Posted on: Tuesday, October 19, 2004
Child diabetes cases reach epidemic levels
By Kara G. Morrison
Gannett News Service
Malcolm Morris was only 5 when he was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes during a school physical exam.
Gannett News Service "You just think, 'If the parents don't have it, where can it come from?' " Ann-Marie Morris says.
Diabetes is a chronic disease in which the body does not make or properly use insulin, causing the body to lose its main fuel source. Insulin is the hormone needed to convert sugar and starches into energy. Each year, more than 13,000 U.S. children are diagnosed with type 1, formerly known as juvenile diabetes, according to the National Diabetes Education Program.
The good news is that diabetes can be managed through insulin injections or medication and lifestyle changes. But there is no cure.
While genetic and environmental factors play a role, the exact cause of type 1 diabetes is still a mystery. Meanwhile, the number of children diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, which is usually associated with obesity and diagnosed after age 40, also is hitting epidemic levels.
If some of these symptoms exist, ask your doctor to test your child's blood sugar. With both types of diabetes, Grunberger says, "If you can control the disease, you can prevent the complications."
To control Malcolm's diabetes, the Morris family sticks to a rigid schedule of meals and snacks.
Family members also learned to prepare and administer insulin shots.
"We had to look at it as a change of lifestyle, not as a burden of any sort," Ann-Marie Morris says.
Today, Malcolm, a fifth-grader, attends summer camp, plays sports and even goes trick-or-treating on Halloween — but he's careful to limit his sugar consumption.
Malcolm was recognized recently as one of four youth ambassadors at America's Walk for Diabetes in Detroit to raise awareness and money for research. He raised more than $90 by going door to door in his neighborhood.
"We're working to do what?" Morris asks her son.
"Get the cure," says Malcolm, 10, who has given himself insulin injections twice a day since he was 6.
Malcolm offers advice for other kids who are diagnosed with diabetes: "Don't worry. Everything is going to be all right." • • • • Join a family support group at your local hospital. • Start a strict schedule for daily meals. • Make sure your diabetic child exercises or plays sports at least 30 minutes per day. • Always keep glucose-rich food (orange juice, lemonade or cake frosting) within reach in the event that your child has a hypoglycemic or low blood sugar incident. • Do your research on diabetes as a family. The are new publications for diabetic children, including "487 Really Cool Tips for Kids with Diabetes," (American Diabetes Association, $14.95) available at most bookstores or online at Amazon.com (www.amazon.com). Source: American Diabetes Association and the National Diabetes Education Program • • • RESOURCES • American Diabetes Association, (800) DIABETES or www.diabetes.org • National Diabetes Education Program, (800) 438-5383 or www.ndep.nih.gov • National Diabetes Information Clearinghouse, (800) 860-8747 or www.niddk.nih.gov • Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation International, (800) 223-1138 or www.jdf.org • Children With Diabetes, an online community forum, www.childrenwithdiabetes.com
The news came as a shock to his parents, Donovan Sr. and Ann-Marie Morris of Oak Park, Mich.
Malcolm Morris,10, gives himself an injection of insulin after testing his blood sugar at his family's home in Oak Park, Mich. Malcolm suffers from diabetes.
George Grunberger, a Bloomfield Hills, Mich., physician who specializes in treating diabetes, says he's especially concerned about the increase in type 2 diabetes in children because this type of diabetes is preventable.
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