Hank and Cindy Jones were on a business trip in Macedonia(Greece), where Mr. Jones was invited to attend a conference for a non-profit he was working for at that time, when their 18-month-old son, Tommy fell deathly ill one night. Mr. Jones says he never imagined that his son would be, diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes (T1D). He is, audibly shaken as he recalls those first hours in the emergency room of the hospital.
“Tommy had just been kind of lethargic, we thought he had a cold. He seemed kind of sickly, sleeping a lot and thirsty. We had him really bundled up because of the weather. That night when we put him to bed, I was unbundling him, and I noticed that his lips were blue and he wet himself on everything. He was skin and bones because he had lost all of his water weight basically. We didn’t have a car so I ran to our next door neighbors and they drove us to the hospital,” said Mr. Jones.
Mr. Jones said unbeknown to him; his son was apparently going into a diabetic shock. “Every doctor that worked there showed up that night,” said Jones. “A doctor who wrote the book on Eccrinology in Macedonia showed up. He told me that Tommy had a 50-50 chance that night. He was really in bad shape,” he said. Jones recalls sitting with his son all night in the Intensive Care Unit of the hospital. “My job was to keep him breathing. I had to watch the monitor, and just encourage him to breath the whole night,” he said.
Mr. Jones stated that the medical facility was not the best and many of the nurses in Macedonia and the other former communist countries could not be fired and did not require any professional education once they obtain their degree. This made he and his wife nervous about their son’s initial treatment. Jones recalls visiting his son one day and seeing six nurses trying to administer an IV in little Tommy’s arms. “There was blood all over the floor, I mean, and they weren’t very good at this,” he said. “I called back home and spoke to an American doctor, and they sent an emergency evacuate team out for the family.”
Mrs. Jones and Tommy was flown to Children’s Hospital, in Vienna where Professor Doctor Birgit Rami treated Tommy, and Mrs. Jones was taught how to properly care for her son’s condition.
photo: courtesy Hank Jones
When an individual has Type 1 Diabetes, their pancreas produces a small amount, if any insulin at all. Insulin is a hormone that helps the body produce blood sugar or glucose for energy. The body digests the food into fats, protein and carbohydrates for energy. The carbohydrates are broken down into glucose, while the body is digesting the food. The blood stream absorbs the glucose and travels into cells all over the body. Insulin helps the cells absorb the glucose in the blood, which provides energy. A regular supply of insulin freely flows through a healthy pancreas and into the blood stream. After consuming food the blood glucose level elevates and more insulin is released through the pancreas to move glucose into the cells. Insulin triggers the cell to open up and allow the glucose in.
High glucose levels over a long period of time can lead to health complications. If the blood glucose level drops too low, one can feel dizzy or too hot or cold. If it drops even lower, an individual can lose consciousness.
Taking insulin prescribed by a doctor, and maintaining a healthy diet can keep the blood glucose level at a healthy range.
Mr. Jones says although it has not been an easy road, Tommy handles his illness well. “He’s a brave guy but sometimes he gets depressed about his condition,” he said. Jones insists that a child with Type 1 Diabetes can have a normal life as long as they are well cared for.
Mrs. Jones said there are signs to look for in a child with diabetes. “A big number one flag that we should have known was, him being thirsty. Also the constant going to the bathroom all the time are the two major flags to look for,” she said.
Tommy is 14 years old now. He checks his blood sugar often each day and he has to have between 4-6 injections of insulin each day. He has to have up to 20 units each shot and Jones says it will continue to increase, as Tommy gets physically bigger. He is old enough for an Insulin Pump, however, Jones says his son rather have the injections for now.
Although Tommy has to sometimes be forced to stay on his regime, Jones says that does not affect his son’s dreams of one day being in the Special Forces and designing spaceships.
Hank and Cindy also have three daughters, Maggie, Katlyn and Courtney. To date none of them has been diagnosed with Diabetes.
photo: Hank Jones
