Newly diagnosed under 1

[Helenjmp]

I’m type 1 for 37 years my niece who is 10 months old was diagnosed yesterday, really want to help her mum and dad where’s the best place to get support for them ?

 

[Grant_Vicat]

I’m type 1 for 37 years my niece who is 10 months old was diagnosed yesterday, really want to help her mum and dad where’s the best place to get support for them ?

Hi @Helenjmp - what an unwanted Christmas present! I think what you are already doing is a great start. Your niece's parents are certain to be shocked, anxious and even angry, but your 37 years of Type 1 should give them hope. The fact that you have also visited this Forum and looked at threads such as Diagnosed very young will help to reassure them, especially as they can see that there are others who have clocked up 50, 60, 70 years from the dark ages when treatment was very primitive. I don't know wherabouts you are on the globe, but in England there is usually a good paediatrician working in the diabetes field in major hospitals. Even if her parents are reluctant to go to the hospital in current circumstances, they should be able to get information down the phone. From the first day of Lockdown (in fact a week before in my case) I have been able to ask my local hospital all kinds of questions and have received excellent answers on each occasion. The latest was "I don't understand why, as a transplant patient and therefore at the top of the shielded list, I haven't seen any sign of transplant patients being eligible for a vaccination?"
"Make no mistake, you have not been forgotten. It's simply that we have not yet risked testing this out on those taking immuno-suppressants, but with more information enabling us to monitor the effects on other recipients, we should be able to carry this out safely on transplant patients before long." This is only the gist of the conversation, but it certainly reassured me at the time.
It is worth reminding them that where a patient as young as 10 months is concerned, they would never be penalised for dialling 999. Things can change rapidly at this stage in life (as my parents found out in 1959) and it is not worth waiting till "convenient" times.
You could also suggest that they join this Forum so that they can ask questions whenever they want, even if while waiting for information from a hospital or surgery. I wish them and you all the very best for 2021 and beyond