November is Diabetes Awareness Month.
My son, Riley, as well as countless children and adults have to struggle daily to live with diabetes.Although there are two types of diabetes they are quite different. Type 1 Diabetes is an autoimmune disease where a virus mimics the pancreas, and as a result, the body attacks the pancreas and renders it useless to produce insulin. Type 2 Diabetes is the body’s inability to produce insulin effectively due to a number of reasons.
My son, Riley, as well as countless children and adults have to struggle daily to live with diabetes.Although there are two types of diabetes they are quite different. Type 1 Diabetes is an autoimmune disease where a virus mimics the pancreas, and as a result, the body attacks the pancreas and renders it useless to produce insulin. Type 2 Diabetes is the body’s inability to produce insulin effectively due to a number of reasons.
Unlike Type 2, as of now, there is no way to prevent Type 1 Diabetes, no way to reverse it, and there is no cure. Unfortunately, both types have stereotypes and misinformation attached to them. November is an opportunity to educate the public and campaign for a cure. Here’s our story…
It was Labor Day weekend, 2007…one of the hottest I can remember.
I decided to take my two young kids to the mall to get out of the house and use someone else’s air conditioning. Riley, my six year old son, kept having to go to the bathroom. At first, I thought it was due to all the bottled water both he and his older sister were drinking. However, after the fifth trip to the bathroom in a little over an hour, I started getting irritated. “Riley! Again?! I cannot believe that you have to go that badly!” Sure enough, as I listening at the bathroom door, he was urinating as if he had been holding it for hours. Hmmm…clearly he had been drinking too much water! So, I stopped letting him drink and decided to head home. I mentioned his odd behavior to my husband on the phone that night, and we both decided he might have a bladder/urinary tract infection. I decided to take him to the the doctor first thing the next morning.
After the doctor examined him, heard his symptoms, she agreed that he might have a bladder/urinary tract infection. She had him submit a urine sample and told us she would call us with the results. We pulled in our driveway at home and my cell phone rang. It was the doctor. She said to come back right away; that they needed to run more tests. Needless to say, I was scared. No doctor calls personally to ask you to come back to the hospital to run more tests, if the news is good.
When we came to the office window, the nurse immediately ushered us back to the doctor’s private office. The doctor wouldn’t make eye contact with me at first. She came out from behind her desk, put her arm on my shoulder and uttered the words that would change our lives forever…”I’m so sorry…but your son has Type 1 Diabetes…” When I say the world stopped turning, and everything went into slow motion, I’m not exaggerating…even a little. I had no real understanding of the depth of what “having Type 1 Diabetes” meant. I mean, I heard about how sugar causes diabetes…how diabetics have to take shots…and how their limbs have to be cut off…is THIS what my child has??? I burst into tears…and continued sobbing until I realized my sweet son was staring at me completely baffled at what was happening. I shut off the waterworks immediately and asked the doctor what was next. He was admitted to the hospital and efforts were begun to get a handle on this new diagnosis.
At this point, my son looked and acted like any normal six year old boy. He was active, silly, loved to eat, sleep, and was a mama’s boy. You would never know he had a chronic disease…unless you looked at little closer…unless you knew the signs and symptoms. As my husband and I became more educated about Type 1, we could look at our son through different eyes. The fact that he looked SO THIN in the new pajamas we bought on our way to the hospital, because he lost weight…or the fact that he had wet the bed twice a week or so before, out of nowhere…or the fact that he was ALWAYS thirsty….or even the fact that he ALWAYS took naps…should have given us a clue that something was wrong. But, we didn’t know.
His doctors said that we “caught it early,” before any real damage was done to his body. That was by the grace of God. Had we not gone to the mall that day, we may not have figured things out until he had a medical emergency. During the four days Riley was hospitalized, we learned everything we needed to know to keep him alive. We also learned that Type 1 has ZERO to do with how much sugar Riley ate or whether or not he was overweight. Type 1, unlike Type 2 diabetes, is an autoimmune disease that Riley had not control over. To say that I was afraid to bring him home, is an understatement. Giving my six year old shots…four to five times a day…as he was screaming for me to stop…as well as the painful finger pricks to test his blood sugar several times a day…was more than my heart could bear. Getting a crash course in nutrition, the glycemic index, carbohydrates vs proteins, definitely threw me over the edge. I prayed…a lot. I prayed for God to give us the strength to tackle this disease…no matter how impossible it seemed.
