Thursday, May 14, 2009

A Diagnosis

It’s Thursday morning, and we had a bewildering Wednesday. Thunder Bear had begun feeling ill Tuesday afternoon/evening. Around midnight, he began vomiting, and continued most of Wednesday. I stayed with him in our rooms while Papa Bear took the other boys back to Kennedy Space Center for a short visit. As Thunder Bear was not improving, Papa Bear took him to the local (Orlando) ER in the evening. Within a couple of hours, our little Thunder Bear was diagnosed with Juvenile Onset (Type I) Diabetes. Needless to say, this was a shock.

Thunder Bear was transferred to the Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children, where I joined him around midnight to give Papa Bear time to rest and spend time with the other boys. (Thank you, nurse Scott, for taking such good care of us). By the time IV treatment had been started on Wednesday, Thunder Bear’s blood sugar had spiked above 500, but he responded very well to treatment. By this morning at 8:00, his blood sugar had dropped to 238, which is right where Doctor Banks, our endocrinologist, wants it to be at this stage of treatment. He looks and is feeling better this morning, though still very tired and a little nauseous. Our day nurse, Maureen, hopes he will be feeling well enough to get up and around a bit this afternoon, and possibly spend some time in the play room with the play therapist. The plan is to keep him on IV insulin until around dinnertime, at which point the nurses will train me to test and administer his on-going care. I will probably be meeting with the nutritionist today, and the diabetes educator tomorrow. We are hoping he will be released from the hospital tomorrow (Friday), and that we can return home on Saturday as planned.

I will continue to post updates here as events unfold.

5 comments:

  1. Oh, Monique, I am so sorry this happened. What a shock. Glad you have got good care for him there. My dear friend (who lives in Sugar Hill) has 20 yr old daughter who has Juv. Diabetes since she was 8 yrs old so I can put you in touch with her later. WOW! Thinking of you so much today. Tell W. we are thinking about him too and hope he feels better soon. Hope to see you back home soon... we miss you guys. Feel better Thunder Bear!!!!!

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  2. Holy smokes! I'm floored. I'm so sorry- at least it sounds like you have good care and will get the information you need. We're thinking of you all, and hope Thunderbear feels better soon. Good luck, and don't forget to rest.

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  3. Oh my goodness! I'm so sorry you have to be dealing with this. It's a good thing you reacted so quickly! I hope his adjustment period isn't too hard, and he feels better soon.

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  4. Bless his little heart! And yours and the whole family, too. Big hugs for for your little bear, and we are wrapping him up in love and light.

    All our love, Teri

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  5. Sorry to hear about this. I hope the transition while dealing with this is not too severe for him or the family.
    Best of luck-charlene

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