Friday, September 17, 2010

The memories that come with that tiny little straw

(Day 17 of NaBloPoMo)


As I prepared dinner tonight I decided to let The Princess have a "treat" to drink.

A juicy juice 4 oz box to be exact.

You know, the ones used to treat lows for The Superhero and MANY other Diabetic children. I needed to mix in the probiotics that the pediatrician's office recommended.

And as I was squeezing the juice into the cup for The Princess (she is not allowed to have the box, I don't want THAT mess), I had major flashbacks.

Flashbacks to the week leading up to The Superhero's diagnosis.

Flashbacks of THE DAY he was diagnosed.

You see, that week, he was not interested in drinking from a cup. Not a sippy cup. Nope.

The only way I could get him to drink was through a straw. And not just any straw, it had to be that tiny little straw that is attached to those Juicy Juice 4 oz boxes.

But, he was staying hydrated. Or so we thought. He would suck down those sugary juice boxes one after another. ALL. WEEK. LONG. Who knew that the very thing that we thought was helping him stay hydrated, was surely making him more and more sick.

On that final day, D day, I remember very clearly standing in our kitchen squeezing his juice into a cup. Much like I did for The Princess tonight, to disguise his anti-nausea medicine so he would drink them through the straw.

Only this time I was holding him. I could not squeeze the juice box and measure the medicine one handed, so I attempted to stand The Superhero on the ground.

Only, he could NOT stand.

He started to fall down, and I had to catch him.

He was SO weak, he could not even stand up. He was barely staying awake. And all I needed to do was get him to drink his meds mixed with juice through that tiny little straw. I thought I was going to make him feel better.

It was only a few hours later that we found out how close we were to losing him.

And it is kind of ironic now to think that the very thing that made him feel worse that fateful week could actually save his life today.

12 comments:

Unknown said...

Ironic indeed. First off, a big ((HUG)). Secondly, wow, it sounds like a pretty tough diagnosis story Tracy. I have flash backs once in awhile...about Joe's diagnosis. It is usually when I drive by this one road. I had to drive to a friend's house to get Bridget on my way to the hospital with Joe. I still get upset when I pass that road and it has been 4 years. I love ya, and am so glad we are able to share these things with each other...and "get it".

Cindy said...

Oh, Tracy! I'm crying right now! I figured out what was going on with my daughter because of how many juice boxes she sucked down in a very short amount of time. Diabetes is such a hard thing to catch when it strikes such a young little body! Big hugs to you for what you had to go through when you started the d-journey with the Superhero!

Kelly said...

:( Heartbreaking Tracy ((HUGS))

Shannon@ The New Normal Life said...

This was very well put!! It is hard to believe how far we have come with our kiddos and how hard it was to see what was right in front of us. I look back on J the week before DX and I get chills thinkking of how sick he was and I didnt get it.. I thought is was everything else from growth, bad diapers, to teething... Hope you have a better day today!

Heidi / D-Tales said...

The day before Jack's diagnosis, we went to the railroad park with friends. Every time we see these friends and every time we go to the railroad park, I can't help but remember that day. Some things, you just never forget!

The thought of your little Super Hero not having the strength to stand --that kills me. :(

Christy Carosella said...

Thanks for putting this together... it is such a great thing to have our D community. Emily is 11 now but we had a horrible diagnosis as well. Doctors telling me she was not "sick" enough to be diabetic, that I was just used to seeing overweight people and she is ok, etc... etc... one little test would have answered my questions about what was wrong- too busy with the H1N1 at the time and pushed us out the door.

hugs to your family.
Christy Mom to Emily diagnosed November 9, 2009

Lance said...

A couple hours more, and he could have been gone. Over two years later, I still cry every time I think of how sick he was, and I thank God every day for his little life. I'm also very thankful for such dedicated parents to watch over our little Superhero.

connie said...

Oh Tracy, that just breaks my heart :( I will never forget the days leading up to both of my girls dx days...I always look back, especially with my first daughter and think "why didn't I figure it out sooner?"

Big (((HUGS)))

You are amazing and this post left me in tears my friend.

LaLa said...

Oh Tracy - - - powerful and true. These little things that take us back to 'the day' are so hard. This one is so ironic - - - as you said the thing that was making him so sick then is the very thing that can save his life today.

Obviously I'm crying!

Unknown said...

I completely remember the description of being too weak to stand....falling down....

Oh those hard, hard memories.

Heather said...

Oh, I remember little things like that leading up to Lovebug's diagnosis too. We were also giving her lots of juice because she wouldn't eat anything and I wanted her to be getting some "nutrition". It is so ironic about the juice though....

Unknown said...

Thanks-- Darn you for making me cry!! It is still so hard to relive that day. Love our little superhero and princess!! Don't know all you D families but I'm in love with you all as family!!
Bev

Related Posts with Thumbnails