November 22, 2004 is a day that will live in infamy for the Stevens Family Household.  Drew was diagnosed with Type 1 Insulin Dependent Diabetes at age 2.  We felt like deer caught in the headlights!  We were in total disbelief because we had no family history of the disease.  We had three intensive days at Maine Medical Center’s Barbara Bush Children’s Hospital to learn how to cope with this disease EVERY DAY, from giving shots to counting carbohydrates, monitoring blood sugar, dealing with Hypoglycemia (low blood sugar), Hypergycemia (High Blood sugar) and the ketones that can accompany high blood sugar and possibly hospitalize Drew again.

We were in total shock, but when you, as a parent, are going through this, you cannot afford to stand still while everything happens around you, you need to jump into survival mode immediately.  It is your job to learn how to take care of your child in a vastly different manner.  There was so much to learn and to take in in such a short amount of time.  The staff at BBCH was WONDERFUL- they were as gentle with Drew as they needed to be when dealing with a two year old who didn’t feel well, but as FIRM as they needed to be with us.  We were hesitant in giving Drew his first shot of insulin and it seemed the nurse was asking us to do it so soon after arriving- but it really was time to get started, as it would be the first of many shots in Drew’s lifetime.  Something as easy as checking Drew’s blood sugar was an overwhelming thought for us, we didn’t want to hurt him.  But the nurses urged us to try as they stood there for support.  When we panicked at Drew’s initial numbers, they explained how things were working and how to check for ketones.

Our Dr, Dr. Alan Morris proved to be the biggest influence on our current approach to Drew’s diabetes.  He met with us in the play room at the hospital so Drew could play while we talked.  What a FUN playroom!  Dr. Morris talked us through Drew’s future care and let us know it was ok to give our selves a moment or two to break down and let it all out.  As our eyes welled with tears, Dr. Morris explained to us that Drew could do anything in life that he wanted to, that diabetes would only be a part of who he was and that it would not define him as a person.  THIS WAS CRUCIAL for us to hear as we have tried to hold onto that and encourage Drew to be as normal as possible in his every day life.

In our three days at BBCH, there was a lot of down time.  Thankfully, the play room had some cars with long handles on them so the kids could ride as the parents pushed.  Drew  circled around our floor at BBCH for HOURS!!!  He was so happy.  My husband had thought to grab Drew’s John Deere hat in our scramble to get to the hospital so he would have something familiar with him (he LOVES John Deere)- he wore it the entire time!!!!  There was so much for Drew to play with at the hospital- he had a great time!  It was so helpful to have him content while we were trying to grasp what was happening.

It was hard to leave the hospital as we felt safe there.  We are so appreciative of the staff at BBCH and their nurturing ways at the “Big House” (our nickname for the hospital so Drew wouldn’t be scared when we told him where we were going)!  It was a very positive experience for our family.