What's Up With Jack?
Chapter One: Something's Going On
Author: Julia Ransohoff, high school student writer
14-year-old Jack D. Garcia jumped out of his seat during English class and bolted for the bathroom pass by the door. He casually grabbed it but sprinted down the hallway as soon as he was sure no one could see him. Lately, Jack had been going to the bathroom a lot. He usually had a pretty normal appetite and liked a good meal, but now he was hungry and thirsty all the time. His mom said it was what happened to teenage boys, so Jack believed her. But lately, he had started to lose a lot of weight, even though he was still eating tons. His grandmother said it was because he was "stretching out," but it wasn't happening to his friends. Jack didn't quite know what was going on, but he knew something was definitely not right.
When Jack's dad got back from a business trip in New York City, Jack told him about what had been going on. They scheduled an appointment at the doctor for after school on Monday. Jack was so nervous; he couldn't sleep the entire weekend as Monday drew closer and closer. Finally, the day came.
Jack bravely walked up to the receptionist and said, "Hi. I'm Jack Garcia and I have an appointment with Dr. Brody." The receptionist told him the doctor would be with him shortly and to have a seat. While he was waiting, Jack went through in his head what he would say to the doctor. Maybe it would be something short and to the point like, "Lately I have been using the bathroom more than usual, eating and drinking tons, and losing weight." Or he could go into elaborate detail about what had happened last week during English class and what his mother and grandmother had said. Debating these ideas in his head, Jack didn't even hear his name called until his dad tapped him on the shoulder and said, "Come on, bud, it's your turn."
Jack's doctor was a great person. He had been seeing her since he was little and it was easy to tell her he felt hungry and thirsty more than usual, and that he had to pee all the time, even at night. She checked his blood sugar and his urine, and ordered some blood tests, and about an hour later, Jack, his dad, and the doctor were having a long conversation about what was wrong.
Jack left the doctor's office confused. How could a normal kid who was fine three weeks ago have Type 1 diabetes? What did all of that mean anyways? The doctor told him that there was a problem with his pancreas, an organ in his body. Normally, the pancreas produced insulin, a hormone that helps the body use sugar that it digests from food. But for people with Type 1 diabetes, like Jack, the pancreas stopped producing insulin, and excess sugar built up in the blood. That explained why Jack constantly had to pee: his body had to get rid of the extra sugar. Jack also learned that sugar gave his body lots of energy, but because he was peeing it all out, his body was eating away at his fat for energy – so he was losing weight. And going to the bathroom so much made him dehydrated, which explained why he was so thirsty.
That was a lot of news to handle in one visit to Dr. Brody, and Jack made an appointment to come back the next day to receive an insulin pump, which would give his body the insulin it couldn't make itself. He would also have to learn to test how much sugar -- which the doctor called "glucose" -- was in his blood to make sure it wasn't too high or too low, since his body couldn't manage it without help. His family would have to know what they could do to help, too.
That night, Jack explained to his mother and grandmother what was going on, and how he would now have to carefully monitor what he ate, check his blood sugar levels before and after meals and exercise, and wear an insulin pump for most of the day. His family seemed to take the news well, but Jack could see the worry in their eyes, and it made him want to cry. Heading off to bed, Jack said to himself, "Life will never be the same."