One Week Update: T1D

It’s been a week since Elizabeth was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes.

A week since our world was changed and we have a new “normal”!

Elizabeth Faith is being an absolute trooper. She has to get 4 shots at minimum every day and prick her finger 6-8 times a day to check her blood sugar.

There have been tears because of rotating the injection sites and some spots hurting worse than others, but for the most part Liz has done amazing. She hasn’t complained once and knows this is what it’s going to take from now on for her to have a healthy life.

I am amazed at the amount of people that aren’t really educated on Type 1 Diabetes. It’s my goal to raise awareness of this disease to others. Every day I am learning more and more about the disease. I feel like I’ve read every article on diabetes the Internet has to offer.

Here are a few facts I wanted to share:

There is nothing Liz or Chris and I did wrong for Elizabeth to get T1D. It is an autoimmune disease that she has had and it finally decided to show up in her little body.

At every meal we have to check blood sugar and then count the amount of carbs she’s eating to be able to know how much insulin to give her. Basically, we have to act as her pancreas and give her the insulin since her body won’t produce it.

I have to call her blood sugar levels into the doctor every day. They have already changed her ratio for supper time twice <we are at 1:18> and her night time (long-lasting) insulin is down to 7 units.

Overall, we’ve had pretty good blood sugars and Liz still continues to be a little “high.” Thankfully, we’ve not had any real low numbers yet. Those are what you fear and don’t want.

I have come to realize this is our new normal.

Counting up the carbs to everything I fix is our new normal.

Waking up at 2:00 am every morning and checking blood sugar is our new normal.

Pricking fingers and getting a shot before a meal is our new normal.

Paying A LOT of money for insulin and supplies each month is our new normal.

Constantly worrying about if she is high or low or what foods have the least amount of carbs that she can snack on is our new normal.

Even though there are challenges, I am thankful this is a manageable disease. I will continuously pray they find a cure for T1D. The longevity of this disease is what is bothering me the most. I know this is something Elizabeth will deal with the rest of her life.

It’s been a crazy week that has brought lots of changes. I have felt so sad at times having to give Liz a shot. I have wondered how I can do this every day and keep a strong attitude for Liz. I have wondered if this will ever get easier and the worrying and mental exhaustion with meal times will go away.

But, God is with us and when we are weak, He is strong.

I didn’t ask for this season in my life. I don’t understand it and I don’t understand sometimes all the HARD things we have to go through as Christians. But, I do know God is using this for His good and it’s not my place to understand it. I also can control how I react to this season. <Eeyore or Tigger?!?>

Romans 8:28 says, “And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to His purpose for them.”

Our goal this month is to get a Dexcom which is a continuous monitor that can link to our phones and we can watch her blood sugars closer. This will reduce the amount of finger pricks Liz has to get.

Thank you to everyone that has reached out to us during this diagnosis. Those that brought food to us and had the carbs counted <amazing!>, all the visitors for Liz, and all those that brought gifts to cheer Elizabeth up. Makes me happy to know we have wonderful people surrounding us to help us through this.

Hope y’all have a great rest of the week! I plan to take down the rest of our Christmas stuff today and hopefully watch Fuller House with the girls.

Happy Wednesday!

~Jen