She wept profusely as the doctors announced to her that her kid had diabetes. They came out with the diagnosis after series of tests were conducted on the child; the results only confirmed the medical team’s fears. They had listened to the mother’s complaints, and the signs and symptoms the child was said to have presented for months.
Kelvin was born a normal child, just like his siblings and like any other child in the neighborhood; there was nothing to warn the parents that he would one day become a diabetic, especially in his childhood. He had adapted well; he also ate what other children in the house ate. He looked very healthy: he was a little fatter than his siblings at his age. He was okay, until about the age of eight, when suddenly he started experiencing some funny symptoms which his not-two-educated parents took for granted.
It all started with frequent urination, which they took for immature urinary bladder syndrome and felt it would improve with time. Kelvin started to wet his bed more frequently (a thing that was quite unusual); and would urinate several times a day. He also started to feel thirstier. His parents attributed this to his hyperactive nature as a kid and didn’t have to bother much about it. But the symptoms worsened over the months.
Little Kelvin began to feel more hungry than usual, and complained of weakness. The parents tried to satisfy him and make him happy by giving him more food. Though he ate more foods, he was beginning to loose weight (which they could not explain). This continued until their cousin who happened to be a professional nurse, visited them. After listening to their story, she advised them to see the doctor immediately, explaining that it was possible the child had diabetes.
The parents were tempted to argue with her initially, noting that the young boy had been healthy and eating very well. On a second thought, they decided to hearken to her professional advice to see a medical doctor. Then the doctors had listened to their story and decided to conduct some special tests, to be sure what the problem was (though they suspected diabetes too). The result confirmed their fears that the kid after all had diabetes mellitus. He was commenced on diabetes treatment and has been on daily insulin ever since.
Just like Kelvin, a lot of children, teenagers and young adults are passing through this experience, without receiving the desired attention because to parents, diabetes is not a problem of kids and young adults. They hardly ever suspect their little ones could be suffering from this problem. Parents should always make it a duty to see the doctor the moment their children present with any signs and symptoms they are not familiar with, and get help immediately.
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