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Wednesday, 30 April 2008 |
Jennifer Larson
Community Editor
All too often people talk about taking things for granted. Well, how about something as simple as eating?
DeAnn Mayer said it has been a daily struggle since Kennedy, her five-year-old daughter, was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes in July. She said the Forest Lake family was very naive about its devastating effects until they were personally affected.
Type 1 diabetics don’t produce insulin, which is needed to convert sugar, starches and other food into energy. For that reason, daily shots of insulin are required to live.
The difference between Type 1 and 2 is great, as the latter of the two can manage the disease with diet and exercise.
“She has to get enough insulin but not too much,” said Mayer.
She noted that Kennedy went from having a care-free life to a very controlled and carefully managed routine.
Mayer said that Kennedy’s blood sugar needs to be tested approximately eight times per day, about every three hours. That includes a minimum of two middle-of-the-night checks done by Mayer and her husband, Rob.
The couple has two other children; Cole, 11, and Jacob, 3.
Mayer said anything Kennedy puts into her body – whether beverages or food – has to be weighed and measured because all of the carbohydrates consumed must be “covered by insulin.” And nutrition labels are read cautiously, added Mayer.
Outings like meals at restaurants or even watching her brother’s baseball game are made difficult by Kennedy being a diabetic, said Mayer. Necessary hassles due to the lifelong illness really limit what the family has done over the past several months.
“It’s just been a life adjustment,” said Mayer. “It’s a disease you have to manage closely.”
It’s not only a change for Kennedy and her parents. Mayer’s other children don’t eat sugary snacks in front of their sister as she cannot eat them.
Mayer said her oldest son Cole also received training on caring for a diabetic, which is a tremendous help.
“It’s changed us all,” she said.
Looking back, Mayer said there were signs that something was wrong with Kennedy’s health. She said there were symptoms of frequent urination and constant thirst and hunger – what Mayer believed was typical of a growing child.
But soon after returning home from a trip to visit relatives in North Dakota, doctors diagnosed Kennedy as a Type 1 diabetic.
During the first three months she was living with the disease, Mayer said Kennedy endured 593 finger pokes to test her blood sugar as well as 432 shots of insulin administered.
Mayer said she thinks of how a parent dreads bringing their child to the physician for immunizations. The fear, pain and anguish lasts for a brief time, but for Type 1 diabetics it is a daily occurrence.
“Kennedy gets tired of it – yet she already knows it’s part of her routine,” said Mayer.
Today, the preschooler uses an insulin pump, which is implanted under her skin on the lower back. Mayer added that the page size pump provides accurate doses of insulin 24/7 similar to an IV.
She said Kennedy is enrolled at Forest Lake Elementary and will attend the school this fall. She will attend full day kindergarten every other day. Her parents will be meeting with the nursing staff to make a plan of Kennedy’s medical disability.
“It’s scary that somebody else has to be responsible to check her blood sugar, and know what to do if she is too high or too low,” said Mayer.
On Jan. 19, the family participated in the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) Walk-For-A-Cure at the Mall of America with an estimated 18,000 other people.
The Mayer’s raised a total of $1,420 for the walk. The JDRF is the largest charitable funder of Type 1 diabetes worldwide. The event raised $1.6 million, with donations still coming in.
While it was great to see thousands fighing for a cure, Mayer said it was also bittersweet.
“It was emotional to see how many kids struggle with it (diabetes),” she said.
For more information, visit www.jdrf.org.
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