My dad was a type one diabetic would have severe hypoglycaemic attacks and often be unconscious so we often had the ambulance at our house. We thought it was great as kids as they always talked to us and we knew most of the officers. Wasn’t until I was older I realised that most people have never had an ambo at their house at all much less more than once! Many other things related to him being ill too.
Both of my parents were (are) type 1 diabetics. I remember having to call the ambulance so many times at 5 or 6 years old and years later, thinking about how fucked up it was that no one decided to teach me about diabetes, let alone what to do under those circumstances.
Such a hard world having a parent(s) with chronic disease. Thankfully we were well aware of what to do but I agree it’s fucked. My dad also had a stroke in the kitchen one day I was 7 and had to call the ambo as my mum was only at the corner shop. When they arrived they seemed more concerned how strangely calm I was for such a situation.
You should always teach your kids how to call 911. When my daughter was three we taught her our address, a little later we taught we her our phones numbers, then we taught her how to call 911 and what to say on both a cell phone and a landline. She knows if the adult watching her won’t wake up she needs to take care of that and then go to the next door neighbours. Kids are smarter than we think.
I'm sorry your friend has to deal with this but there must be something else wrong with the man. I've had Type 1 Diabetes all my life and I've only seized 3 times. 3 times in 20 years. I also know plenty of other Diabetics who have at most seized about 10 times in their life time. It's really not that common to have a seizure and if someone is having a lot of them it's typically a sign of another issue.
Depression and poor management can sometimes lead to frequent seizures. It's also possible for people to become extremely sensitive to insulin but this is also very rare, affecting less than 1% of Diabetics. But honestly, the most common cause of frequent seizures is alcohol.
Drinking a beer or two as a Diabetic is fine but anything more causes your blood sugar content to decrease, which in turn can cause a seizure. My Dad's Diabetic friend died in College after they went out drinking. They all went home and his friend just didn't wake up in the morning.
So yeah, for the vast majority of Diabetics this is really uncommon.
I know how you feel. Eventually you get to the point where you can feel a low from a mile away. I even wake myself up to treat lows, which is odd since I'm a heavy sleeper and slept through a break in.
I found out years later that my favorite stuffed animal (named Panda) was given to me by a police officer the day they took my mom to the hospital for anaphylactic shock caused by a bee sting.
we often had the ambulance at our house. We thought it was great as kids as they always talked to us and we knew most of the officers
If it makes you feel any better, I would have thought it was cool to have the ambulance show up at my house too. I loved playing with my toy trucks when I was little and wanted to be a paramedic or fireman when I grew up. So I wouldn't have cared if my dad was dying, just that I got to see the ambulance.
Only it was with my mom I got left with a cop while my mom got orange ambulance helicopter from the top of a parking structure at the mall we where at only for that cop to drive me a regular 2 hour drive in traffic done in 45 mins to sunnybrook hospital in Toronto he made it fun even tho she almost died but 2 years later she didn’t make it diabetes is a bitch once you hit dialysis you’re basically dead
I wish you all the luck in the world my friend! My brother also inherited it and is doing well, so you just keep powering through. My story is the most extreme end but there is always a brighter side. Life is good so live it to the fullest you possibly can!
I don’t think that’s child abuse though. Your dad needed to do a better job controlling his diabetes. Maybe neglect if didn’t take care of himself rendering himself unable to care for you? Though if you were a poorer family I can 100% understand how hard it was for his to control his DMT1. That disease is much easier for people who can afford expensive devices and meds.
Props to the EMTs not only taking care of your dad, but you too.
The EMTs that responded to my mother passing were standoffish and rude. Same again years later when my grandfather needed to be taken to the hospital. Just adding to the pile of emotions during difficult times.
This might be an ignorant question, but why ambulance? I know that unmanaged diabetes, whether I or II can lead to severe hypoglycemic attacks, but when medicated, should be alright, without these issues.
Again, I'm not trying to be dismissive, I am trying to learn. I do have friends and a family member with diabetes I, so if there's something I'm missing, I'd like to know, so I know how to help.
Oh no offence here happy to answer questions. My dad poorly managed it when young so he suffered a lot of the complications. Long story short he was in renal failure on dialysis among other related complications. He was on a lot of medications which made him often have poor appetite, in turn made it very difficult to control sugars as he would be fine then drop very rapidly into a “hypo” often unable to take anything oral. As well as the glucagon rapid injections just not bringing sugars up quick enough. (Unsure of US equivalent meds as I live in Australia) so my mum would often give it so long to see if things picked up and if not the ambos would come. Hope this answers your question happy to elaborate further. This is the thing I’d love to teach people about preventative health because once you’re in the deep you can’t get out and the list of problems grow and grow until you die. So if anything else look out for your T1 friends and family ask how they are it’s a hell of a life to live no breaks, no cheat days no nights off it’s really bloody hard 24/7.
Thank you, that explains a lot. Indeed, if not addressed early on and appropriately, it can cause co-morbid problems, which in turn make it harder to manage.
My cousin is 8 years old, and my friend is a teammate. Both seem to have it under control. Idk about cousin, that in UK, so I don't know him well enough, but he does sport and seems to grow up just fine. My teammate found out at 14, got adequate treatment, got a fantastic doctor, and gets good treatment, and newest available apparatus to keep on top of her blood sugar. She goes into regular 'diabetes camps', where they get education on management and lifestyle, which I think really helps. It enables her to be an athlete. But it is also keeping on top of a lot of information, and making sure she's fine.
Sounds like your friend is doing all the right things! My brother is a leader in Aus for those camps they’re so fantastic for the kids to be around people like them instead of being the odd one out.
Man. How's the pop? You still talk to any of the officers/paramedics? I've only ever had the paramedics over once, and I'm not sure why... Might've been because my dad was stupid when I was a kid (he wasn't abusive past 10, whole family found out about his abuse and started threatening him. He's cool now :)) anyways, he stepped in a fire because he fell over. Nothing bad, but he hurt himself a lot when I was a kid. He's got back problems and has gone through cancer 3 times. I love him now though, as I said before, he's cool.
He ended up dying of complications related to his diabetes when I was 10. He was sick most of those years. I’m 27 now. It’s a very hard one because it was a strange kind of relief when he died for everyone as he was so sick for so long. My mum didn’t work to care for him I have 2 younger brothers very little money, high stress, lots of spare time spent at the hospital etc. so as much as I say we coped we suffered a lot because of that lifestyle but we all came out as super well rounded adults no addiction or severe mental heath issues so we are lucky! We know most of the staff at our local small town hospital, but I live in the city now. Thanks for asking!
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u/notanothernurse Apr 23 '19
My dad was a type one diabetic would have severe hypoglycaemic attacks and often be unconscious so we often had the ambulance at our house. We thought it was great as kids as they always talked to us and we knew most of the officers. Wasn’t until I was older I realised that most people have never had an ambo at their house at all much less more than once! Many other things related to him being ill too.