Meet Sam R.

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Sam is a happy, loving and social little boy.  The summer before he started kindergarten he started wetting the bed.  He had never done this so we thought it was strange.  When I took him in for his 5 year old well child check I asked the doctor what he thought.   He said that it was not unusual for kids to start wetting the bed before they start kindergarten so I went with that explanation, but in my gut I knew something wasn’t right.  We went on a family vacation and he had several “accidents” while there and he was drinking a lot.  It was summer and was pretty hot .  I started reading about signs of diabetes and I didn’t want to prick his finger so I bought ketone strips to check his urine.  I checked his urine a few times and everything was always fine.

Sam started kindergarten and a couple of weeks in he started going to the bathroom a lot during the day and drinking more.  He went to a friend’s house for a playdate one morning and immediately came out and said he wanted to go home.  That was really weird.  Sam loved playing with his friends.  He came home and slept on the couch.  I started worrying because he had lost weight recently.  I got him to wake up enough to go the bathroom on a strip.  I started crying when I read it because it was purple!  That was bad.  I immediately called the doctor.  They tested his blood sugar and it was in the 400’s.  We ended up at Children’s Mercy.  He was in diabetic ketoacidosis and was in the ICU all night trying to get everything under control.

We spent 3 nights in the hospital and were overwhelmed with the information that was presented to us about counting carbs, testing blood sugars, and giving shots.  Sam would try to be brave but cry every time a nurse came in to test his blood sugars or give him a shot the first day.  His best friend came to visit him on day 2 and that really made him smile.  When the nurse came in to check his blood sugar and give him a shot while his friend was there he was so brave and didn’t cry.  Each day got better.   He was so courageous.  He told me that he hated having diabetes, but he was glad we were at a place where there were lots of nice nurses and doctors to take care of him.  He has such a great attitude!  The next week I had to send him to school.  There is another Type 1 at our school and he saw her check her own blood sugar while he was in the nurse.  He wanted to try.  After a few weeks he was checking himself like that is what he’s always done.   We are very thankful that we know our school nurse very well.  I can relax when I send him to school because I know she is taking good care of him.

We are so thankful for Kids with Courage.  We received Sam’s crate full of courage while in the hospital.  Sam liked all the fun things for him and slept with his teddy bear every night.  We liked all the helpful tools and information to help us transition into this new way of life.  Thank you for helping our “kid with courage”.

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