Laundry is a routine task in any young family's life. But for 2-year-old Leo and his mum, Gioenne, frequent bedwetting and an unquenchable thirst raised red flags that led to a visit to the GP.
After running some tests, a diagnosis of type 1 diabetes (T1D) was confirmed. Since then, this young family had to adjust to a new way of living to help take care of Leo. Here Gioenne shares her story and how she hopes to support research through her involvement in One Walk.
The endless washing that comes with a young family is relentless at the best of times. Throw in a toddler who is wetting through their winter sleep sack every night and it’s enough to frustrate any parent.
A trip down the google rabbit-hole gave me some strategies to try – a double nappy, an extra change before bed, restricting water. Every so often I’d come across a mention of T1D but really thought nothing of it. No family history, no markers. Surely not.
The unquenchable thirst and excessive urination had really ramped up over the course of a few weeks, so I made a telehealth appointment with our GP to discuss what was happening with Leo and what I’d read. He agreed his symptoms raised some red flags, so ordered a blood and urine test to rule out T1D and a UTI.
On Friday afternoon, I picked Leo up from daycare early and took him to our local pathology centre. Drawing blood from a 2.5 year old was traumatic, and I was so glad it was over. As we walked out, him proudly boasting his blood test sticker, I assured him no more needles. How naïve I was of what was to come!
The next morning I received a call from the GP. The whole conversation was a blur but I remember him saying Leo’s blood results were in, he had T1D and we needed to go straight to Sydney Children’s Hospital. I tried to stay calm as I packed a quick bag with some nappies, snacks and a change of clothes for Leo with absolutely no idea what lay ahead of us. My husband started googling and I could feel the calm slowly being replaced with fear and panic. I put on a brave face for Leo and off we went.
The doctor had sent a referral to SCH while we made our way there and in Emergency they finger pricked Leo straight away. The glucometer just flashed back ‘HI’ – which I now know is a very bad thing. When the pathology results came back and the doctors started talking about blood sugar levels, DKA and insulin, my head started spinning.
The next few days were quite possibly the worst of my life. Seeing your cheeky, bubbly child being stifled by the effects of extreme highs and lows, being woken constantly for relentless checks, and having to hold him down to inject him with insulin all while trying to absorb all the critical information you need to learn to keep them alive.
Diagnosis is an incredibly overwhelming and traumatic experience. The anxiety of being responsible for your child’s blood sugar levels 24/7, the mental and emotional toll of constant monitoring, calculations, fear of making a mistake and guilt about the time away from other siblings all combine to really just break you down into the most fragile version of yourself, all while needing to support the little person physically going through it.
My husband and I also found it extremely isolating. It’s strange to describe it that way because there were many people around us providing support – but they often didn’t understand the gravity of the diagnosis, the intensity of the management and how all-consuming T1D can be.
In writing this though, I realise just how far we’ve come in such a short amount of time. Leo was diagnosed on the 24th June 2023 and while I don’t think T1D management will ever feel ‘normal’ for us, it’s certainly not as daunting as that first week.
Leo is now on a CGM and pump, and the research that has gone into developing this technology has allowed us to get back to some semblance of normality in our lives. Our family decided to join One Walk to raise awareness for type 1 T1D and contribute to further the research that we so desperately hope will one day also find a cure.
Support Gioenne and others impacted by T1D by joining One Walk! Your involvement helps progress life-changing research aimed at finding cures and improving lives until that happens.
