Another update on Mike & Memories of Days Gone By

To read Mike's story from the beginning, start here.
My first update is here.

Mike and Marcia have called us a few times today. Oh, my heart goes out to them! What a day it’s been! Not only are they exhausted from their hospital stay and still recovering from major surgery, but they are overwhelmed by diabetes.

It’s their first day on their own without doctors, nurses or diabetic educators. Leaving the hospital, they thought they were prepared. They had written notes. They were given instructions from their medical team. They took home pamphlets and books. They filled their prescriptions and bought all of their diabetes supplies.

What they found is that all of those materials don’t make this disease easy. They’re still filled with questions and confusion. So they’ve called us, and we are glad to be there for them.

After talking with Mike and Marcia today, Gregg and I couldn’t help but reminisce. We still clearly remember our beginnings with this disease. We called our endocrinologist and diabetic educator often in those first few days and weeks.

“Remember that feeling of information overload?” I asked.

“It was intense,” said Gregg.

We laughed as we recalled our second day with the disease, when our diabetic educator sent us home with a big bag of stuff. We had no idea what to do with it all. So we brought it all back the next day and asked her to go through it (again!) item by item. We can laugh about that now, but back then, it wasn’t so funny. We were petrified of making a mistake and causing Jack harm.

“Remember how foreign this disease felt?” Gregg asked. “Remember how awkward and challenging a simple blood check was? How we had to really focus and concentrate on our every move to make sure we did things properly and how much fear we felt?

“What Mike and Marcia are experiencing,” Gregg went on, “is like an initiation. It’s probably what all newly diagnosed patients experience.”

It’s so true. I’m sure that diabetes management will eventually become routine for Mike and Marcia, just as it did for Gregg, Jack and me. I just hope that soon after, they will be able to forget the material they’ve mastered, as Mike’s liver will be functioning as a pancreas.

A little side note here:
Jack and I talked about Mike’s situation today. He’s upset that Mike has diabetes, even if it is just temporary. “I sure hope Mike’s liver works like a pancreas, because I really don’t want him to have diabetes as long as I’ve had it,” Jack said.

A little bit later in the conversation, he asked, “Is Mike writing down his blood sugar numbers? I hope he is, because that’s really important.”

Jack’s level of empathy and concern amazes me. Some times, it’s hard to remember that he’s only six.