Our world has been rocked!

As some of you may have heard, we found out this last week that Jaden, our 5 yr. old son, has Type 1 juvenile diabetes. This was very unexpected since there is no one in our immediate family with diabetes. About 3 weeks ago, Jaden seemed to be "fighting" something and we just thought it was allergies/asthma. He just wasn't acting like himself - he was grumpy, tired, up a couple times each night. All of those things are normal for him when he's getting sick or about to have an asthma attack so I was prepared for it since it's allergy season. Then not only were those symptoms there, but he then started eating all the time like a pubescent boy, complaining of his stomach hurting, drinking and peeing a lot. Now for some, those would be classic signs of diabetes, but not for someone who has never been around anyone with it. I then wondered if maybe he had a bladder infection so I emailed a very dear friend to ask her opinion and she suggested we head to the pediatrician's office asap just in case it was diabetes. Long story short, we went to his Dr. first thing in the morning, did a physical exam and when everything was ok, they tested his urine and blood sugars. Sure enough his blood sugars were 548 and they told me the norm was around 127. His Dr. was shocked because Jaden hasn't lost weight, but was gaining; and he is a strong healthy boy besides his asthma. My initial thoughts were: okay, what do we do? How do I get ahold of Jeremy since he's in Cuba? what is diabetes? where do we go from here? who do I call so that I'm not bombarded with phone calls/texts/emails, etc? How do I stay strong and not let him see me cry (which he did and we just cried together). Our Dr. immediately called Cook Children's in FW and got us set up with an endocrinologist there and told us to go home, pack our bags and that we would get a call from the hospital when they had a bed ready for us. We did just that and set up a plan for Jenna's care while we were there. I am so blessed to have family near and such awesome friends so close who were willing to do anything and even just to be "on call" until I needed them. One friend was even able to come to the hospital to go through training with me until Jeremy could get home so that I would have another ear to hear everything. We ended up staying in the hospital from Tuesday - Thursday, Jeremy came home on Wednesday. Our endocrinologist said that we must have caught this very early since Jaden wasn't any sicker than he is. He was the only new patient admitted that evening who didn't have to have the IV and fluids. He was so brave when they drew the blood for all the lab work and he never even flinched. The nurses were prepared to have to hold him down and when he just gave them his arms to poke and prod, they were shocked! He's definitely a warrior! We made it through training and Jaden's levels finally got evened out thanks to a great nursing staff and Dr and were able to go home 48 hrs later. So many have been and still are praying for us - all around the world. Thank you! We can't thank you enough. We've also had several friends offer their support due to their own diagnosis of diabetes. We are so blessed! We are also blessed to have him in the school he's in. They were so proactive and supportive once they heard the "news" and have already trained his teachers and staff who will be working with him so they are ready for him when he comes back to school on Tuesday! This is going to be an adjustment for our whole family, but once again we are up to the task knowing that we have an Awesome God whom we serve faithfully and He is there to walk us through this. I don't know what we would do without our Lord and Savior who gives us hope each and every day! I have lived the last 22 yrs of my life with this verse as my guide: "All things work for the good of those who love the Lord and are called according to his purpose." Romans 8:28 I know that our family loves the Lord and that we are called by Him and I believe that there IS good to come from this new challenge. Please continue to pray for our family as we learn to take care of Jaden. We praise the Lord for his watchful eye and keeping over us at all times!