Before You Read this and Judge Me, I Know! It Could Be Worse, but this is Our Journey to Keep Our Son Alive and Healthy

My baby was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes at 10 years old. Rylan was born February 28, 2002. Who would of known from the moment we saw his precious face life would be different for him. We have watched him grow for so many years, he is our first born, he is silly, fun loving, an awesome big brother, loved, he is our blessing....Only 5 to 8 % of ALL diabetes are Type 1, which requires a lifetime of pokes, sticks, and pain. But he is our little fighter-making us better parents. Insulin is NOT a cure, only a treatment to keep our little man alive, there is no cure for him. Diabetes is the 7th leading cause of death in the United States. We will NEVER forget when Rylan's day came, July 30, 2012 at 1:45PM...our world stood still, He had what the doctor called diabetic ketoacidosis. He was admitted to Children's Mercy Hospital, we spent 3 loooong days there.... We had to learn how to take care of him, we learned counting, dosing, injecting, checking, treating, accounting for every activity...We learned that Type 1 Diabetes, generally occurs earlier in life, children incur damage to the beta cells in the pancreas, which produce insulin, so they have an insulin deficiency. Excess body fat DOES NOT cause this type of diabetes, and those with Type 1 diabetes always will require insulin to prevent serious hyperglycemia and life threatening Ketoacidosis. We then realized that we were going to be in a constant state of worry and alert. Diabetes is a 24/7 battle, it never goes away...We have seen many difficulties come his way, but none as difficult as this. We have watched his smile fade, now he has to struggle with the biggest challenge of all. No one deserves this and no matter how hard we could of tried, it could not of been prevented, we will always wonder what caused it.  We do know that Type 1 is NOT caused by eating to much sugar...Diabetes takes his innocence, strips away his childhood and places this heavy burden of life upon his small fingertips. His journey will be long and uncertain. On the outside he looks like a normal kid. Rylan loves to have fun, play basketball, and hang out with his friends, on the inside though, things are different, Every 3 months for the rest of his life, it is back to the team of doctors for more testing, more pokes, more education, more changes, his fingers are already sore and callused, checking his blood sugar 10 to 12 times a day, many times starting at midnight or 3 am.  How do you console a child who depends on insulin shots to stay alive? :'(  Everything he eats and drinks has to be measured, weighed, or calculated and recorded.  While friends and family eat, Ry patiently waits for carbs to be counted, insulin to be dosed and injected - even at school, and he rarely complains, but life is now so hard, especially when he is only 10 years old.