i met a hero today.

Her name is Kellie, and just a few short months ago, her 2-year-old son was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. At the time of his diagnosis, his blood sugar was over 1000 (normal is under 100)! The doctors couldn't explain why he wasn't comatose or dead at that point, but thankfully, he wasn't. Since then, Kellie and her family have been thrust into a nightmarish world of giving her son multiple injections each day, constantly struggling to control his sugar level, and vigilantly monitoring every morsel that enters his mouth while trying to balance his insulin dosage. Kellie came and spoke to my MOPS group today about juvenile diabetes, and she told us how before her son got his insulin pump, she had to give him as many as 8 shots a day. She said he never smiled or laughed. Since getting his pump, he has become a happier little boy, but the pump is not without problems. She told us of a time when they were in Walmart with a full cart when his pump malfunctioned. She had to abandon her cart and rush him home, and had to give him shots for the rest of the day until she could get the pump working correctly. I asked her if the pump and glucose monitor he has makes it easier to keep his sugar level in the desired range, and she said "No. It's almost impossible to keep him in the correct range. I'm lucky if he hits it a couple of times a day - the rest of the time, he's swinging between levels that are too low or too high." It's a constant struggle for them, with no break. They must be ever-vigilant, never letting their guard down. Even something as "simple" as sending her son to preschool is fraught with problems - she has had to find a teacher willing to deal with his disease and has spent hours educating this teacher on how to care for him. Her son's pediatric endocrinologist is over an hour away, and is hard to get an appointment with, since he treats so many children. They have to deal with his disease, his equipment, his sugar levels, and the accompanying problems and malfunctions on a constant basis, and Kellie never gets enough sleep. My life is a complete and total cakewalk compared to hers. For someone in her position, it would be not only easy, but totally understandable, to just circle the wagons around her own son and her own family and not worry about volunteering or reaching out in any way. But Kellie somehow finds the strength and the time to come and speak to groups like my MOPS group, and to work with the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation to raise funds for research towards a cure. She is responsible for organizing a 5K here this weekend to benefit the JDRF. She amazes me. She is my hero. Before she left today, I gave her a check and a hug, crying while I told her that she is so, so brave, and her son is lucky to have her as his mom. Just thinking about it now, I'm crying again.

Type 1 diabetes is on the rise. In recent years, the diagnosis of this disease in children aged birth-5 has skyrocketed. Here are the warning signs:
*extreme thirst
*excessive urination
*drowsiness or lethargy
*increased appetite
*sudden weight loss for no reason
*sudden vision changes
*sweet or fruity-smelling breath
*heavy or labored breathing
*stupor or unconsciousness

Unlike type 2 diabetes, which tends to develop slowly as a result of lifestyle, type 1 diabetes strikes suddenly and can have dire consequences if not caught right away. Kellie said that the only signs they had before her son's blood sugar had risen to possibly deadly levels was a week or two of frequent urination and excessive thirst.

It can be hard to spot the signs in young kids, but if you have any reason at all for concern about your child, get to the doctor right away for a blood glucose test. And if you know another mom who mentions these symptoms in her child, please share this information with her. If you're interested in making a donation to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, go to http://www.jdrf.org/. And give some extra hugs and kisses to your precious children.