As some of you may already know, I have a child with diabetes. I remember the first day he was told, it was his 18th birthday. He had lost 15 pounds in less than a week, looked white as a ghost, had no energy. When we got him to the doctors, I told him then that he was showing signs of diabetes, we both knew that it wasn't in the family, but the strange thing with diabetes is it holds no discrimination. It goes after babies, pregnant mothers, children & the elderly. Don't forget, our pets too. What can cause a healthy young man to get such a thing, all of a sudden? You sure learn a lot of ways someone can. Chicken Pox, Bacterial Infection, our child hit a tree while skiing when he was young damaging his pancreas. When the doctor got him up to the lab for testing his blood sugar was 5 times higher than normal, he was immediately hospitalized. After he told us, a couple of more days & he would have died, that quick. We have had some bad times, once his glucometer quit working, we didn't know, he kept trying to regulate his food intake to accomodate his readings, another trip to the hospital. I have seen stress take its toll on his well being, his sugar levels can drop or rise taking medication when he has a cold. He has called me from his room, 'cause his legs won't work, diet pop makes his sugar levels sky rocket then drop with a thud. I know it is hard on him, diabetes affects the whole family, we have taken him to a transplant centre, the anti-rejection drug would drop his immune system, the procedure could damage his liver, this was not the solution for him. He is in pretty good control, he's had it 10 years this November 2001, he monitors his blood regularly, eats a good diet, his also has learned to adjust his insulin, depending on his activity, so it can be controlled. But diabetes never takes a day off, I am just grateful there is insulin, it's not a chosen lifestyle but it is his way of LIFE. During the past 10 years, he has bungee jumped, ski dived, worked in a sawmill, on construction, driven a motorcycle, cliff jumping, mountain climbing, snowmobiling, snowboarded, after they rented a helicopter, diabetes doesn't slow him down, he has to be always on alert though.
August 2002 - Our son has now changed his career, he is a truck driver, hauling cats and skidders for the loggers and for construction. It took a lot for him to get his Class 1 Drivers Licence. He had to get a medical, and eye exam, make sure his diabetes is in control, before he could even write the test, and afterwards he had to attend school for truck drivers, before he could do the drivers test. But in the long haul, all this is for public safety and for his own safety too. This is a job in transportation and the rules are very strict, for everyones safety.

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