The struggle of caring for a child with Type 1 diabetes

“Nobody asks for this. Nobody wants this for their little one. The biggest hurt and shock of my life was when my little girl fell ill and was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes,” said Nova’s mom. She explains the struggle of caring for a child with Type 1 diabetes.

When was Nova diagnosed?

It feels like yesterday, but Nova is currently 2 years old and was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes a year ago. It was by far the most unforgettable thing we’ve had to go through and I remember it all started when I was pregnant and expecting my twins.

Nova started losing a lot of weight, she had continuous urine nappies – I mean about 10 to 15 nappies a night.

She was thirsty all the time and irritable and it actually came to a point where she couldn’t keep anything down, not even water. She became very weak and we had to rush her to the hospital not knowing what was wrong. Her blood sugar was so high – 35.5mmol! – and she was going into DKA but God protected my little angel.

How did you start using the insulin pump?

We heard of the insulin pump in hospital when she was diagnosed, but financially we couldn’t afford to get it for her, so we started the injections and it just got a bit too much for her to handle. The broker from Vital AIre Diabetes gave us the opportunity to use the pump for one month. And this has just been a much better, healthier life for our little girl. No more injections and no more pain. Unfortunately we had to give the demo pump back on the 1st of December and now our worst nightmares start all over again…

But unfortunately our finances cannot secure the pump for my little girl and that just breaks my heart, the thought of having to take her back to injecting this little body every day. We are also caring for our 8 month old twins and so getting by every day is a struggle. We have medical aid and it helps but not all the way, as we would still have to pay R25,000 towards the pump and her consumables .

Getting her the pump for life would honestly be a saving grace for our little girl and not only her but us as well. With the pump she has so many more options with foods and goodies like the other kids, whereas with injections we always have to correct and inject.

 

What makes your life sweet?

Seeing my little girl happier and being able to have somewhat of a normal life has made my life sweet. The fact that my little baby girl is more able to have a normal life with the pump as it is not injecting her everyday and night – this has been by far the best month for her since she’s been diagnosed, not only for her but for us. We can see a change in her emotional wellbeing, too, she’s a happier little girl.

I wanted to explain a bit of the struggle of caring for a child with Type 1 diabetes, in the hopes that it might help somebody else out there to feel less alone. And if anyone is able to help us with a pump for Nova, that would be just wonderful.

What to read next?

How to get an insulin pump covered by medical aid: a step-by-step guide: One of our community members, Armand Greyling, wrote to us to explain how to get an insulin pump covered by medical aid. He shared this step-by-step guide.

What is a CGM? Flash glucose monitoring and CGM: But what exactly is a CGM? What is flash glucose monitoring? And how do you decide what’s best for you? Here’s all you need to know to make an informed decision.

Kids with diabetes: Kids with diabetes are just like kids without diabetes… in many ways. But what about when your child is first diagnosed with diabetes – what do you do then?