Last week, Tara Gray shared her story about how her daughter, Cassie, was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes in 2019. It’s now been over 5 years since Cassie’s diagnosis. For the Gray family, managing diabetes is a balancing act that involves the entire Gray family.
It takes a lot of effort for Tara and her husband, Paul, to help Cassie manage type 1 diabetes. Here’s what it’s like in Tara’s own words:
“For a disease like Type 1 diabetes that is so easily diagnosed with a finger prick, it is everything but easy. I would call it complicated, confusing, and inconsistently consistent.
Here is a little bit of what’s involved in living with this disease from the perspective of a parent.
The day-to-day for type one diabetes, is not the same for every type one diabetic.
It’s not even the same from day to day with a veteran Type 1 diabetic. It is a lot more than insulin and counting carbs to know how much insulin is needed. Every type 1 has unique insulin needs and challenges.
However, as a parent of a type one diabetic, what I want you to know is this disease is very demanding and requires a lot of maintenance. With this disease, everything is a consideration because everything affects blood sugar. Here are some stupid things that can raise or lower a blood sugar:
- Exercise
- Walking
- Heat
- Illness
- Stress hormones
- Adrenaline rush of being on a roller coaster
- That time of the month for a female
- A hot shower
The timing of the insulin when eating if the insulin beats the carbs or the carbs beat the insulin, what you’re hoping is that it all evens out eventually. You are on an imaginary seesaw, quite literally delicately trying to figure out the needs of this disease and its ever-changing math equations called life. You can have type 1 diabetes for five months or five years and for no reason what was working, and you thought you had figured out no longer works.
For example, let’s say over the past year the heat raises a type one diabetic’s blood sugar then all of a sudden, one day they go low. It's hit or miss. It’s an inconsistent, consistent disease. High blood sugar or low blood sugar can occur anytime of the day: 3 AM in the middle of a birthday party, at a wedding on a vacation at the beach.
One reason why I don’t leave my 15-year-old daughter alone at home is because she may not hear her low alert if she is sleeping or could go too low very quickly if she is asleep. It takes myself, my husband and my 15-year-old daughter that is type one to act as one organ.
I just want you to know how much work this is from day to day! You can do everything "perfect" and still be left wondering what is going on.”- Tara Cassie and Paul Gray, Full-Time Pancreas
Life is never the same for a person once they receive a diabetes diagnosis, regardless of the type. Type 1 diabetes patients typically make 180 health-related decisions every day, which impact their ability to live. Whether it's what to eat, staying active, taking insulin before meals or activities, preventing blood sugar levels from rising or falling during school or after-school activities, or even what to pack for trips, these decisions are overwhelming for children and their parents.
There’s a learning curve associated with finding the treatment and routines that work for a child with diabetes; however, following these tips and tricks can make managing diabetes less daunting for parents and caregivers:
- Take the time to learn everything about diabetes, including treatment options, blood sugar highs and lows, carb counting, ketones, dealing with sick days, and managing diabetes at school.
- Ask the child's doctor for advice and referrals when they are first diagnosed with diabetes. This includes a pediatric endocrinologist, a diabetes education specialist, a dietician/nutritionist and a therapist. These services are designed to help you and your child learn how to manage diabetes.
- As the child gets older, he or she will become increasingly responsible for managing their own diabetes care. In addition, their medical treatments may change as well. Be sure to stay in touch with the child's health care team for help with medical issues and to find support groups, summer camps, and other community resources.
- Family support is essential for people living with diabetes. Any changes in the child's behavior or difficulty sticking to their treatment plan should be reported to the child's health care team. Additionally, if the behavior or mental health of their siblings or other family members changes, please contact a mental health professional.
Enter the World Diabetes Day Giveaway
Macaroni KID Richmond is giving away 7 copies of "The Adventures of Rhodes & Alana: Bully Blues" by local authors, Rhodes and Alana Ritenour. The Adventures of Rhodes & Alana are based on their younger selves as, Rhodes navigate life with type 1 diabetes. To enter, view below:
