Moments In Time
A mother's journey through the moment that changed everything: discovering her son's Type 1 diabetes diagnosis and learning to thrive in its wake.
There is that moment in time when you feel lost. That moment when you feel scared and confused. That moment when you feel out of control and helpless. That moment—that moment, that moment, that moment.
That moment in time when you see your child or a loved one in distress and there is nothing you can do. Nothing you can say to change the situation. Nothing that can make them feel better—because in that moment, you are lost, scared, confused, out of control, and helpless. You are all of those things in the same instant.
I would not have believed it was possible for one person to feel so many emotions at once if I had not experienced it myself 25 years ago. But you can—and I did. In a single moment, I felt every one of those emotions.
Why?
Because I heard the words:
"Your child’s blood sugar level is 585, and he is diabetic. If you had not brought him in today, he would have died in his sleep from a diabetic coma."
Yes, you read that right. That is exactly what I was told. And that is when all of those emotions collided in one single moment in time.
The realization that something is wrong with your child—while having no real understanding of what the words mean when you first hear them—can ignite a flood of emotions. To say that hearing the doctor diagnose my son with Type 1 diabetes was frightening would be an understatement. Once I calmed down enough for him to explain that it was Type 1 (and that there is a difference between Type 1 and Type 2), the weight of the diagnosis fully settled in.
This was not something that could be fixed with a prescription, an over-the-counter supplement, or a simple diet change. No—Type 1 diabetes is something that will travel with your child for the rest of their life. There is nothing you can do to take it away, change it, or stop it from living in their body.
Instead, it is something you learn to cope with, manage, master, and live with—and teach your child how to thrive in spite of it. And that is exactly what my family did after the initial shock and the long, overwhelming period between diagnosis (which felt like forever) and stabilization through treatment.
Taking on a Whole New Language
I remember those moments and the whirlwind of emotions I felt all at once. It was like learning an entirely new language.
It began with a long day of discovery—the diagnosis—followed by a long night of immediate treatment during a hospital stay, and then several days of education as we learned how to, in essence, take care of our child in a whole new way.
That experience truly was one long day that turned into a long night, which then became several days. But we got through it. And moving forward—choosing to move forward—is exactly what I aimed to promote in 585.
The Book
585: The Number That Changed Our Lives reflects the moments in time that sometimes suspended me in place, propelled me forward, or made me wish I could go backward. Moments that, over time, became part of me, part of my son, and part of our entire family.
These are moments that force you to see that even in hard times—even in moments filled with uncertainty—there is hope, healing, good health, and first, foremost, and always: love.
It took me a long time—over 15 years—to decide to share our journey with the world. In 2006, I self-published a book of poems and brief essays about raising a child with Type 1 diabetes. That book did not remain available for long; I unpublished it, locked it away, and moved on.
Now, 18 years later, I am finally ready—not only to share my story, but to stand behind it. I have recently self-published it once again.
585: The Number That Changed Our Lives is an open and honest memoir recounting my experience as the mother of a child with Type 1 diabetes. Within its pages, you will read about the raw emotions I experienced upon my son’s diagnosis, the impact it had on my life and my husband’s life, and—most importantly—how it affected our son.
The book also offers insight into what it is like to raise a child with Type 1 diabetes, along with inspiration and practical knowledge for managing the condition. Completing this book has been a long time coming, which is why I am excited to share that 585: The Number That Changed Our Lives is now available for purchase at Lulu.com.
If you have enjoyed reading this article, please consider sharing it with anyone you know who is living with Type 1 diabetes—whether they have it themselves, are raising a child with it, or know someone who is. There may be a small gem of information within these words that helps make their journey a little easier—and that has always been my goal.
