The day Carter was diagnosed

July 3rd, 2006 Hope, Emma, and Carter on their Nana's porch. The next week our lives began to change significantly. We drove to Kansas City following the 4th of July and Carter repeatedly had to go to the bathroom and was constantly asking for more to drink. Jim's mom picked up on the fact something might be wrong and even mentioned Diabetes. I of course said oh he's fine I'm sure. By the time we returned to Bartlesville, we were convinced that all was not well with are little man. He had begun to wet the bed which had actually NEVER happened to him and looked very thin. I took him into Dr. Reinhard right away. She felt around and he winced when she touched his abdomen. She looked at me and somehow I just knew in my heart that all was not well with my son. She told me she would like to do a blood test in the morning after he had fasted all night and they would be checking for a battery of things including diabetes. Carter had lost 7 pounds over a period of a few days as his body virtually had begun the process of starving itself to death. He weighed a mere 36 pounds and was on the verge of turning 6 years old.

The next day, I got the phone call during a homeschool teachers meeting that every person dreads receiving. Dr. Reinhard had called me saying the tests were back and Carter indeed had Juvenile diabetes. I cannot tell you how grateful I was to the Lord that he had chosen her to be our Doctor during this gutwrenching phone call. She cried with me as a mom/parent, encouraged me, and counseled me as a Doctor. Thank you Lord for a woman who loves and serves you in her work! The next 24 hours the roller coaster began. I was really clueless about Juvenile Diabetes. I remembered what I had learned in school, remembered treating patients who had not taken care of themselves medically, but I was clueless on the treatment of diabetes per say. All of my family thought it meant absolutely no sugar. We were scheduled to go into Dr. Reinhard's office the first thing Friday morning for Carter to receive his first insulin shot. We also were scheduled to begin outpatient treatment in Tulsa the following Monday. All I really remember is a panic feeling that we had to wait for 3 days and I was clueless of what to feed my child and terrified of causing his body any more damage! The following is my email to my dear friends and family who lifted us up continually in Christ.

"Hi friends...it has been a long day however we finally got some answers to some problems health wise with Carter. He has been diagnosed with Juvenile Diabetes. We are going Monday to two days of outpatient treatment with a pediatric endocrinologist in Tulsa. Please pray for our family as we struggle to comprehend what lifestyle changes this means for us and pray for our little guy that God will strengthen him through this battle and for courage as none of us enjoy pain in any form. God is an awesome sovereign God who will use this new trial to continue to transform us into his image. As Jim and I are dealing with this individually and together please pray for us as a couple that we will rely on Christ and cast our concerns and frustrations over to our heavenly Father. I have been placing Carter at His feet repeatedly these last few days saying I would praise Him no matter what....now I have the what...please pray for strength for me as a mom who would do anything to take the suffering and pain away from her child. I have great fear of Carter's reactions to a daily regimine of insulin shots and glucose monitoring. I am also hoping my reaction of numbness to the situation will give way to a resolve to not try and take the situation into my own hands to "fix" but to lay my budren down and live in God's strength. I covet all of your prayers for Carter and I continue to pray for a miraculous healing of his body and for a possible CURE for this disease.

In Christ,
Laura"