Tender Mercies

Continuing on from my last post...  This is getting a bit spiritual, if you don't want to read that, maybe stop now...

Even before Flynn was born, I knew something was different.  I always put that off as "moms always think their kids are special/different/unique..." etc...

Colin gave me a blessing when I was pregnant with Flynn, just as he did with each of my pregnancies. In his blessing, he said (something to the effect of) I would be mindful of our family's health and educate myself on eating healthy.

At first, I just assumed it was in regards to this pregnancy.  So, when I started feeling ill and having no energy, the last thing I wanted to eat was something raw, organic and vegan.  (my body craves protein when I'm pregnant)

I ate as best as I could, and didn't think too much more of it.
I had a healthy baby boy and life carried on.

For some reason, that was the only thing I recalled from the blessing he gave me.  But, don't ask me what he said in the other 2 blessings with the other 2 kids.  For some reason this one stuck out.

Over the last 4 years of Flynn's life, it has constantly rung in my head.
When he was 2 years old, our entire household got the "Christmas Tummy Bug".
Brant had it, I had it, Colin had it as well as my Mother and Father in law. (Who we were living with at the time)

Flynn got it too, but he was different.  While we all had it for *MAYBE* 48 hours, Flynn's lingered.  We thought he was getting better, eating bits of solid food and drinking, only to be throwing up by dinner again.  Finally when we realized he was quite pale and looked very dehydrated, we took him to the hospital to have an IV.

He had a great turn around.  He was eating, drinking and NO MORE THROWING UP.
The ER doctor had requested blood work on him, including a glucose.
I had been working at the Cardston Lab and knew the techs.  We had his blood drawn and I waited for the glucose.  I'm not sure why, but like I said, I knew he was different.

Everything had been fine until we moved back to Red Deer.  I won't go into his symptoms as I went through all of that in my last post.

I had a great balance in Cardston.  My anxiety had never been lower (YES!  Even living with my in laws! :P) and even though I was kind of 'single parenting' it, life worked.  I felt no pressures, other than to be a good mom.  I had a nice circle of friends, those who understood if today wasn't a good day for me to go to the park, who also never felt as if I didn't care about them just because I didn't talk to them for a couple days.  It was the 'bestest' thing ever.

After 3 years it was time to be a family again.  Colin and I almost had another "newlywed adjustment period" and it was during this time that I KNEW our life in Red Deer couldn't revert back to what it was when we lived here before.

I felt a GREAT impression that I needed to focus more on my family and our life.  I needed to be there for my kids, I needed to reorganize our life and become more organized.
I had a very "fly by the seat of my pants" attitude when we lived here before, but I didn't want it any more.  If I wanted to go shopping, play with friends or even sew, I needed to plan it out.  

We were doing great for about 3 weeks.  Activities planned, FHE planned, chores planned and I thought life was going great.  I was cutting things out of my life I didn't feel I had the energy to put MORE energy than I had into it.  If I had some left, I would but it wasn't often I had much left after giving almost all of it to my family.  I went to bed content and happy each night.  

I unfortunately, lost (or what I thought was) a close friend over this decision.  I wanted to focus 100% of my energy to this little eternal family we had growing and I can't take anyone else to the Celestial Kingdom with me but these awesome people I have!

It was a rough couple of days, but then everything kind of came full circle.

Flynn was diagnosed on January 13th.

Had I not already put things in motion to better plan out our days, meals and family activities I feel like I would be lost.  Had things maybe not gone the way they had with certain people, I would feel completely overwhelmed constantly.

I honestly feel the Lord has prepared me for this new life change.
While it's thrown a wrench in a couple aspects, I know we'll get back on track.

I've always felt the Lord's guidance in my life, especially in regards to Flynn.

I KNOW that, while it's been a rollercoaster of a ride these last 5 days, I KNOW without a doubt, that I was being prepared for this year.

I do often times feel overwhelmed and stressed, but I know I can handle this.  
Life doesn't often go as planned, but I KNOW Heavenly Father knows what's best for me and my family.  

So, let's see what else 2016 can throw at me!

Meet our Flynn!

This is Flynn!  He's our second boy in our family. My calm, happy, cuddly Flynn.
We LOVE him so much, he's been a great balance to his older brother, his wild, crazy, 'fly by the seat of his pants' brother.

I loved this boy the moment I met him.  After he was delivered (born via C-Section) he didn't make a sound.  The doctor kept trying to get him to cry, make noise, anything, and he just was content looking around, everything was amazing and new to him.  He's been my quiet, loving boy.

He loves cuddles, MARIO and LUIGI, his dad, dressing up, dancing and movies with popcorn.  He loves being together as a family.

The last few weeks, his amazing personality was hijacked.  He was cranky, irritable, anxious and clingy.  

I honestly thought he was going through a phase.  I had been reading the book "The Five Love Languages for Children" and simply thought he needed more one on one with mom and dad, more cuddles and a calmer lifestyle. 

We tried that, nothing changed. 

He was having trouble wetting himself, being constantly thirsty and peeing about every hour, hour and half.

At first I thought 

"I'm just being paranoid"

"It's just a phase"  

"He is just under stress"
"He's only 4"
"He's such a sensitive little soul, and things have been different since we moved"
Just about any excuse I could think of, I did.

I'd run it through my head constantly to justify these symptoms.

Until we (Colin and I) both couldn't justify any more.

He had to be changed at least once during the night wearing an actual diaper, and he'd still be wetting the bed.

The final straw was drinking 12 cups of water in a day.  THAT'S 3 LITRES!  For a 4 year old!

I couldn't view myself as a paranoid mother any longer, he needed a doctor.

Being a Medical Laboratory Assistant, I already knew what the doctor would most likely order and what the likely diagnosis was.  Not an exciting prospect, but I knew it wasn't going to go away, only get worse and likely be life threatening if left untreated.

On January 13, 2016, our wonderful, amazing, beautiful Flynn was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes.

We were... I can't really describe 'how' we were.  We had been reading up on the symptoms of constant thirst and urinating so already knew the likely diagnosis.  It made the official diagnosis a little more tolerable, but still it still made my heart sink.  

It was official.  

I wasn't being paranoid.

Something was not right with my Flynn, and there was nothing I could do to fix it.
And that is the most heart-breaking thing any parent ever experiences.