After the initial few months of adjustment, we definitely went into “business mode.” Got down our routines, figured out what foods affected his blood sugar the most, and educated our inner circle about Type 1 and how to take care of Riley. Riley also desired to take more control over the areas of his disease that he could. He insisted, only after a few months, to learn how to test his blood sugar himself, as well as give himself shots. He was incredibly brave for being such a young boy with a chronic disease.
Food intake is not the only thing that affects blood sugars. Stress, emotions, hormones, even weather and altitude, all affect blood sugar. As Riley entered puberty, his once “manageable” blood sugars became more and more difficult to maintain.
8th Grade Cotillion
Thanks to Apollo, as well as other tools, Riley has been able to lead a very full life. He is now 16 years old, is on his the path to get his driver’s license, and plays water polo at Santiago High School. Type 1 Diabetes is still a daily challenge, but he and Apollo are working hard to keep Riley healthy. They are an amazing team.
After the doctor examined him, heard his symptoms, she agreed that he might have a bladder/urinary tract infection. She had him submit a urine sample and told us she would call us with the results. We pulled in our driveway at home and my cell phone rang. It was the doctor. She said to come back right away; that they needed to run more tests. Needless to say, I was scared. No doctor calls personally to ask you to come back to the hospital to run more tests, if the news is good.
When we came to the office window, the nurse immediately ushered us back to the doctor’s private office. The doctor wouldn’t make eye contact with me at first. She came out from behind her desk, put her arm on my shoulder and uttered the words that would change our lives forever…”I’m so sorry…but your son has Type 1 Diabetes…” When I say the world stopped turning, and everything went into slow motion, I’m not exaggerating…even a little. I had no real understanding of the depth of what “having Type 1 Diabetes” meant. I mean, I heard about how sugar causes diabetes…how diabetics have to take shots…and how their limbs have to be cut off…is THIS what my child has??? I burst into tears…and continued sobbing until I realized my sweet son was staring at me completely baffled at what was happening. I shut off the waterworks immediately and asked the doctor what was next. He was admitted to the hospital and efforts were begun to get a handle on this new diagnosis.
At this point, my son looked and acted like any normal six year old boy. He was active, silly, loved to eat, sleep, and was a mama’s boy. You would never know he had a chronic disease…unless you looked at little closer…unless you knew the signs and symptoms. As my husband and I became more educated about Type 1, we could look at our son through different eyes. The fact that he looked SO THIN in the new pajamas we bought on our way to the hospital, because he lost weight…or the fact that he had wet the bed twice a week or so before, out of nowhere…or the fact that he was ALWAYS thirsty….or even the fact that he ALWAYS took naps…should have given us a clue that something was wrong. But, we didn’t know.
His doctors said that we “caught it early,” before any real damage was done to his body. That was by the grace of God. Had we not gone to the mall that day, we may not have figured things out until he had a medical emergency. During the four days Riley was hospitalized, we learned everything we needed to know to keep him alive. We also learned that Type 1 has ZERO to do with how much sugar Riley ate or whether or not he was overweight. Type 1, unlike Type 2 diabetes, is an autoimmune disease that Riley had not control over. To say that I was afraid to bring him home, is an understatement. Giving my six year old shots…four to five times a day…as he was screaming for me to stop…as well as the painful finger pricks to test his blood sugar several times a day…was more than my heart could bear. Getting a crash course in nutrition, the glycemic index, carbohydrates vs proteins, definitely threw me over the edge. I prayed…a lot. I prayed for God to give us the strength to tackle this disease…no matter how impossible it seemed.
After the initial few months of adjustment, we definitely went into “business mode.” Got down our routines, figured out what foods affected his blood sugar the most, and educated our inner circle about Type 1 and how to take care of Riley. Riley also desired to take more control over the areas of his disease that he could. He insisted, only after a few months, to learn how to test his blood sugar himself, as well as give himself shots. He was incredibly brave for being such a young boy with a chronic disease.
Food intake is not the only thing that affects blood sugars. Stress, emotions, hormones, even weather and altitude, all affect blood sugar. As Riley entered puberty, his once “manageable” blood sugars became more and more difficult to maintain.
