The diagnosis

It was a Saturday; of course it was- children are always ill on the weekend. We had to go to the local walk-in centre, sent by the NHS helpline. Had they realised from the list of symptoms? Possibly, but they did not worry us but just encouraged us not to ignore it and to take Jake to the local walk-in centre.

Even with an appointment we waited quite a while. It was late afternoon and very busy, lots of unwell children. Jake was not that unwell at this point and I did feel perhaps we were a bit hasty bringing him in. We saw a lady doctor; I can't even remember what she looked like. All I know is that her manner was slightly brusque and she made Jake do a urine sample and she took blood, which made him cry. Then she said something I will never forget and which makes me wish she had done some training in how to break news to parents.

"He's got diabetes. It's an emergency, go to Barnet General now. Here is a letter to give to reception."

I'm not sure how David drove to Barnet. I was sitting in the passenger seat crying and praying she was mistaken. I knew nothing about diabetes, only that I did not want my son to have it. When we got to Barnet there was nowhere to park. It was dark and cold and we drove around a few times with no luck. So I got out with Jake and went into A and E whilst David drove around again, finally finding somewhere. I have no idea if he paid for the parking; neither of us were in a state to even think about that. (We did not get a fine, so either he did pay or no-one noticed!)

It was Saturday evening and the waiting room was full of quite unwell babies. I remember looking at them and thinking how many unwell babies their seemed to be that night. We went up to the reception desk and handed the receptionist the letter from the walk-in centre. Within moments we were being ushered into the cubicles. It was at that instant that I realised how serious it all was; on a busy Saturday evening to be jumped ahead of everyone, you suddenly know this is a life changing moment.

More blood tests (more crying though they were more gentle than at the walk-in centre) Then the very young doctors, two of them, came to talk to us.

"It's good news," the young man said. For the briefest of moments I thought the doctor at the walk-in centre had got it wrong. "We've caught it really early, he shows no signs of organ damage. We will have to admit him though and monitor him."

I can't even remember going upstairs to the children's ward. All I can remember is several people holding a screaming Jake down in order to give him his first insulin injection.

In the beginning...

...I knew nothing about carbs and very little about the processes involved in digestion. But then I became the parent of a child diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes and suddenly I had to learn everything.

It's been five years since that day. Jake had all the signs, except I did not know what they were. In the December he began to complain he was feeling really tired , but of course you do not take your child to the doctor because they are tired. We are real foodies in our family and we went to a food show that December. There were lots of samples, including fudge and chocolate, the sort of things Jake rarely ate. He got so tired all he wanted to do was sit down and watch the ladies singing in 1940s costumes. But he wasn't ill, just tired.

He lost weight, so much weight that when I look at photos at that time I wonder how I could have missed it. He was only four and he was growing like a beanpole so I just thought he losing the baby shape and getting taller.

Then there was the week he was ill. He had a coldy, flu type thing and he was really run down. My lovely husband rushed out and got oranges to make Jake freshly squeezed juice to give him a bit of energy. David still blames himself for exacerbating Jake's condition, except I think it was probably what helped diagnose it more quickly that week. What I know now is that that orange juice was about the most potent blood sugar raiser Jake could have been given. My first food lesson; orange juice raises the blood sugar

Then Jake started drinking gallons and going to the toilet every five minutes. He even went back to wetting the bed. He was drinking so much the Nursery staff noticed though even that did not trigger alarm bells. It was the following Saturday and he was still unwell, this time complaining of a stomach ache. He told me he'd had 'tummy aches before but nothing like this one.' It was then I said we needed to phone the NHS advice line, though I thought he might have a urine infection. Diabetes never entered my head.