When it all started...

The day of March 6, 2009 had its share of events that, when isolated, don't seem like anything more than the typical dealings of a parent with their sick child.

That day, Lori took the kids to the zoo and Joel, who had been fighting off a cold for what seemed like the entire winter, threw up. Thinking he was fighting off a stomach bug, Lori brought everyone home and scheduled a pediatrician appointment for the following day (Saturday).

That night, Joel seemed to be getting worse and worse, acting like we had never seen him act before. He had been acting run down for several weeks, but it just didn't really sit well that night. His breathing was labored, and he just seemed out of it.

We put him to bed and went to sleep. In the morning, we awoke to a horrible smell in Joel's room. He had thrown up on himself and we hadn't even known about it; he did not cry to alert us over the monitor or anything.

Lori proceeded to take him to the hospital and I took the girls to Target, which had just opened in Western Hills. I got a call from Lori, saying to meet her at the hospital and not to worry, that everything was fine, that they just wanted to get him to Children's Hospital the fastest way they could, which was by life squad.

In reality, everything was not OK. I was able to drop the girls off with Lori's mom and get up to the hospital before the ambulance could get there. When they arrived and I was escorted to the triage where Joel and Lori was, she informed me of the issue at hand: Joel was diagnosed with type 1 (insulin-dependent) diabetes.

I just sat there stunned. The paramedic, who had diagnosed Joel at the pediatrician's office, asked if there was anything he could do to let him know. Yeah, I know something you can do: rethink what you just told us. Make this go away.

Even then, I knew it wasn't going away. With an uncle who has diabetes, I knew this was a lifelong change.

Lori and I began to piece together the clues: increased thirst and increased urination (which we thought were a side effect of an antibiotic he was taking, which could have been irritating his throat), appetite changes, weight loss (which we were told by another pediatrician was nothing to be concerned about at his yearly check-up just a few weeks earlier). It was all there, but we felt like we blew the call; like we had let him suffer in denial of the truth.

What Joel was suffering from that day was a DKA (diabetic ketoacidosis), a precursor to a potential diabetic coma. When he was carted from triage back to another area, two people who were not doctors came with us: a woman stood next to Lori and a man stood next to me. They were chaplains. That brought it home to us how serious the situation was and how close we were to something much, much worse.

They began supplying Joel with insulin and fluids (to replenish what had been lost through the frequent urination and vomiting) and within a few hours we had our old Joel back. It was amazing.

The next two days were spent in the hospital not to monitor Joel, but to train us as parents on how to deal with this new complication. We were handed a manual bigger than any we have ever owned (even bigger than the Bible - insert laugh track here). I believe it is a two-inch binder and there didn't seem to be any room for additional pages.

Contained inside was an overwhelming amount of information: flow charts, guidelines, formulas. We were introduced to terms that are now everyday vernacular: ketones, bolus, correction factor, Humalog, Lantus, basal, hemoglobin A1C. We learned how to do blood checks on Joel's finger, how to give Joel injections and how to count carbohydrates to know how much insulin to give him every shot. We learned the "rule of 15" for treating blood sugar lows and how to adjust our insulin regimen when he was sick. We were shown how to use Glucagon, a hormone injection used if Joel is ever unconscious due to an extremely low blood sugar.

As a side note, the endocrinology staff at Children's Hospital in Cincinnati is outstanding. We feel like they are part of our extended family, from the nursing staff to the nutritionists to the doctors. Top-notch staff, no doubt.

Anyway, then we were sent home. It was now our responsibility to manage this every day, and eventually down the road to teach Joel and those close to him how to manage on his own. One of our kitchen cabinets now had to house nothing but medical supplies: syringes, test strips, meter supplies, lancets, alcohol swabs and so on.

It goes without saying how much of a life change this was for Joel, but also for everyone around him. Apart from a cure, the administration of insulin to control his blood sugar will continue for the rest of his life. Fortunately, we are already experiencing the benefits of advances in technology and understanding of diabetes: he now wears an insulin pump that he uses now instead of receiving shots daily.

Some of you who are reading this are very familiar with all of this, but I felt the need to post his story so that everyone who has a desire to know can know why we are so passionate about this cause, and where it all started.

If you continue to read posts from this day forward, know that this will be a place of absolute honesty. You will see the good with the bad of our dealings with this, but I intend for this place to not only focus on dealing with the bitter present, but also on the bright future.

Truth be told, we have a son who is not dead. He is alive, and active as all get-out. (Seriously, are all boys like this? He never stops jumping/running/playing/talking...) We are thankful for every day God gives us beyond March 7, 2009 with Joel, and we know his life will be a full one - and hopefully one that will see a cure for diabetes.

Introduction

Welcome to the Three Million Joels blog. We have decided to start a blog dedicated specifically to Joel's fight with Type 1 diabetes, and items on here will range from day-to-day stories from Joel, stories from friends (both adults and children) who are also dealing with this disease, information about fundraising for JDRF (Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation) and other diabetes-related posts, like advancements in technology or in finding a cure.

Why Three Million Joels? Because although our youngest son is the nearest and dearest sufferer to our family's heart, there are an estimated three million people in the US who deal with Type 1 diabetes on a daily (or, more specifically, minute-by-minute) basis. So, although it is about our son, it's not. It's about much more than that.

Please feel free to check in from time to time; there have been few things that have changed our lives more than Joel's diagnosis on March 7, 2009. It's an important topic for us and for many of our friends; our hope is that you would come alongside us and the families of those three million individuals in helping to find a cure.