T1D Diagnosis

January 6, 2020. The day that changed our lives.

3 year old, J, had been sick and not feeling well. He had been sick during Thanksgiving and more seriously ill during Christmas. The week after Christmas, J started drinking a lot of water. I mean, a lot. He was drinking about 4 times the amount of water that he normally would drink and getting anxious that he wouldn't have water. Because of the water intake, he had excessive urination - about every 20 minutes. He was also peeing out of his night time pull up/wool cover combo multiple times during the night; there was a lot of bed sheet changes. J's clothes were no longer fitting properly because he had lost weight. At one point during the week, both H (husband) and I realized that we could see J's ribs and hip bones where we could not before.

I was worried, but attributed the weight loss to his Christmas illness and the water intake to illness recovery (flushing out the system). I searched the internet for causes of J's symptoms and was concerned and frustrated with the results. We made an appointment at J's primary care clinic.

So January 6th, we go to the doctor and J is asked to pee in a cup. Getting a 3 year old to pee in a cup is a bit challenging. In between trying to pee, we see the doctor who does an initial exam. Her reaction is that J is off color and appears to have lost weight. Eventually, J does pee in the cup and the first urinalysis is quickly completed.

The doctor came back with the results and tells me that J has glucose and ketones in his urine which is indicative of Diabetes. J would be admitted to the Children's hospital for further testing.

January 6th changed our lives. Type 1 Diabetes changed our lives.