or felt sorry for himself, he beamed with the knowledge that there were other kids just like him.
And the following is why I have decided to share Zack’s story with all of you:
One day out of the blue, Zack came out of his room and asked me what “Cure” meant. I asked him where he had heard that word. He said it was on a commercial; they were talking about finding a “cure for diabetes”. We talked about what cure meant, and being 7 and in typical Zack fashion that one word brought on more questions. Who will find the cure? Where do they go to look for it? How long will I have diabetes? What does a cure look like? It was hard to look into his excited eyes and not have the answers.
Then a little over a week ago we were invited to a JDRF (Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation) family night. We had heard about the JDRF before, through our Diabetic education classes. At Family Night we learned that The JDRF is the #1 non-profit funder of diabetes research worldwide. One of JDRF’s largest fundraising events is the “Walk to Cure Diabetes. This year will be our first year to participate in this wonderful event. We have named Zack’s team name “Zack’s Pack” and have set a goal to raise $1000.00. The walk will take place Sunday September 16th at Elitch Gardens in Denver.
We are sending out Zack’s story as one of hope. Hope to find a cure. If you would like to help with donations to this cause, or see how close we are to reaching our goal please visit the following links:
http://walk.jdrf.org/walker.cfm?id=86742468
http://walk.jdrf.org/support.cfm?id=86742468
Thanks for taking the time to read Zack’s story!
We send our love to all,
Tiffany, Steve and Zack
