Sunday, June 5, 2011

Unexpected Blessing

My ex-husband's wife has type 1 diabetes (the childhood kind).  My son went to their house this weekend for the first time since he had the seizure and got the concussion.  He's been doing OK this week, but oscillates between being normal and extremely out of it and tired.  She remembered feeling the same way when she was about his age.  They tested his blood sugar at various times over the weekend and found it to be completely whacked out (non-medical term). 

I breathe a sigh of relief.  Sort of.  I know diabetes is bad, but it's controllable unlike these unpredictable seizures and fainting spells.  Most of the episodes in the past have been after he didn't eat.  I don't remember if anyone immediately checked his blood sugar.  I remember no one talking to me about it if they did.

He has a neurology appointment on Tuesday.  According to their guidelines, he could be looking at seizure meds after this appointment (he has had two in less than two years).  I know seizure meds could be a blessing if he really has epilepsy, but I worry about the side-effects.  I also worry about where he will be the next time he has a seizure - in a tree, on his bike, somewhere alone.

Today I wonder if my husband and I didn't get divorced and he didn't hook up with his now-wife, would anyone have checked his blood sugar this weekend?   I think not. 

My daughter thinks everything is a coincidence.  I think the circuitous flow of events our lives have taken is a blessing.

4 comments:

  1. This is a truth. One never knows why things happen like they do. It very well could be a blessing in disguise.

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  2. Oh wow! If you want to try and monitor it at home yourself, Walmart has a disposable meter with 50 test strips for $20. We use it when we travel so we don't have to worry about losing Brian's expensive one.

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  3. Thanks, Paitra! That's a good idea. I am going to call his pediatrician tomorrow to discuss. I definitely am going to turn down seizure meds until they give us a plan to monitor the blood sugar.

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  4. It's amazing how everything comes around, isn't it. I know whatever the outcome of the tests, it will be a challenge to adjust to a chronic condition, but you're right--pretty nice to have pin-pointed this a lot sooner if it IS Diabetes... treating the wrong thing for a long time would have really been a shame. Hang in there!

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