On Saturday, April 21, Aaron came into my room and said he needed to use our bathroom because Sadie was in theirs. This happens occasionally, and he just said it as he walked past me into our bathroom. When he came out, he casually mentioned that he was having to go to the bathroom "like, all the time." As a nurse, and a sister of a diabetic, this caught my attention immediately, and my mind went into panic mode. But I used all my power to keep a calm face and tone as I asked him "Well, are you drinking more?' His response caused even further panic in me. He said, "Yeah, I'm thirsty all the time." Frequent urination and increased thirst are 2 of the tell-tale signs of diabetes. But I still tried to keep a calm façade for Aaron. We visited about it a little more, and he said he was even having to wake up a few times each night to go to the bathroom.
I MADE myself not react to all of this. You see, when he was younger (like 4 or 5), I had tested his blood sugar I think 3 different times, each time because I was convinced he was diabetic. And his blood sugar was always fine. So I decided that this was probably just the same, and decided to wait a few days and see if anything changed. Each day, I would ask him the same questions: Are you still having to pee a lot? Did you have to wake up to go to the bathroom last night? How many times?
After school on Monday, 4/23, when he was still answering yes to those questions, I told him we needed to check his blood sugar. I told him he needed to go to Granny's house and ask to borrow her glucometer so we could check. He said he didn't want to do that, so I told him I would have Toby go get it the next day, and we would check it right after school Tuesday. I told him not to have anything to eat or drink after lunch that day, and to come straight home.
So Tuesday afternoon, Toby went to his mom's to get the glucometer. He also ran a few errands for her before he came home with it. So it was about 4:45 when we finally tested his BS. As soon as we pricked his finger and put the drop of blood on the strip, the glucometer started processing. It only took a few seconds, but it felt like forever. In those few seconds, I remember thinking "it's going to be like all the other times. I've gotten myself all worked up, and watch. His BS is going to be like 80."
When his number popped up on the glucometer, my heart sank. I've heard that expression hundreds of times. I've probably even used that expression before. But this was such a literal feeling of my heart sinking into my gut.
At the same time, my heart was also in my throat. 278. Two hundred seventy-eight. Even as I type that number, my heart seems to stop beating. I am staring at that number, much as I did that afternoon. Time and world seemed to just stop...and at the same time to spin all around me.
For those of you who are not aware, a normal fasting BS is 70-110. I knew what a 278 meant. As my entire being wanted to just crumple onto the floor, my mom-sense and my nursing training kicked in. We teach our nursing students to keep their "nurse face" on, when they see something unsettling or smell something horrendous, or are there when a patient gets a life-altering diagnosis. I knew at that moment that my son was a diabetic. I knew what that meant for him. I knew how it would change his life. I didn't let any of that show on my face though. Toby asked me what we needed to do. I knew it would mean a trip to the hospital, but I wasn't sure of how we needed to proceed. So, I texted Aaron's pediatrician, who also happens to be a friend of mine. I texted her because it was close to 5:00 and I wasn't sure if the office would still be taking calls.
In the text, I explained everything that led up to us testing his BS, and told her what the number was. I asked her what she wanted us to do. She asked several questions about whether or not he was having any other symptoms, and since he was not, and did not exhibit any signs of ketoacidosis, she asked us if we could come in to the office first thing Wednesday morning, with Aaron not having eaten anything since bedtime. So that is what we did.
And with that, this post is getting pretty long. I'm going to stop for now, and will continue his story in the next post.
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