Little Man

I told myself that when the feeling hit, I would write a post about my children. One post dedicated to only telling you about that particular child.


Today, I feel the desire to tell you about my Little Man. Brace yourself. It's long but I hope you will still read it.



He is a normal 10 year old. He loves me and gets so mad at me all the time. He is the oldest so with that comes doing stuff he REALLY doesn't want to do sometimes. Please play with them outside so I can take a shower! He is extremely smart and loves to read, watch superhero movies, play video games, and talk to me in the middle of my favorite TV show when it's not commercial.



I became pregnant with him at the age of 16. I soon there after married his father. Our families were very supportive of us and really helped us along. I graduated high school a year early and 6 weeks later gave birth to my first miracle. Labor was looong and hard (I almost died) and when he finally decided to join us on the outside world, he wasn't breathing. I can say that is the most I have ever been scared in my entire life. They had to bag him for about 15 minutes and then he sat under oxygen for 45 minutes. I didn't get to hold him until after all that but when I did, it struck me just how much I truly loved him. That is such and amazing feeling. Nothing like it.



We spent days playing and doing Mommy/son things and he was truly the cutest baby ever. When he was about 10 months old, I left his father. A few weeks after that, his father left to go overseas for Army stuff. It was just me and him and I was trying to wrap my head around the fact that I was a single mother now at 18 years of age. Thank God for my parents. They helped out so much. I don't know what we would have done without them.



That next January he got sick. I took him to the doc and was told it was an ear infection. No problem, we had been through this many times before. After a few days of meds, no better and he had horrible diaper rash (first time ever). So I took him back and they told me he still had the infection and the antibiotics caused the rash. OK, I can deal with that. A few days later he was just getting worse and my Mom took him to the doc. Same story. I then started noticing that he was going threw diapers big time at night and when he woke up was screaming for water. He also wouldn't hardly eat anything and was beginning to look like a skeleton. Not good. So off we go to the doc again. This time, I stripped him down to his diaper and said, "Somethings wrong, figure it out. Run blood test or something!" So they did (I'm sure to just shut me up) and sent me home saying they would call if anything is wrong. OK, finally, maybe we can figure this out because by now, this has been going on for 2 weeks.



The day my life changed was one I will remember for the rest of my life. My Mom worked at the hospital where they ran the test and thankfully, she was friends with the woman in the lab. Mom stopped by the lab to see what was going on and the woman told her to call me and get Little Man back to the doc ASAP! She called me and told me "They think it's diabetes. Get him here now." I hung up the phone, shocked, What? Diabetes? He's not old. It's gotta be wrong. So I loaded him up and off we went.



The nurse ushered us in quickly and the doc came in and said this to me, "He had diabetes, his blood sugar is 859 and he has DKA. You have to get him to another hospital (30 minutes away) now. They are waiting on you." Then he left. Huh? What? DK what? So I called my mom freaking out and she took us to the other hospital. Called the in-laws on the way and they came up there too. As soon as we got there, the nurses took him straight to the room and started hooking him up to machines and tried to get an IV going. That took forever and they finally got one in his neck. Not what I was expecting to see my 1 and 1/2 year old going through. I was scared but not like when he was born. I was clueless.


The doc finally came in and explained. About damn time someone explained something.


He had diabetes and was extremely dehydrated because his blood sugar had gotten so high and caused there to be an acid in his body (diaper rash). OK, fix him. Then she told me it's not curable and he will have to live with daily shots of insulin. Nope, not my son. You messed up and miss diagnosed him. She told me, that is the only way possible for his blood sugar to be 859. A person that doesn't have diabetes blood sugar will run around 100. Oh.


The next few days were spent living there while they got his blood sugar back down. My Little Man was back to his normal self and I was ready for all of this to be over. Then we had to drive to Dallas and spend the week living at Children's Med Hospital to learn how to take care of him (keep him alive). I remember the drive. I was confused, mad, sad, and confused. I wanted to know how this happened. I didn't even know anyone with diabetes.



That next week was full of every emotion you can think of. I was bombarded with info and had very little sleep. I was mad at the doctors, mad at God, and mad at myself for letting this happen. At one moment, I took myself out of my little bubble and looked around. The floor he was on has all kinds of kids with different diseases. Cancer being one of them. A light went off in my head. We can treat this. He can live a normal life. It sucks, but could be worse. A lot worse. I decided then, he would be a normal kid, not a Diabetic kid. Yes, he had diabetes, but that's not who he is. And then we went home.



The next year was filled with shots, checking his blood sugar all the time, counting carbs, and trying to explain to him what was going on when I still didn't really know. I had to teach him what I was still trying to figure out. But we've made it through with only 2 seizures, really good blood sugar numbers, and learned how to be normal.


He's now ten and can check his sugar and do his shots all by himself. It's a way of life and we don't really see how life is different than other families. He doesn't feel sorry for himself and never complains about having diabetes. The only time he really says anything is when Toot pulls her pants down and asks for a shot. Then Little Man says, "Trust me, you don't want diabetes!" She doesn't see him as different or abnormal and just wants to be like him. Those are some of my proudest moments as a Mom. He has a good understanding of people with diseases or disabilities and is always kind to them even when it's not the "cool thing to do". He has made me very proud in our journey we travel everyday.

I always say "he has diabetes" in stead of "he's a diabetic". Reason is, that is not who he is. I'm not the kind of mom that goes around telling everyone I meet that he has diabetes and I usually donate to other charities more than the diabetes one. (Reason for that is I hope people donate to charities even if they don't know someone affected by the disease, so I do it.) People stare at restaurants, and he just shows off how good he is with it all. People make a big deal out of it and he tells them it's not that bad, just annoying. We don't make a big deal out of it and he is a perfectly normal, crazy, protective, smart, beautiful, caring, sensitive, joyful, happy 10 year old boy.



We later found out that the nurses at the first hospital didn't think he would even make it to the second hospital alive. At that moment, I am so glad I didn't even have a clue.


We still don't know what caused it and never will. I was mad at God for a long time, but not anymore. I realize God knew we could handle it and handle it well. We still pray everyday for a cure but until that happens, we are happy with the way life is now.



Right now, all he cares about is what video game is coming out next, just like he should.


I love him so much and he has a special place in my heart. We have grown up together. We have made it through hard times together and can get through it all. He still cuddles with me and tells me he loves me every night.




Not only is he my first born, but he's my Little Man.