Stevie - My 9th child
Fatherless at age 8, Type 1 Diabetes at 10
I was serious about getting Stevie to take responsibility for managing her diabetes right from the beginning so one of the things I did to help her was to inject along with her (with saline, not insulin). I have to admit I was terrified of the needle too but it turned out to be one of the best things I did. Stevie even turned it into a way of impressing her friends by having me inject on demand or even having one of my
Getting the Child to take Responsibility
Every year many teens and young adults with diabetes end up in emergency rooms and, unfortunately, some of them die or end up with permanent damage to organs such as their eyes or kidneys. Sometimes it's an accidental low blood sugar that gets them there but, many times, it's because they've rebelled against the discipline required to keep the disease under control. When that happens their blood sugar rises and their body begins to suffer serious and often permanent damage. This is how Stevie ended up in a coma fighting for her life. It's a process called ketoacidosis where the victim's blood literally turns to acid and begins attacking all the vital organs. The only way to prevent this is for the child to take ownership of their own disease and its management. There were three major factors that made this happen for Stevie.
Doing it with her instead of to her or for her
other children inject me. Injecting saline when she injected her insulin was just part of the picture. Fixing meals together and counting carbs together was part of it too as was letting her share in the decisions about what foods she ate and, most importantly, what she didn't eat.
Stevie has been a joy to me. It's easy to see what Stevie gets from our relationship but I've gained just as much. After losing the affections of most of my first family of 8 children through a painful divorce, Stevie has brought love, affection, and happiness once again to my home.
Diabetes Educator
Stevie sees her pediatrician on a regular basis as part of her diabetes care but she also sees someone known as a diabetes educator once a month. Our diabetes educator is not only an RN, she has Type 1 diabetes herself. The rapport between her and Stevie has been enormously influential in encouraging Stevie to do the right things.
Diabetes Camp
This is, by far, the most important thing we did. I had to pull some strings to get in on such short notice but about six weeks after her diagnosis Stevie and I went off to diabetes camp. I cannot overstate the difference diabetes camp made in Stevie. She came back a changed person and so did I. It wasn't cheap and it was 6 hours away but it was worth every penny and every minute. Diabetes camp is now a must every year regardless of the cost or distance. After Stevie's second year at diabetes camp I learned that there are state and local dollars available to help cover the cost.
Type 1 Diabetes
