Tiffany's Parents
"This can't be happening to us!" Why? "There must be a mistake!"Those were our thoughts on that fateful day: November 25, 1996, a day that would change our lives forever.
Our daughter, Tiffany was 10 years old when she was diagnosed with juvenile diabetes. She is an only child. With no history of diabetes in either of our families, it came as quite a shock. We weren't even sure what diabetes was all about. After getting over our initial reaction, we formulated a game plan. The diabetes would become for us a family disease and by all of us working together, we would not let diabetes control our lives.
First and foremost, we had to increase our knowledge of this disease. Countless hours were spent inhaling everything we could about diabetes. At times, it seemed overwhelming trying to digest all the facts. We were on an emotional roller coaster. Why our little girl? Why us? What did we do to deserve this?
In this kind of situation, you finally come to a realization that no matter what you hope or wish for, this is the hand you've been dealt so make the most of it. We have.
We are very fortunate to have been blessed with such a fine young lady as Tiffany. She has accepted her disease and has incorporated its treatment into her daily life. She has matured immensely since her diagnosis and is a very responsible and caring individual. She enjoys sports of all kinds and is a constant honor student at school. We are very proud of her. She monitors her sugars and administers her own insulin shots, and she has done this since day one.
Our feelings toward diabetes are hard to swallow at times. You wish that it was you, not her, that was insulin dependent. It is very painful to watch a young, fun-loving, not-a-care-in-the-world youngster suddenly transform into a young adult with a tremendous burden to carry. Not a day goes by without this weighing on your mind.
Your child always relies on you to fix any problem or soothe any pain. It's a helpless feeling knowing this is one "problem" that you can't fix.
Tiffany has to count every carbohydrate that she eats. She has 1:8 ratio for breakfast; meaning for every 8 grams of carbs she eats she takes one unit of insulin. Then at lunch and dinner the ratio changes to 1:10. So every time she eats she has to stop and figure out what she has for carbs and take her insulin accordingly. Plus, she takes a long-lasting insulin in the morning and evening.
Keeping her blood sugar "in the range" is a constant balancing act, especially since she's an adolescent and is going through all the hormonal changes. Her sugar is constantly changing without a rhyme or reason. The doctors tell us it will be difficult to manage over the next 4-5 years, because of all the hormonal changes a teenager goes through and also because of the fact that activity level is such a big factor in blood sugar levels and kids are never on a set regimen.
We are very grateful for support from family and friends. The staff at Dartmouth-Hitchcock has done an outstanding job. The nurse coordinator is a godsend. Without her support and knowledge, we would be lost.
Tiffany's health and well-being are our major concern in life. Regulating her sugars now will help to protect her from complications later.
People say that something good always comes from something bad. We think that diabetes has made us a strong, close family unit. And we believe that Tiffany will be a strong person in her life endeavors as a result of her diabetes.