Draco’s 3 year Anniversary!

The day we headed to CHOC to admit him.

I was so excited to wish Draco Happy Diabetes Anniversary this morning!  Three years ago our life was thrown into a loop when we rushed our son to CHOC. It was a hard emotional time for our family. Counting carbs and daily shots are hard. And it’s even harder to tell your 3 year old he can’t have that sucker or that Slurpee even though everyone else is having one. And even though this is a hard thing to life with there have been many blessings!

• So thankful for the advancements in diabetes. The needles are smaller. Meters are more accurate. Insulin is better. And technology is such a blessing. Having the Calorie King app on my phone is a life saver. Food scales are amazing! I can accurately find out how many carbs are in 3.7 oz of apples. My dear friend who lost her husband to problems to diabetes tells me tales of how she would have to guess his blood sugar levels. I can’t even imagine.

• Draco is learning portions and self control. We try really hard to let him enjoy the yummy things life has to offer. We use real sugar when baking and then watch his serving size. He does such a great job with having one crepe. He gets strawberries and nutella and whip cream. Just in smaller sizes. Even though it was a hard thing to be diagnosed at 3 he is learning self control from a young age. 

After three days we were trained and ready to go home.

• Thankful for the nutrition guidelines I had before diabetes. Some people, who didn’t know about diabetes or how I fed my children, thought type 1 diabetes was a result of what I fed them. My babies don’t get sugar before their first year. And after that it isn’t all the time. My children rarely eat candy. And I watch their juice intake. Life would have been so much harder if our family was use to candy, soda, and juice. But to be honest Slurpees are still kinda hard.

The amazing Dr. Reh and my brave boy

• Great doctors! Our doctor at CHOC was so amazing! I know she loved him and cared about him. She was so great at talking to him and teaching him he was responsible for his health. She would praise my crazy picky eater when he tried a new vegetable or food. That has made going to the doctors so much easier. Which is great because we are there a lot.
• My son’s courage. He is a courageous and brave young boy. Life can be hard. And sometimes it just sucks that he can’t lick the frosting beater or get a Slurpee with everyone else. There have been lots of tears and hard times, especially when we were starting this adventure. But he has a pretty great attitude about it. He rarely complains anymore. He faces his trial with a positive attitude. It is humbling to see him give up things or take the high road. I am so proud of him. He is trying to take care of his health. And takes it pretty well when he has to wait to eat a treat or even not have certain things. I remember showing up to his Thanksgiving Feast at kindergarten. He was sitting there, dressed as a pilgrim, while everyone else was eating and laughing, waiting for me to come and test with him and give him extra insulin. He told me so many moms were trying to get him to eat. And he told them, “No, I am diabetic. I have to wait.” Diabetes is a hard thing. Especially for kids. I have heard that we may have known about the challenges we would face while we were here on earth. And it wouldn’t surprise me that in our pre-earth life if Draco volunteered  for this one. Saying, “I’ll have diabetes. I’ll take that hard challenge because I can handle that.” I am so amazed by him sometimes and the strength he has.

Draco today. 3 years with Diabetes!

• Another blessing we have gained is my son’s testimony of the Resurrection. He knows that he is going to live again. His body will be resurrected when our Savior comes again. And it will be a perfect body. And he will never have to test his blood or count carbs again. Because our Savior overcame death and was resurrected Himself, all of us will be too. And what a sweet testimony that is. I love it when he prays about his resurrected body. And as we read the New Testament and read about the miracles Christ did, I am able to tell him. “If Christ was on the earth today, I too, would seek him out. I would seek out this this Man who is healing others and performing miracles. And He would have healed you.” I know Draco felt our Saviors love and the power of the Priesthood. He knows Jesus has healed others and can heal him too. But sometimes His will is that we have these earthly experiences. I am thankful for Draco’s testimony. And I too look forward to the day when our Savior comes again and we can live together forever as a family. And he can lick the frosting beaters anytime he likes.