This story was originally published on the Woolworths Baby and Toddler Club website.
The weeks and months after diagnosis of type 1 diabetes can be hard for families. Jamie shares his story about daughter Alannah’s diagnosis two months ago.
A ‘quick check-up’ with our GP meant our world changed forever. Until that point it had been easy to take each day for granted – family outings, meals, celebrations and good health.
Both my wife and I lead an active and healthy life with our two wonderful children. As an Ironman, keeping fit and healthy has been of utmost importance for as long as I can remember and I’m proud that our children, aged two and four, are following suit.
One morning, a call from my wife left me in a state of denial and confusion. Our GP had sent our two-year-old daughter Alannah to Sydney Children’s Hospital at Randwick suspecting type 1 diabetes.
In the week prior, Alannah had started wetting the bed – something she had long grown out of. We also noticed that she was overly thirsty. I remember dismissing it, until one night she woke up, calling for water and continued to drink a whole bottle in one go.
“Diabetes? Are you sure? I’m sure he is mistaken, and what does type 1 mean?” I questioned my wife. I was in absolute disbelief. After a long afternoon in emergency, it was confirmed, our two-and-a-half-year-old had type 1 diabetes.
Nothing to do with health, diet or lifestyle, as I had naively believed; diabetes is a life-long autoimmune disease that usually occurs in childhood and affects more than 122,000 people in Australia alone. Type 1 diabetes is caused by the body’s immune system mistakenly turning itself on, destroying beta cells within the pancreas removing its ability to produce insulin.
Two months into Alannah’s life-long journey, and it pains me every time we need to prick her finger, or give one of her four insulin injections each day. To see such a beautiful little child have to go through that, knowing it is for the rest of her life, is extremely hard to grasp.
Alannah is adapting to her new way of life and is amazingly strong. She still bounces around like a bubbly toddler, annoys her big brother and tests our patience!
This recent experience reminded me once again to live it to its fullest and take nothing for granted. It’s been comforting to learn how much support there is for diabetes sufferers and their families. In time, we look forward to getting involved with JDRF Australia who have been doing some amazing research work on type 1 diabetes for decades.