back to the list of essays and poems Back
This is one of the contributions to:DIABETES ESSAY AND POEM COMPETITION 2010
It all started on the 34th of April 2008, in the Easter holidays. We went to my mum’s friend to see their new dog, on the way back I really wanted to go to the shops to get a drink so we got some apple juice and I glugged it all down in one gulp, as well as that I had two fruit juices when we were seeing the dog. This was very unusual for me, because I don’t like to drink much. As soon as I got home I went to the toilet. At dinner time, approximately 6.00pm, dad phoned, mum told dad all about what had happened that day. Because dad is a doctor he was able to bring home some Multistix to check my urine. He tested me when he got home and the Multistix turned brown instantly... After dinner dad repeated the test, it showed up exactly the same, so he phoned the hospital and spoke to the on call paediatric doctor. We packed a few of my belongings and drove to the hospital. I didn’t realise what the problem was and that I was going to stay in the hospital for three days! When we got there the nurses checked my weight, height and blood-sugar. The blood-sugar reading was too high for the monitor’s scale, so the doctor took a sample of blood from my arm and sent it to the lab. The reading came back at a shockingly high 47.3! That explained why I was so thirsty and not hungry all that time!
The nurses gave my first injection of insulin in my right arm, I hated it, it felt really painful. Later on I settled down to bed and thought all about that day. I felt confused and I really wanted to cry, but I fought back my tears and fell asleep, my dad was already snoring away below me on a camp bed. Ha ha!
The next morning I woke up at about 7.00am, dad was getting ready to leave, I felt really tired. Dad helped me to turn the TV on then he left me to go to work. At 9.00am a nurse over and did my BM and insulin for me. Then I had breakfast, by the way the hospitals food was disgusting! Finally at 10.00am mum came into the hospital. Dr Cox and Jackie, my new diabetic nurse, spoke to my mum in the children’s room all about diabetes and my new way of life. This made mum really upset, mum even cried. While they were talking I was making a birthday card for my oma (gran) that she treasures to this day.
After lunch mum and dad spoke to the dietician all about what I would have to eat for the rest of my life. After lunch mum and dad had a session all about my BM and insulin. They stuck the needles in themselves, while mum was doing that dad and I watched Dr Doolittle, it was so funny. I nearly laughed my head off! After that, in the late afternoon, mum went home to see Iain, my big brother. Dad went to the canteen downstairs to have dinner. Sadly I had to have hospital food. I watched TV then went to bed at about 8.15.
I woke up at 7.00am just in time to see dad go to work. At 10.00am Iain and my mum arrived to stay for the day. I was really happy to see Iain again because I hadn’t seen him for ages. Iain and I watched a movie about Pokemon before going down to the canteen for a delicious lunch. After lunch we all went upstairs and I did my BM, we told the nurse what it was. The nurse came over and said that we were free to go home. I was so happy! We went home, but when we got home I started to feel sad, because Iain’s hamster had died...
I will have been diagnosed with diabetes for exactly two years on the 7th of April 2010! It’s not all that bad getting diabetes, it will seem that you have had it since you were born, you will make new friends and gain new experiences.