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On December 18th 2006, our family's life was
changed forever. Our son Braden at the age of 3, was rushed to the hospital from his doctor's office where he remained
for four days. He was diagnosed with a life long disease of Type 1 ( Juvenile ) Diabetes, his blood sugar count
was 647, more than Six times the normal amount. During his four days of treatment at Childrens Hospital of Pittsburgh we consumed
as much information as we could from the Diabetes education staff on how to care for Braden. You parents that have gone through
this know how scary and overwellming this can be. Upon leaving the hospital with our son, we were overcome with fear.
We battled through the first 5 months, up at midnight and three in the morning every night
checking his blood sugar levels and as exhausted as we were, we felt "we can handle this". Until the day we
looked at our "Sharp's Container" which was Full of Syringes and Lancet Needles, we grabbed our calculator and
figured out what the average amount of blood sugar checks and injections per day for Braden were, we both broke
down when the number was over "2,350" in just 5 months and agreed at that moment that we had to do something
to stop the endless Needle sticks in our child and everyone else who suffers from this deadly disease. Hence, the idea for
"Baskets for Braden tm " was born. Our thoughts and
prayers go out to all families who are affected by Diabetes. We ask you to join in our efforts to raise money to help find
a cure.
Sincerely,
Todd and Holly Urick
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How diabetes effects the
lives of the children who are diagnosed and the problems families face to treat their children with this
deadly disease.
The pancreas no longer produces Insulin, but still makes some every
now and then, this is referred to the Honeymoon phase. Blood sugar checks need to be made every three hours, even through
the night, due to the blood sugar levels can drastically drop because of the combination of injected Insulin and the Insulin
being sent out by the Pancreas, this can go on for months. Should the blood sugar level go to low these children can experience
seizures, unconsciousness or even death.
Anyone
who cares for these children must be trained in how to manage their carbohydrate, protein and fat intake and then mathematically
calculate how much insulin to inject into them. That means forget about calling the teenage babysitter who used to watch
your kids or just dropping them off at the neighbors for an hour while you run errands. Grandparents who want to take
them to the Zoo or the Pool to swim have to learn to care for and stick needles in their little grandchildren, this is not
easily done. Sleep overs at friends or Cake and Ice-cream party's, or just being a child and wanting a cookie or some
candy changes immediately.
School staff's have to be trained in how to
treat you child, playdates at friends homes stop, your young child can not be left anywhere without someone being trained
in how to care for your child. When your child is old enough to care for themselves, even then they can feel different
than other kids and not want to treat themselves in front of other kids. Diabetes is a treatable disease that can
allow children to live a healthy and active life, but can be deadly if not cared for properly.
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