When I first found out that my mom was taking my brother for a diabetes test I didn't take it seriously, it was one of those things you never thought would happen to you. So when I came out of school and my Nan explained to my brother and me that Louis had diabetes it came as a shock. That night I couldn't sleep at all, all I could think about was Louis lying in hospital. I cried most of the night. In the morning all I wanted to do was see him but my dad took my brother and me to school. I tried to hold it all in but I got to the door and just burst into tears, my moms friend took me to the office and they said did I want to go home but I couldn't give my mom any more hassle, so went back into school and stayed the rest of the day. It was a blur and I couldn't think straight, I just wanted to know he was ok.

He was just 4 years old I kept thinking to myself, how was he going to cope with this, how were any of us going to cope with this? At the start it was really hard, seeing him crying all the time, hiding from my mom to stop his injection. It broke my heart seeing him this upset, I'd see my mom crying because it was so hard as well. He couldn't understand that this was keeping him alive, and I couldn't understand why it had happened to him, and why there was no way I could help him.

The first few months were the hardest, when he was first getting used to everything. But as we all changed and adjusted to his needs it got easier and now it just seems like a normal life. We still have problems when he gets sick; he has to be woken all through the night and fed. No one is allowed near him when we are ill. He handles it really well, and although sometimes he gets upset about it, he never lets you know. Despite having diabetes it hasn't changed Louis as a person he is still the same fit healthy boy that he was before. Its hard when he says that he wants to be in the army or a bus driver or things like that as we all know that he can't because of his diabetes. Whenever my mom gets upset he says things like "don't worry mom, they'll find a cure soon", we are all hoping that he's right.

Nobody can understand what he goes through not even us, his family. He's a strong boy and never lets us know that it upsets him. Sometimes at birthday parties you can see him being upset when everyone is eating sweets and cake and my mom having to stop him. His eyes fill with tears, but he never cries, he is determined not to let this upset People try to understand and sympathize but they don't know how hard it is for him. Some people don't take this illness seriously, some people just think about themselves rather then the feelings of those with diabetes, for instance when family and close friends decide that they want to eat chocolate and cakes in front of him when he's been asking for them, they don't realize the impact they have and the hurt that they cause.

Not only is our diabetic nurse amazing but also it's my mom that looks after him and is there for him 24/7, without her I don't know how anyone would cope. Everything is going fine at the moment and Louis is strong and healthy. We all love him to pieces and can't imagine life without him.