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The Other Side Of The Diagnosis Part 1

© Jeni Tambush

Once the immune system begins to produce islet cell antibodies, insulin production is markedly reduced or halted all together and the patient must immediately begin to supplement their own naturally produced insulin with manufactured insulin. Changes in diet and exercise are also a major part in the diabetes regiment that must be followed by the newly diagnosed. As complicated as life can become for someone just diagnosed with type I diabetes, there is still another side of the diagnosis, the emotional side.

I was reminded of this by a recent trip to our pediatrician's office when my son had to be seen for a routine visit. As we sat in the waiting room, a mother struggled with her young daughter who was about five years old, the same age that my son was when he was diagnosed with juvenile diabetes. The little girl was there for vaccinations and she knew that a shot was in store for her and she wanted no part of it. Her reaction was typical for any five year old, unless the five year old has juvenile diabetes. She went from sniffling in the waiting room to a loud screaming wail as she was led back to the examination room. Minutes later she appeared back in the waiting room with her trophies of stickers for being brave as tears still trickled down her cheeks while her mother made promises of a special lunch out to make it up to her. For a minute a strange feeling of envy for the little girl and her mother came over me as I remembered a long ago past when my son also used to cry at the thought of a needle.

The initial diagnosis of juvenile diabetes and all that it entails is usually lost on most children under eight or so. Syringes and needles aren't seen as life saving to a young child but rather they're seen as instruments of pain and torture during the first weeks and months after diagnosis. Suddenly the person that has always nurtured and protected them is the very one now standing there with a syringe or lance in their hand. This same person is also the one that now insists on an unyielding schedule and imposes restrictions on their favorite foods. Worse yet, all of this bad stuff now happens several times a day, EVERY DAY.

It stands to reason that the younger the child, the more confused and bewildered they would be. As patient as a parent or caretaker may be in trying to explain the disease and the regiment to the child, the child is still going to question 'why is this happening to me?' or at least question 'why?' During the first week after my son's diagnosis, the most painful times for me as his mother were when he would run sobbing from me, screaming 'why do you want to hurt me?' Often after an injection or a finger stick my son would crawl up into my lap and we would both cry together, both of us wondering why.

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