Crazy last week!

Nate enjoyed some surprise balloons from Uncle Mark & Aunt Megan!

Whew!  What a crazy week and a half we've had!!!  We've had two simultaneous things going on which has made for a crazy life in the Banderman household!  I'll write about one here and then post the other in another blog post.

First, as I mentioned in my last post, our 14-year-old son, Nate, was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes on Father's Day.  We've been walking this out for a week and a half now and we are in the 'honeymoon' period, but things are going great, actually.  (Basically, the 'honeymoon' period means that most of his islet cells in his pancreas have 'died', but not all of them.  So, his blood sugars are pretty easy to manage, as far as predictability and carb counting.  At some point here they'll all begin to die and we'll have to figure out how manage things again at that point, as there'll be an adjustment of meds.) We are absolutely blown away by how amazing Nate is doing, though!  He has simply embraced this and all that it entails and has gone on with life.  He's accepted all the new inconveniences and responsiblities as a part of his life; however, it does not define who he is.  He knows who he is and this is just a new 'part' that he has to deal with.  He's never once had a 'pity party' or been mad at God, or the world, or whatever.  He's just kinda shrugged his shoulders and been like 'ok'.  He told me, "It could always be worse, Mom.  At least I didn't lose a limb or have some disease that would put me in the hospital on my death bed.  Or cancer."

I just kinda look at him like "who the heck is this kid?"  :)  He has been so amazingly mature and I am so proud of him!!!

He has a great group of friends and they've been awesome at just accepting him and going on with life with him.  At first, no one said anything, as no one wanted to make him feel 'weird' or different, but then someone finally asked a question and they all agreed it was more weird to pretend it didn't exist than just to ask a question and go on with life.  Nate has no problem checking his blood sugar in the car with his friends, at the park, at the pool, etc.  He doesn't really care what others think....he just does what he needs to do to either check his blood sugar or take an insulin shot or eat a snack and he gets on with life.

I am in awe.  Seriously.

Steve was diagnosed at the age of 12 and let's just say.....it was rough.  There was so much shame surrounding the diagnosis and the way it was walked out was horrifically wrong.  It took him probably 20 years to get to where Nate is now.  So, we pretty much look at him in amazement! :)

And, offer a prayer of thanks to God for how faithfully He prepared Nate for this, how graciously He is guiding him and how faithfully He is upholding every part of his body and his heart and mind in this!

But, this new diagnosis has meant a lot of doctor's visits....Endocrinologist, Dietician, Diabetic Nurse Educator.  Just yesterday, Nate and I spent all morning at the Endo's office.  B-O-R-I-N-G. :)  Some of the stuff is helpful and some is just boring! They don't seem to care that my husband, Nate's Dad, is diabetic and that we do have somewhat of a 'clue' as to how to manage the disease! lol :)  But, it's mandatory, so we just have to suck it up and do it!  And, I must say, if ya' gotta go through it, ya' might as well go through it with Nate.  He is such a quick wit and hilarious.  He keeps me laughing!!!!!

And, quite honestly, my heart goes out to all the families we see in there.  You can see the ones who have recently been diagnosed....with young kids....and the fear is so evident on their faces.  My heart aches for them.  I am sure our experience would be a lot different had Steve not had it, but it's not as scary as it once was. I pray that as we go on here, we'll have opportunity to talk to some families and be an encouragement to them during this difficult journey that we all share.

It's definitely a disease that is not fun and needs to be taken seriously; however, we're slowly learning how to just let it be a part of our lives and not define our lives.  Yes, I am a bit much on the 'watching over' of Nate. Poor kid...this Mama asks a lot of questions and wants to know what his blood sugar is, if he ate, if he took a shot, etc.  I'm slowly relaxing as he shows us how trustworthy he is to do the things he needs to do, but I still watch him like a hawk!  He's been so gracious with me and just does what I ask.  :)

One thing we're really excited about........last week at the Endo visit, we were told about the Juvenile Diabetes teen camp nearby - Camp Hertko Hollow.  Everyone that comes is either a teen diabetic or a sibling of a teen diabetic.  The counselors are all diabetics, as well.  The camp is a medical camp and is staffed with Endocrinologists, nurses, dieticians, etc.  They have a 'shoot-up shack' where everyone takes their shots, and gets their blood sugar tested, etc.

We left it up to Nate if he wanted to go, but hoped he would.  He had been signed up to go to church camp this week; however, with the new diagnosis we didn't feel comfortable letting him go off for a week by himself, and the doctor agreed with us.  A year from now, sure, but not this soon.

So, this is a great alternative for him.....He gets to go have a ton of fun at camp with other teenagers, and yet he'll be under medical supervision.  Everyone has diabetes or is a sibling of it, so it's not weird or abnormal.  I love that!!!  He'll be gone from Sunday - Saturday and I will miss him like crazy!!!  But, grateful he gets to experience something like this!!!

The camp is normally $1,100!!!!  BUT, they do so much fundraising and so they're able to do scholarships.  We were so blessed....they are letting Nate come for only $60 because they feel it is so vital for him to be able to come this soon after diagnosis!!!  The camp director told me that most kids come 1-2 years after diagnosis, but she thinks this will be so great for him.  We talked on the phone and she told me how proud she was of us letting him come so soon.  I cried.  She cried. :)  Found out she was a Christian and she began to share how much God has done in their daughter and their family through the diagnosis.  She shared about God's faithfulness to them, etc.  Such an amazing phone conversation and I am so excited he gets to go be with amazing people at an amazing place!!!

Thank you everyone for your words of encouragement and your prayers!  I am so incredibly grateful!!!!