Diabetes Picture Books for Newly Diagnosed Type 1s - creasyotatew

Four-year-old Saint Andrew Suarez with T1D and his parents, Michael and Leah.

It was the beginning of January 2018, at the coldest point of winter to that extent. Just Eastern Samoa our family was unwinding from the holidays, while dealing with a fix of frozen pipes, we came to the conclusion it was time to take our 4-year-old Word, Andrew, to the pediatrician to fix an explanation on some modern observations. Specifically, we wanted to know why he was peeing so much through the night, helping himself to large glasses of water soh frequently, yet hardly feeding anything. The news back from the pediatrician suddenly made the frozen pipes and holiday hangover seem totally irrelevant and unimportant.

Andrew was diagnosed with typecast 1 diabetes and had to be rush to the ER at Bean Town Children's Hospital to goody diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA), a critical complication resulting in an untreated flooding blood line sugar level, common for people just learning of their diagnosis. We would spend the adjacent trey nights in the hospital, some nursing him to health, while also being inundated with the instructions for the new routine we'd ultimately take to live by for the foreseeable future.

Where do you find comfortableness in such an uncomfortable position? For our family, the person that gave everyone the most console was the matchless who was most affected by this new lifestyle. Despite existence lonesome 4.5 years old, all signs pointed to Andrew being fully conscious of how his life-time was about to change.

Yet HE was the united putting a smile on everyone's faces.

A children's hospital can be a stressful place for anyone, considering the many circumstances that could bring one at that place. Luckily for us, Beantown Children's has a very calming and welcoming facility and Andrew took full advantage. Their entrance hall includes: a solid fish tank, a wall-sized motion-detection monitor, and a staircase that makes sounds on all step. If you're hot, you may evening catch a therapy dog coming unstylish of the elevator. You better believe that Andrew insisted on taking entire reward of all of these amenities. Non only was he able to disport himself, but seeing a kid, in his pajamas, having the time of his life-time put smiles on all of the passerby's faces in the pressure group.

Making the best of the situation for himself and everyone around him wasn't forced. It was what came natural to him. It's one of the galore qualities of my young son that I count up to. In fact, one of the ways I've reliable to make the best of the situation myself, is in writing about the live.

In the same way of life St. Andrew amused himself and those approximately him in the hospital lobby, I hope others can some enjoy and take comfort in reading material the narration about Andrew braving his primary yr with T1D.

At 39 pages and published in December 2018, Year One with Type One illustrates many of the qualities I look up to in Andrew, including his bravery, confident posture, and how he's able to make himself and everyone around him happy, even in the most stressful situations. Specifically, I've enclosed details happening the symptoms, the hospital experience, along with describing whatever of the real-liveliness scenes of him enjoying the lobby American Samoa delineate, American Samoa well American Samoa his life at home and school.

Here's an example from the book of how we provide brainwave into Andrew's life at home:

Focusing in on Andrew's prototypal class allowed me to reflect along how our menag has grown from the experience. Writing the rule book allowed Maine to document the details, some for us to reflect on, and for others to hopefully touch to. Now, a year after releasing that book, I can reflect on the experience of sharing Andrew's story with the world.

The diabetes profession can relate

The reply to the book has been very positive. I've received tons of messages from parents, either in the anatomy of Amazon reviews, e-mails, or Facebook/Instagram messages. The number 1 piece of feedback I receive, nearly universally, is that the children reading the chronicle all comment on how similar Andrew's history is to their ain. Some parents have even told me that Andrew's story resembled their fry's so much then that their child in reality thought the Bible was about them. This is great feedback, as it was important for me to capture every detail, and stay fresh every aspect of the tarradiddle as true to life A viable, exactly so that other children and families could associate.

One particular response that touched us came from an American family stationed in Republic of Korea with a 5-year-grey recently diagnosed son. To know that our tale provided console to someone overseas meant a flock to U.S.A! Likewise, recital the stories and feedback of families that reach verboten to the States always puts a smile Saint Andrew the Apostle's face.

Another common answer we dumbfound is how the book helped class members, friends, and classmates to better understand what their T1 child goes finished. I experienced this likewise, first-hand, as I've learn the book to Andrew's classmates the last two school years. I've heard feedback from parents of children who went nursing home and told their parents about Andrew after my cultivate visit. This tells Pine Tree State that Andrew's classmates are listening to and internalizing the history, which was the goal of version to them to begin with. I conceive, there is a general lack of awareness about T1D, and one of my hopes is that Andrew's classmates as well as the classmates of the great unwashe who have his Good Book, testament get an education and understanding of T1D at a young age.

Year One with Type One has as wel given me a platform to speak for close to T1D on a broader scale. Over the summertime, I opposite up with one of Saint Andrew the Apostle's school nurses to lead a session at a continuing education conference for cultivate nurses, run aside Northeastern University School Health Academy (NEUSHA). We presented along "Care Coordination for T1D" to an betrothed audience of train nurses to bring home the bacon insight from first hand experience of an ideal partnership between parents and a schooltime nurse. Likewise, I participated connected a Q&A panel alongside JDRF's Teen Consultative Committee (TAC), which is a aggroup of teenagers aliveness with T1D, at another consequence for active school day nurses.

A kids diabetes record for Christmas

With the success, feedback, and opportunities that came from Year One with Character One, I decided to write another book for Andrew and the community of interests. Twas My Type of Christmas takes a passably different approach. Organism a fictional (or is IT?) retelling of the Chris Claremont classic with a diabetes spin, this sequel at 29 pages was discharged in September 2019. It aims to be a merriment book, simply also sneaks in some T1D knowledge and language.

So far, the community is responding very positively to this new-sprung Holy Scripture as comfortably.

The joy our kinsfolk gets from being able to share these stories with the community represents a silverish liner in the grand strategy of the daily challenges of managing T1D. Simply if Andrew, running round the hospital lobby in his PJj's, has taught us anything, it's that it's OK to find some joy amidst a challenging situation.

Thanks, Michael! We prize your sharing the story keister these cardinal new books, which can be saved on Amazon — "Year One with Type Unrivaled" for #3.99 on Kindle and $12.86 in paperback, and "Twas My Type of Christmas" for $3.99 in Kindle and $10.25 in paperback.

But before you get purchase them, hither's a chance to toss your name into the hat to win free copies this holiday mollify…

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

Interested in winning copies of Class One With Type One and 'Twas My Type of Christmas? We're thrilled that the generator has in agreement to avail us give away a pair of freed signed copies to two lucky winners! Here's how to accede:

1. E-mail us at information@diabetesmine.com with "Diabetes mellitus-PictureBooks" somewhere in the subject line to let United States know you're hoping to win. Or you fundament ping us on Twitter or our Facebook page using the same codeword. For shipping purposes, we must set the game show to those with mailing addresses within the Conjunctive States.

2. You deliver until Friday, Dec. 27, 2019, at 5pm PST to enter.

3. The winners will be selected using Random.org.

4. Winners will be announced connected Monday, Dec. 30, via social media, so delight exist sure enough to keep tabs connected your electronic mail and/or Facebook/Twitter messenger box, as that's how we contact our winners. (If winners get into't respond within a workweek, we blue-ribbon an alternate.)

We'll update this post with the winners' name calling.

Best of luck, Book Lovers!

Congrats to our winners: Jennifer Byerley and Wendy Albanese.