On January 22, 2002, my precious son Evan was diagnosed with Juvenile Diabetes at the age of 3. Our world forever changed on that day. We spent most of that week in the hospital and every day since that date adjusting to all of the changes that this diagnosis has brought about for our family. By the next day, we were sticking Evan’s fingers 4-6 times a day and giving him insulin shots 4 times a day.

We soon learned that Juvenile Diabetes comes from having a genetic predisposition (which we did not know we had as my husband and I are both adopted) combined with an environmental trigger such as the flu or chicken pox. Evan had come down with the flu over the holidays, and we took him to the doctor a couple of times. His body sent out the white blood cells to kill the flu, but instead of attacking the flu, they attacked his pancreas and caused it to no longer produce insulin.

I noticed that he suddenly started drinking a lot more fluids. When I went to the internet and did a Google search on “excessive thirst,” almost every hit was for juvenile diabetes. I began researching the disease and called the doctor’s office. They thought I was a nut for thinking I had just diagnosed my son with this disease, but within a few days it was sadly confirmed.

We have been on a journey to try to make Evan’s life as normal and happy as possible. When we were first diagnosed, we began networking every place we could find to locate other people who had children with this disease. We were searching for hope and comfort as well as practical advice on how to manage this disease. The simple joys of childhood like birthday parties and trick or treating were now something we dreaded and feared. We didn’t feel comfortable eating at restaurants. We didn’t know if we could take vacations any more. Luckily, we are past those initial fears and with the support, coaching and advice of many people we have learned to do all of these things effectively and safely.

I learned a few things during our initial training period. I learned that you are only taught the basic care techniques in the hospital, and most of what you need to know is learned from talking to others in your situation or from trial and error. I also realized that the only people who received “official training” on caring for Evan and his disease were my husband and me. Everyone else received second hand training from us or from reading books and magazines. This was extremely burdensome for us. We were hardly sure of all of the information ourselves and surely did not feel confident training his teachers, babysitters, grandparents and others. We looked for training classes that we could purchase for them to attend or take online, but we did not have any luck. I found some great websites that provided information. I also found some websites that allowed me to network via email with people with first hand experience with the disease, but this was very time consuming. It also was hard to share all that I learned with every person that helped care for Evan.

At the time of Evan’s diagnosis, I was a partner in a major consulting firm. For 15 years I had worked in the area of Adult Learning. I led teams developing training for Fortune 100 companies across a variety of industries, including healthcare. The training I developed was in a variety of formats - from instructor led to computer based to high-end simulations. Based on my deep experience in training, I immediately looked for some computer based training courses to help me learn some of the techniques of managing diabetes and to reinforce the brief training we had received. I knew that I needed some kind of refresher because I was not able to retain all that I was taught during the stressful time in the hospital. I was disappointed in the lack of this type of training available. Over time, I decided that this was a gap I believed I could fill. I knew how to develop computer based training, I certainly knew a lot about caring for someone with juvenile diabetes, and I also had a huge network of people who could provide additional experience on each of those fronts. So in 2003, I formed HealthSims™ with a small team of amazingly talented people with consulting backgrounds and huge hearts. Since the day we formed, we have been working hard on our first 2 courses - Type 1 DiabetesSim and Type 2 DiabetesSim. These courses are training simulations that help you live normally and productively with diabetes.

The development of the course has allowed me to meet new people and hear many new stories, tips, techniques and lessons learned. This course is a collection of these thoughts and ideas from people who have first hand experience living with type 1 diabetes. The ideas come from people of all ages and backgrounds. They come from people who have lived many years with the disease as well as from those recently diagnosed. They come from lessons learned from those who have achieved success in their management and those who have had rough times. The course is not meant to be a replacement for your doctor’s consultation and advice but rather to supplement what your doctor provides.

We are striving through this course to give you encouragement and support as you learn to deal with the diagnosis. We also want to share with you other people’s tips that they think might make your journey easier. The course is a collection of great ideas from a lot of people walking in your shoes as well. It is also a summary of the basic facts about the disease and the common treatment strategies. It provides information that appeals to your intellect as well as your heart and emotions.

My son Evan is a brave little boy, but this disease can be a really cruel disease, especially for kids. We hope and pray every day that researchers will find a cure for type 1 diabetes, so Evan and others can have a normal life free of needles and pain. Until a cure is widely available for everyone, I hope that this course can provide you with encouragement, new ideas, a little comfort and greater knowledge to improve your health.