Our Story
The Beginning of the Diabetes Dash
July 23, 2018, began like any other day except it wasn’t. You know the feeling you get in your gut when you think things just aren’t the way they should be? That’s how I felt a few days before the 23rd. My name is Jackie Washburn, and I am the mom of identical twins, Jacob and Ryan. For those of you who don’t know me, I adore my kids and think they are pretty awesome and well, they are my entire world. I somehow notice things that they and my husband, Jeff don’t think about. Probably just mother’s intuition– right? Anyways, I started to notice that Ryan was thirstier than normal and that he started to get up in the middle of the night to use the restroom and that he couldn’t make it through a movie without using the restroom. Something didn’t seem right, so off to the pediatrician we went.
I’ll never forget the doctor saying, “Ryan’s blood sugar level is above 1,000, you need to go to Children’s Hospital, but first, go home and pack your bags, even your Xbox if you want, you’ll be there a few days, Ryan more than likely has Type 1 Diabetes.” Wow, what does that even mean? In shock, I looked over at Ryan, and we both began to cry. We called Jeff right away and let him know what was going on. He was on his way out of town for work but quickly turned around so he could meet us at home. Thank goodness, because someone needed to be there with Jacob!
Heading to the hospital our drive was pretty quiet, we both were still in shock and had no idea what to expect. How does a person even get Type 1 Diabetes? We had no idea and had so many questions. Type 1 Diabetes is a chronic autoimmune condition in which the pancreas produces little or no insulin and is a 24/7 disease that requires constant management. Type 1 develops when the insulin-producing pancreatic beta cells are mistakenly destroyed by the body’s immune system. A person needs to continuously and carefully balance insulin intake with eating, exercise, and other activities. They also measure blood-sugar levels through finger pricks, ideally at least six times a day, in addition to the insulin injections needed before each snack or meal. A serious complication associated with diabetes is diabetic ketoacidosis which is where the body produces excess blood acids known as ketones.
The days following being admitted to the hospital, we as a family went through hours of education and learned how to manage a lifestyle with diabetes, while Ryan endured more finger pricks than I cared to count and learned to give himself injections of insulin before every meal. He was a trooper and was a super-star patient. The physicians couldn’t believe after reading his chart that he walked in the hospital with sugar levels that high when they were certain he should have been in a coma. Before leaving the hospital, the family had to take a test on how to manage the disease and most importantly, learn how to give injections. Everyone, even his brother Jacob, learned to give insulin shots.
After just a few days, Ryan’s glucose numbers were at an acceptable level, and we had the education we needed to head home. Seriously, I thought to myself; we are not ready to do this on our own. We learned enough in the days we were there to know that diabetes isn’t a thing you can brush off, it is a serious condition, that if not treated properly, could be life-threatening. High blood glucose levels are bad and low blood glucose levels are bad, so how can we possibly manage this on our own. I was scared, I was anxious, and to be expected, had a meltdown when we got home. I cried and told Jeff; we can’t do this, what if we calculate his ratios wrong, what if we give him too much insulin? It was the scariest feeling I have experienced as a mom.
It's been almost 6 years since we began our journey with T1D and at times, it still feels unreal. Ryan is now a freshman in college and is adjusting well. Not only is Ryan living away from home and managing his T1D on his own, he successfully completed his first season swimming as a collegiate athlete. Don't get me wrong, we still continue on the roller coaster ride of ups and downs, but Ryan now manages his diabetes for the most part on his own with a few messages here and there from mom making sure he is ok. Even though Ryan has been on an insulin pump for 5 years, I think there will always be some adjusting that needs to take place. This disease is one that sucks, but at the same time, it makes me thankful this is what we were given. I count my blessings as I remind myself, it could be worse.
From the moment we entered into the Type 1 family, we knew it was our mission to help spread awareness, give hope to those dealing with the disease, and fight for a cure. We are very lucky for the support we have received from JDRF and want to do our part in giving back. We hope you can join us on July 21st for the 6th Annual Diabetes Dash 5K Run/Walk. To date, we have raised just a over $$104,000 for JDRF. The proceeds from the race will go to JDRF Southern & Central Ohio Chapter and a scholarship fund of $1,000 will be awarded to a Westerville City School graduating senior living with T1D in 2024. Together we hope to someday find a cure!
