The Road to Recovery

I’ve shared the story of what we went through when Carter was first diagnosed with diabetes (here and here) but today I want to share what happened in the days immediately after his diagnosis, when we were still in the hospital. His condition was so bad he stayed for several weeks.

We were originally in the pediatric ICU, but eventually were transferred to a small private room. In there, Carter had a crib, a rocking chair and a tv. Kyle and I sat, slept, and ate right next to Carter. We were quite fortunate because Kyle was able to get time off from work to be with me and Carter. My mom and brother brought Norah a couple of times to see us.

The nurses would come in every two hours and check his sugar. Because he was so small they would prick his heel. Carter had bruises and his legs, ankles, and arms from all the different nurses who tried to get an IV started. He was so tired that he slept for about 12 hours. After that he would move or fuss when the nurse came in to check his sugar. I was nursing Carter so when I held him he would fuss and turn his head to nurse. It became easier for me and him to not pick him up until the doctor gave us the ok for him to eat.

We meet so many different people the first couple of days. Different nurses and doctors would come in and help us. We were given a note book with different articles on diabetes. A counselor came into our room and told us she was the person in charge of insurance. She said she would report Carter's case to CCS (California Children’s Service). I started crying because I thought she meant CPS (Child Protection Services). In a panic, I told her we didn't know he was diabetic and why did she need to report me to CPS. She smiled and put her arm around me then quickly explained what CCS was. Kyle started laughing and said, “Why did you think CPS? We didn't purposely give Carter diabetes!” I learned that CPS is a California funded program that helps families with children who need medication for life. The program helps with copays and doctor care and our counselor did all the paperwork for us so we didn't have to worry about a thing. This is truly a great program!

Carter was not allowed to have food and water for three and a half days. He laid in his crib and slept. His lips were really dry so I soaked a pink sponge in ice and rubbed it on his lips and mouth. I used a wash cloth to wipe his little chubby body off. After two days, Carter's heels were covered in dry blood spots from being poked so much. His color was normal again but he was very drowsy. He cried a little every time the nurses would check his sugar. He was on the road to recovery, thankfully, but Kyle and I weren't getting any sleep at all...