In July 2022 my middle child, Teddy, was diagnosed with type-1 diabetes (T1D) at the ripe full age of seven. We’re now two years past diagnosis and it’s time I unpack this story.

I’ve condensed it as best I could and split it into 5 parts:

• Our Diagnosis
• The first 24 hours (this post)
• The first 30 days
• The first 6 months
• The first 2 years

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Learning from our care team

We were discharged by 9am the following day and immediately transferred to a classroom in the endocrinology department. Here we were educated for several hours on the most critical parts of caring for type-1 diabetes.

Within minutes of arriving, Teddy was equipped with a continuous glucose monitor (CGM). This fancy sensor automatically reports his BG values every 5 minutes. It still feels like magic to me more than 2 years later.

The care team in the Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital is absolutely top notch. We were taught how to measure carbs, how the presence of fat and protein alters the blood absorption rate of carbs, how to anticipate and correct highs and lows, and so on. We received a near-overwhelming amount of critical information.

Roughly 90 minutes into our crash course, it was time for lunch. This was where we finally had to break the news to Teddy that he would be getting another poke. And that he would keep getting them—every meal of every day—forever.

This was the first and only time he cried about his new lot in life. ?

We went home with a huge binder, a new routine, a whole host of medical supplies, and something special that I’ll come back to in a moment.

Less than an hour after we were home, Katie–who had felt a little under the weather for about 24 hours now–tested positive for Covid.

She isolated herself immediately and, just as suddenly, I was left to manage this new condition and the rest of the household solo.

A special thank you to JDRF Breakthrough T1D

And, as sad as all of this was, there were still an incredible number of beautiful moments.

The best, most stand-out memory for me in all of this was at the start of our education session, before the CGM was installed. Teddy was given a brand new teddy bear named Rufus and a backpack FULL of picture books, activities, and other points of interest for newly diagnosed children with T1D.

Every book featured a protagonists who had T1D and introduced all types of every-day heroes. As an adult my first impression was, “this feels a little heavy handed” but, for Teddy, each new story was a delightful surprise (“hey, they’re just like me!”).

It made my heart swell to see how quickly he adapted and how instrumental these stories were in shaping his understanding. We even used them when he started 2nd grade to educate his classmates on T1D.

This generous gift was provided to us through an organization named JDRF, now known as Breakthrough T1D.

In the two years that have followed, we have benefitted greatly from their efforts—ongoing education, introductions to other families living with T1D, fun and free events.

Thanks, fam!

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Continued in: My T1D Journey: The first 30 days