Our New Normal

So, here it is. Here we are. A week ago, just a week, I wouldn't have imagined writing this, but Life served us a giant truck load of lemons this week, and I'm struggling to figure out exactly how to turn them into lemonade. 

On Thursday afternoon Bash had a pretty basic doctor's appointment. We'd scheduled it because of a few concerns about weight gain and what I hoped was a UTI, but I think we knew better. I was hoping it was just Mommy Worries, but Michael and I had discussed the changes several times in the weeks leading up to this appointment, and we both knew his symptoms could be "something else". Really though, what are the odds?

After seeing him even the doctor said he appeared very healthy but that we'd do some blood work just in case. He said he doubted it was anything to be worried about, which gave me a crazy amount of hope. If the doctor thought it was likely nothing more than a growth spurt and UTI what did I have to be worried about? 

Less than an hour later the phone rang and I was told that the Children's ER was expecting us and to go, go now, because his blood glucose levels were dangerously high and he was spilling keytones into his urine. Michael, of course, had just left for the gym, and I spent a good 10 minutes trying to call his cell phone before it hit me that I could just call the gym and have him paged. I did that, and probably made no sense to the poor woman on the other end of the phone as I blurted out that I needed my husband now because the children's hospital was expecting us. They got him home though, and we made our way 10 minutes down the road on one of the longest drives my Mama's Heart has ever made. 

We found out that night that our son has Type 1 Diabetes, and according to his A1C, his little body had been fighting it for awhile. It just couldn't do it anymore which caused the symptoms that made us take him in. Always, ALWAYS, follow your gut and take them in! No parent wants to think about the fact that a weekend could be the difference between having their child or not, but that's where we were even though he wasn't acting particularly sick. A couple of days could have made a very big difference in what I'm writing now. A very big difference. Instead, we ended up with an amazing team of people around us that did exactly what he needed them to do, and by Friday morning Michael and I were at the Barbara Davis Center for Diabetes (one of the best centers in the country) learning how to be an effective pancreas for our child. 

It's still very new, and very raw, but we're figuring out our new normal, and learning a LOT about diabetes. Bash, of course, is doing better than either of us, and he thinks his new necklace is about the coolest thing ever. I imagine this won't be the last I post about this, because it's our life now, but it won't all be fear and uncertainty. We will make lemonade out of this, and my son will drink it with us! He's going to rock this. I have no doubt.