The hormonal and emotional changes that he could not control, where affecting more than just his blood sugars. He stopped being able to feel his lows until he was dangerously low, and couldn’t feel his highs at all. He was becoming more and more discouraged.
Then, through a series of events that I can describe only as orchestrated by God, we were introduced to the DAD (Diabetic Alert Dog) world. A good friend’s mom was a trainer for Canine Hope for Diabetics, and told us to come to a training session to see these amazing dogs work. Since Riley loved dogs, we thought this might be exactly what he needed.
Our first visit changed our lives forever. The “hopefuls”, as their puppies in training are called, were whining and sniffing the air. All of the Type 1 Diabetics in the room tested their blood sugar, and all were in range…except for Riley. His blood sugar was high and had the pups not alerted, we wouldn’t have tested for another hour. This alert allowed us to be able to give him insulin to bring his blood sugar down before it got dangerously high. Riley had no idea he was high. These dogs, although still in training, were able to help keep Riley out of danger. We cried…and decided right then that this was the answer to the partner he needed to fight this lifelong battle.
When we joined Canine Hope to pursue getting a DAD, we thought it was to add a service dog to our family. We had no idea we would gain a support system that we so desperately needed. The families of Canine Hope have provided friendship, encouragement, and invaluable information in managing this disease. Crystal, the founder, and the other trainers, spent hours showing us how to properly handle a service dog as well as encourage us in the process.
Our first visit changed our lives forever. The “hopefuls”, as their puppies in training are called, were whining and sniffing the air. All of the Type 1 Diabetics in the room tested their blood sugar, and all were in range…except for Riley. His blood sugar was high and had the pups not alerted, we wouldn’t have tested for another hour. This alert allowed us to be able to give him insulin to bring his blood sugar down before it got dangerously high. Riley had no idea he was high. These dogs, although still in training, were able to help keep Riley out of danger. We cried…and decided right then that this was the answer to the partner he needed to fight this lifelong battle.
When we joined Canine Hope to pursue getting a DAD, we thought it was to add a service dog to our family. We had no idea we would gain a support system that we so desperately needed. The families of Canine Hope have provided friendship, encouragement, and invaluable information in managing this disease. Crystal, the founder, and the other trainers, spent hours showing us how to properly handle a service dog as well as encourage us in the process.
After several months of training with many “hopefuls,” Riley was matched with Apollo, a beautiful yellow labrador retriever. That was almost three years ago. Apollo is Riley, in the form of a dog. He is goofy, smart, loyal, thrives on the affection of Riley, and is dedicated to alerting to his out of range blood sugars. Apollo is able to do this through scent. He was trained using low blood sugar samples from Type 1 Diabetics. He has been trained to alert to blood sugars 85 and below and 160 and above. He is extremely accurate. In fact, we are constantly in awe of Apollo. Due to his special training, Apollo is able to go to school (and any public access locations) with Riley full time. Thankfully, he has been well received by teachers, staff, and students.
8th Grade Cotillion
Thanks to Apollo, as well as other tools, Riley has been able to lead a very full life. He is now 16 years old, is on his the path to get his driver’s license, and plays water polo at Santiago High School. Type 1 Diabetes is still a daily challenge, but he and Apollo are working hard to keep Riley healthy. They are an amazing team.
I can’t believe it’s been almost ten years since his diagnosis. I wouldn’t wish this journey on anyone. However, after choosing to be silent and just cope with this disease for most of these past ten years, we decided to start sharing our experience with Type 1, hoping to bring awareness to this disease, and debunk stereotypes. Riley and Apollo represent a huge community of children and adults who fight daily to maintain their health. They also represent those who were lost because of misdiagnosis at the onset of the disease. PLEASE! Know the signs and symptoms…excessive thirst, frequent urination, lethargic, increased appetite, sudden weight loss, nausea/vomiting. Type 1 can mask itself as the flu. If you, or someone you know is experiencing these symptoms, insist on a blood sugar test. It just takes one finger prick test to rule out or diagnose Type 1. It’s worth the test to know for sure.
*Follow us on Facebook at Hope For Riley, A Diabetic Alert Dog for Ry or on Instagram @_hope_for_riley
*Follow us on Facebook at Hope For Riley, A Diabetic Alert Dog for Ry or on Instagram @_hope_for_riley
