Emerging Courageous Online Magazine

Emerging Courageous Online Magazine - Stories

Zach's Story: Dealing With Diabetes by Melodie Tilander

This year 2001, I wanted to give a unique Christmas gift to the children in my life.   I decided to write a "Story” for each one of my nieces and nephews.   It would be their story because it would be about them. I was excited about this very personal gift; smiling to myself, imagining their feelings and reactions to the words I would write about them.

The ideas and memories just poured from me, I was not short of material.   What great kids, I thought. My heart swelled. They were funny and lighthearted episodes of each child captured on paper. I giggled and laughed as I typed encapsulating a little bit of their individual personality and character on paper.

Five down one more to go. I had only one story left to write. Why? Why was I hesitating?   Awe, my answer was ‘fear’. How could I share in words? How could I share on paper Zach's Story and do it the justice it deserves?

I will begin "Zach's Story" by saying, "In loving families when someone is diagnosed, it feels like the entire family has been diagnosed, but in reality only ONE is."

The disease enters the front door, urgently knocking, rushing in to become part of all your lives. No warning. All formalities of introductions are set aside until later when you are too tired and too weak to understand the full ramifications of the disease. Maybe it was God's way of protecting us.

You see, in May of 2001, Zach my 11-year-old nephew was diagnosed with diabetes.   Yes, he had been tired lately but weren't we all. And, yes his water consumption had been unusually large; with a lot of trips to the bathroom, but it was summer.   His lips had become chapped, so we suggested more lip balm.   Zach's emotions had been much more sensitive, and for a while we dismissed it to pre-adolescence.

All the signs were missed for a while. No one heard the knocking until it got louder. Gratefully, Zach's Mom noticed in the car on a family trip just how often these things were occurring and decided to have Zach checked by their family doctor. My brother received the call from Johnna from the parking lot of the doctor's office, saying that she was instructed to immediately take Zach to the Legacy Emanuel Children's Hospital in Portland, Oregon. The doctor had shared that his blood sugar was HIGH and if not treated immediately could be life threatening.

As a family, we knew very little about diabetes. Our education began, and it came with all the limitations, warnings, concerns, and "do & don'ts" of the disease. Zach's life would change forever. He would from this day forward have to control and monitor his exact intake of food and drink. His freedom to eat and drink whatever he liked had been taken from him in an instant. He now would have to follow the medical books and change his diet and eat by a clock and count his carbohydrates. He would have to test his blood, calculate his insulin, and administer the insulin to himself everyday, several times in a 24-hour period. The disease gives no choices. He would have to submit and obey or it could mean further medical problems with severe consequences: blindness, amputation, kidney failure, additional organ damage, dialysis, and death.

As an Aunt, I felt helpless seeing Zach and his parents being inundated with brochures, pamphlets, books, doctor's lectures, nurse's instructions, procedures, and conversations with the lab to try to control and stabilize his sugar level. The fear surrounding each sugar level number whether it was too high or too low was magnified by love.

Zach's new reality was becoming clearer to all of us. His Mom and Dad sharing all the information of the disease with each of us, as they were still absorbing the shock of it. At hearing each new piece, we broke down...Grandparents, Aunts and Uncles alike. Only to be lifted up by Zach's courage. In seeing this little boy’s strength, it gave all of us the strength to face it.

Zach's overall reaction to all this was beyond incredible. He is courageously shouldering his NEW RESPONSIBILITIES of this disease called diabetes. The courage he has shown through this is beyond an 11-year-old. The piercing of his skin to test his blood 5 to 6 times a day, even though it makes his fingers sore and tender he never complains. Not once from all the daily shots of insulin that he has been administered by the doctors, family members, or himself has he ever cried or once complained.   The will power to change his eatting habits over night and to continue to deny himself day after day has shown his true character and strength of will. He can only eat at certain times of the day, eatting only certain amounts, and has to say "NO" to certain foods and desserts everyday. Yet Zach's attitude remains positive. And his nature is loving and polite. When asked by the doctor if he was ready to try to give himself a shot, his response was, "Yes, please".

The posturing he has taken; his concern for his family has been unbelievable. Zach didn't want to cost extra; he didn't want to be any trouble. He worried about his family when they were worrying about him. Zach upon seeing the medical bills come in, said to his mother, "Mom you don't have to give me my allowance anymore."   Johnna's heart broke when she heard these words from her son.

I remember being blown away when Zach told me he wanted to earn extra money to pay for his "test strips". He had come up with all kinds of ideas on how to pay for them. When my brother and sister in-law learned of this they sat him down; and said how nice it was that he wanted to do that; but they were his parents, and this was all part of being a parent; and that they would gladly pay it all; and for him not to worry about the cost.

Zach has graciously and courageously accepted his diabetes. He continues to be strong everyday. Zach has made it easier for each of us to accept diabetes; because of his courage we are all less fearful of diabetes. He has proven to be an example to our entire family. Yes, an example of courage, strength, discipline, sacrifice, acceptance, and faith. I am personally humbled by my nephew Zach's example. He is my real life everyday, every hour, every minute "Hero".

Melodie Lynn Tilander, Copyright December 2001, [email protected]

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