I can't sit still when I get bad news.
My husband should know this and yet he told me to sit down.
He had just talked to the doctor about our son's blood test results. I was hoping for the standard "you're out of your mind and worry too much, Shanon" and instead was told that they were waiting for us at Dell Children's hospital emergency room.
It all started with a search on Google. My son was losing weight. I noticed the weight loss and had a nagging feeling that something wasn't right. I was hoping it was the scout camps and pioneer Trek that he had been on.
I made my son get on the scales. He rolled his eyes at me and complained. He had lost 16 pounds in 6 weeks! I interrogated him. Are you trying to lose weight? Has anyone said anything to you about your weight? Are you feeling sick? Are you taking drugs (I was talking over-the-counter)? Are you making yourself throw up? He rolled his eyes at me again and said "moommm...I don't have an eating disorder! Throwing up is gross! I eat all the time! And NO...I'm not doing drugs!!!"
Wait...why did he mention drugs?
"Moommmmm....doing drugs is stupid!!!"
He also had "fruity" breath. It wasn't bad breath...just an odd fruity smell. The only other thing he said was that he was thirsty and going to the bathroom a lot.
So I googled it and came up with a diagnosis that scared me. This was on a Friday night. We were supposed to leave for vacation on Sunday. I told my husband my fears and said that I didn't think we should go on our vacation until we took him to a doctor. Gary is an eternal optimist. He doesn't worry about things until he needs to. This was on his list of "I'll worry about this when we get back."
I didn't feel like we could wait until we got back but I pulled the "FINE! You hold the priesthood so I'll trust you" card. He absolutely loves it when I do that! Not really...I think it kind of annoys him. I thought we decided we would wait until we got back. He thought we decided that we would take him to the doctor to ease my fears but boy was it going to set us back a few hours.
What we had was a lack of communication!
I went to bed feeling uneasy while he started snoring as soon as his head hit the pillow.
Does anyone else feel the need to smack their husband when that happens or is it just me?!
Sorry...what was I saying?!
Oh, yeah, we went to sleep. I had a dream. We were camping and something happened to my kids. I don't really remember all the details except that I was being yelled at by my bishop. He was telling me that I had been entrusted to take care of my children. I had the power to receive inspiration on their behalf even though I don't hold the priesthood! I was crying and he was just so annoyed with me! I woke up feeling like my life was about to change.
Gary woke up a few minutes after that and felt like it was really important to get Jared to the doctor before we left. So he took Jared at 8am when the office opened. When he got there the receptionist told him that he had to have an appointment and said she would see if they had anything available. Wouldn't you know it?! They had an 8:10 am opening!
Gary told the doctor that I was worried about diabetes. She asked him if he was as worried as I was and he said that he wasn't. The doctor said he seemed healthy but they would do some blood work and try to get it rushed so we could go on our vacation without worrying. Jared came home complaining about all the blood that they had taken. I told Gary about my dream and cried.
We were walking into the library when Gary's phone rang. I took Carson inside while he talked to the doctor.
Then he came in and told me to sit down. The doctor told him that his wife was right...how often does that happen?! I would do a victory dance except I really didn't want to be right this time. I didn't want the doctor to tell me that my son has Type 1 Diabetes.
I was really hoping for a "you are going to drive yourself crazy with all your worrying" lecture.
We headed home from the library to get ready to go the the emergency room. I always think that when you are told to go to the ER that you should hurry. Gary decided that would be a good time to have a shower. While I was pacing around the house, I called my parents to let them know that we didn't know if or when we would be able to meet them at Lake Powell (our kids were so sad about this).
While I was talking to my mom, Gary came out of the bathroom....STILL UNSHOWERED!...to tell me to tell my mom that they were worried about diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA). He didn't bother to share that information with me. I looked it up. DKA is a medical emergency and without treatment it can lead to death! Then he walks ever so slowly back to the bathroom to have a leisurely shower!
I just want you to know that when I eventually lose my mind (oh...it's going to happen...any day now) that he will be the cause.
We made it to the hospital in time. He did not die. He does have Type 1 Diabetes. He is doing a great job managing it and doing his own shots, checking his blood sugars, and counting his carbs. He hasn't complained at all about not eating sugar. We all had to learn how to give him his shots but he prefers to do it himself because my hands shake too much.
Jared didn't mind staying in the hospital. They gave him a really cool bed. He wanted to bring it home with him but we had to leave it. He also had his Ipod so he could listen to Weird Al sing a song about his pancreas...ha ha, get it?! They told him he could go on his vacation as soon as he got rid of all the ketones in his urine. I have never seen a kid drink so much fluid! He was a boy on a mission I tell ya'. It took longer than they thought it would and I was teasing him that even his ketones were stubborn! He eventually got them under control so we were able to go on our vacation.
I am handling the news by going into denial and only eating sugar. I think that is a pretty mature way to handle the situation. Don't you?! My sugar choice at the moment is Pretzel M&Ms...just in case you want to contribute to my mental health fund.
I'm not sure how much more summer fun I can handle.
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