On January 5th, 2009, A&E’s showed an Intervention on a young adult with Type 1 Diabetes. I hadn’t watched the show in a long time but I figure that this would be interesting. So of course, I programmed my DVR and watched it the following day.
Let me start by saying that it was very scary actually. This young man, John 21, was not managing his diabetes at all. He would go days without checking his blood sugar, he would not always give himself his insulin shots, he wouldn’t count carbs. Now while watching the story, I came to realize that this person had more problems than just diabetes. He had no friends, he didn’t seem to fit in anywhere. His relationship with his father was poor at best and he was very depressed. I, and this is only my opinion, believe that not managing his diabetes was kind of a control issue for him. This is something that he could control. I choose not to do this when so many other aspect of his life were out of control.
His refusal to take care of his condition was killing his parents. I must admit, my heart went out to them. As a parent of a type 1 diabetic, I can’t and don’t want to imagine this situation. How do you watch you child self destruct and there’s nothing that you can do about it?
The show really got me thinking. Does it really matter what age your are diagnosed at? John was diagnosed at 15 years old. He had lived more than 1/2 his life without knowing about his condition. Was he rebelling against it? Tristan was diagnosed at 16 months, he doesn’t know life without diabetes, do I have more of a change that he will accept and manage his condition properly?
Right now, the sole responsibility of his diabetes management is up to me and my husband. There is no ifs or buts about it, Tristan will do what needs to be done because we are still in control. I’m well aware that eventually, I will have to turn that control over to him. What do I do if he acts like John? How do I handle this situation?
Looking long term, my biggest concern is what’s going to happen when he’s a teenager? I know that when I was a teenager I did some pretty stupid stuff that could have gotten me hurt or in trouble. But I didn’t have to worry about a life threatening disease. What’s going to happen the first time that Tristan decides that he’s getting drunk with his friends? I hope that he will be responsible, I hope that he will accept his condition but I worry that he won’t.
I guess it really all comes down to giving Tristan control over his condition. Easier said than done! :)
