We’ve come a long way in a year, our family just attended our first JDRF (Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation) Walk for a Cure in September.  We joined other amazing Type 1 kids and their families from Ross County (known as the Ross County Rockers) and as a community raised over $10,000.00 for this event.  We hope to make more people aware of Type 1 Diabetes and we are always hoping for a cure! 

Here’s how our journey started: A couple of weeks before Christmas, Mason began drinking a lot of water and tiring easily.  We just thought this was due to him growing and his change in activity as basketball season had started.  We didn’t think too much of it, until the weekend before Christmas.  We took a family trip to Cincinnati and it was then that we realized just how much Mason didn’t seem himself.  We looked up his symptoms on the internet in the hotel room that evening and came across Diabetes.  But we disregarded this thinking that there is no way Mason could have Diabetes.  Later in the week, Mason’s symptoms got worse.  He was extremely tired and just not himself at all.  On December 23rd we made Mason an appointment with the doctor.  By this time Mason was very sick and had started vomiting.  The dr. sent us to the lab to get some blood work done and by 12:00pm he told us that Mason was Type 1 and sent us immediately to Children’s Hospital.  Mason spent two days at Children’s… the first day was spent getting Mason’s sugar back to “normal”.  Mason was hooked up to an IV giving him insulin to bring his sugar down and his fingers were pricked every hour for the first 24 hours to check his sugar.  The second day at Children’s was Christmas Eve.  This day was packed with Diabetes education.  The staff tried so hard to give us all the information that we would need to take care of our son once we got him home… their goal was to get Mason home in time for Christmas.  After a visit from Santa Claus, Mason was finally released at 10:00pm.

Mason was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes (Juvenile Diabetes) on December 23, 2011 at the age of 7.  Type 1 Diabetes is an autoimmune disease that destroys the beta cells in your pancreas.  These beta cells produce the insulin your body needs to survive…Mason now has to give himself shots to get the insulin to survive.  Mason checks his blood sugar levels approximately 10-12 times a day by pricking his finger.  He also has to give himself a shot 5-7 times a day.  We have to count the carbs in everything he eats to know how much insulin he should get.  Mason knows how many carbs!   Diabetes has become a big part of Mason’s everyday life… it is a constant!  And every day is different!  Mason has accepted this in an amazing way.  We are so extremely proud of him and his bravery.

We were very nervous to send Mason back to school after Christmas break.  We set up an appointment with Mason’s Principal, Mr. Fife and the school nurse, Jennifer Russell on Mason’s first day back.  They both made us feel very confident that Mason would be well taken care of and that they would make any adjustments for Mason to be comfortable.  Mason’s 1^st grade teacher, Mrs. Baer, was amazing in allowing Mason to check his sugar as much as he needed to.  Mrs. Baer also read Mason’s books about Diabetes to the whole class to make his classmates aware and feel more comfortable with Mason’s diagnosis.  Mason started 2^nd grade this school year and we felt more prepared with sending him to school this year.  We prepared pencil boxes full of the supplies he may need at any time to treat his highs and lows.  We placed them in various rooms throughout the building.  Mason’s 2^nd grade teacher, Mrs. Patino, has been excellent.  She sat Mason at the desk closest to the door knowing that he may be in and out a lot to check his sugar.  She never questions the need for him to check his sugar and allows him to come to the office whenever he needs to.  We are very thankful for the help and support we have received at Allen Elementary!