Monday, Spencer had his first ambulance ride. Poor Spencer has been suffering from "ketoacidosis" (a very serious condition in the body caused by untreated Type I diabetes) for about two months. Even though he had almost every symptom of this condition (increased thirst, increased hunger, increased urination, weight loss (he had lost 20+ lbs. in a very short amount of time) it took us a few months to wake up and realize the severity of the symptoms we were seeing. By the time he was seen by the clinic, his blood sugar was at 586 and he had the more advanced stages of "ketoacidosis"--weakness and fatigue, fast, deep breathing, and slow or confused thinking. After they received his test results back from the lab, we were immediately called back to the hospital where he was started on iv's to combat this condition and he was taken by ambulance to Primary Children's Medical Center in Salt Lake City where we have been able to get his body back in balance and receive a completely overwhelming education about our new life. Even though this situation has added greatly to our already "full plate" I feel that we have much to be grateful for.
First of all, we were seen by an excellent nurse practioner at our local clinic who was very knowledgeable about this condition and very helpful in helping us deal with this situation. We also had the very unusual privilege and blessing of having Spencer transported in the ambulance for the 1 1/2 hr. ride by his aunt and uncle who are both emt's. This was a great comfort to us and Spencer at a very stressful time and we are very grateful to them for arranging their very hectic schedules to be there for us.
Secondly, I feel blessed that this is a treatable disease. As our family has experienced, nothing is more devastating than receiving a diagnosis of a disease that has no cure or treatment.
Third, I wouldn't pick any of our children to have this disease, but if I had to pick one that would handle it with flying colors it would be my Spencer. He is such a responsible and conscious boy. Infact, I am confident that he will be correcting me if we are not managing his diabetes exactly how we have been taught. Essentially his pancreas (an organ in the body that is responsible for producing the hormone insulin that allows glucose to move out of your bloodstream and into your body's cells) has shut down. We will be acting as an external pancreas to give his body what it needs to function correctly. As he is a very responsible and trustworthy 13 year old, he will be able to take a large responsibility for his care that this disease will require.
Fourth, with this type of diabetes being insulin dependent Spencer can eat almost anything he wants as long as it is managed. He will be testing his blood sugar levels 4+ times per day (breakfast, lunch, dinner, and bedtime) so that he can adjust his dosages as needed. Before any meal or snack that has carbohydrates in it he has to count the number of carbohydrates he will be consuming and give his body the correct amount of insulin to process this food. It will take some time and experience to balance his blood sugars correctly and we will have to monitor and treat his low blood sugars as well as his high blood sugars. If we can prove that we can manage his condition over the next year we will be eligible for a pump which is a more convenient option for managing this disease.
Spencer is handling this diagnosis incredibly well and was such a trooper as he was turned into a "human pin cushion", especially the first night we were here and they checked his blood every hour on the hour. I really think that he is relieved to find out why his body has been struggling so much and that he finally has a way to take care of it. We all have some apologizing to do, however, as we have been teasing him about being lazy for the last little while. When he does get his body back to its optimal levels he is probably going to come back and kick all of our butts!
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