The Place for Parents

[confusednfedup]

Almost 1 year ago our son at age 17 had not been feeling very well for a period of  time.  He was not the active boy to which my wife and I had known.  He was complaining almost on a daily basis of various ailments from fatigue to aches and pains.  If we knew then what we know now, we most certainly would have responded differently.  We felt that maybe he may be a hypochondriac.  We started to get a little concerned about his frequent urination during the night and always thirsty.  But we felt that maybe his body was adjusting to fight off some kind of sickness and it will soon pass.  One day he said that he may need to get his eyes checked because of blurry vision.  Soon after, he came to us and said he needed to go for blood work.  Blood work?  Why?  He said he was on the internet and entered his symptoms and feels he may have type 1 diabetes.  We are fairly smart individuals but not very well educated about diabetes.  People tend to associate diabetes with people who are not taking care of themselves by eating the wrong foods or may be overweight.  Our son is very slim and doesn't smoke cigarettes or abuse drugs and alcohol.  We went to the doctor and they confirmed that our son was a type 1 diabetic.  We were in shock at first wondering how long he may have been experiencing this situation and what we should expect for his future.  Then we came to reality about diabetes being treatable.  He has had several run ins with ignorant kids taunting him about his diabetes.  A few months after diagnosis, a situation became physical.  All was well until last night when a posting on internet my son read from a few kids said he has diabetes and they hope he dies soon.

My heart dropped to my feet when my older son brought this to my attention.  What can be done to protect my son and not allow something like this desecrate his will to survive.  You here way to much about childrens reactions after the fact.  I would appreciate anyone with suggestions before I face the possibility of a tragic result.  thanks Jim

[confusednfedup]

Almost 1 year ago our son at age 17 had not been feeling very well for a period of  time.  He was not the active boy to which my wife and I had known.  He was complaining almost on a daily basis of various ailments from fatigue to aches and pains.  If we knew then what we know now, we most certainly would have responded differently.  We felt that maybe he may be a hypochondriac.  We started to get a little concerned about his frequent urination during the night and always thirsty.  But we felt that maybe his body was adjusting to fight off some kind of sickness and it will soon pass.  One day he said that he may need to get his eyes checked because of blurry vision.  Soon after, he came to us and said he needed to go for blood work.  Blood work?  Why?  He said he was on the internet and entered his symptoms and feels he may have type 1 diabetes.  We are fairly smart individuals but not very well educated about diabetes.  People tend to associate diabetes with people who are not taking care of themselves by eating the wrong foods or may be overweight.  Our son is very slim and doesn't smoke cigarettes or abuse drugs and alcohol.  We went to the doctor and they confirmed that our son was a type 1 diabetic.  We were in shock at first wondering how long he may have been experiencing this situation and what we should expect for his future.  Then we came to reality about diabetes being treatable.  He has had several run ins with ignorant kids taunting him about his diabetes.  A few months after diagnosis, a situation became physical.  All was well until last night when a posting on internet my son read from a few kids said he has diabetes and they hope he dies soon.

My heart dropped to my feet when my older son brought this to my attention.  What can be done to protect my son and not allow something like this desecrate his will to survive.  You here way to much about childrens reactions after the fact.  I would appreciate anyone with suggestions before I face the possibility of a tragic result.  thanks Jim

[gsmom1]

Hi

First, I am so sorry and 2nd so mad.  My son will be 17 in a few weeks.  I know kids have said stupid things to him, but nothing like this.  Is your son still in school?  A senior?  Are these students?  If you have not, his brother and yourself should talk to your son about this right away.  If he is like my son, he does not want to talk about diabetes.   I would call a lawyer and get their opinion.  You need to print copies of the postings before they remove them.  Based on if these are students, I would probably call the school, but not until I talked with my son.  Your son is probably already horribly upset and more might be going on with these creeps than you are aware of.  at this age they have cars, jobs, are legally adults.  another thought, if they were saying things like this about him and it was not related to diabetes, what would you do?

From reading your post, I can see you feel awful about not realizing he had T1 based on his symptoms.  I still feel guilty and get emotional reliving my son being put in the back of an ambulance and transported to a children's hospital fighting for his life.  I think most of us feel this way.

Hang in there.  please let us know how things go.  I'm sorry you all have to go through this. 

[popjim]

This is a dreadful story,as a parent of a 9 year old who is begging me not to tell anyone in her school for fear that the kids will make fun of her,it truelly saddens me to hear of your story....How can people be so cruel,like its not heartbreaking enough to know of what your child has to go through living with the disease itself,but then to see them doubley crushed by the ignorance of others....your family is in our prayers.....So Sorry

[deafmack]

I am so sorry your son is going through this. Cyber bullying is actually a crime in most states. Make printouts of these bullying statements and take them to the police and to the school. Bullying of any kind should never be tolerated. My heart goes out to your son and to you in having to deal with this.

[tipotipo]

Take a picture of the post so you have proof even uf they delete it. Call the principal. Then call the police. That is a crime. Tell the principal to take action or you will call the local news.

[tipotipo]

Also I would definitely consider changing schools.