My youngest grandson, adorable little two year old Mateo, is a naturally sweet, cuddly and energetic little fellow with a hilarious sense of humor. The whole family loves him, especially his big brother, Dante.

 On February 3rd of this year, Mateo was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes. It seemed to strike him from nowhere as he suddenly showed signs of illness. He started drinking tons of water, wetting his diapers frequently, and became more and more lethargic. After his pediatrician ordered blood tests that indicated high blood sugar levels, we all got together and drove our precious little guy to Sierra Vista Hospital.

Mateo stayed at Sierra Vista Hospital for four days of urgent care treatment to stabilize him. His Dad, Juan, and his Mom, Heather (my daughter), took turns sleeping overnight with him at the hospital. I and his other grandmother were with him too during the day as were other family members and close friends.

Juan and Heather also spent time learning about pediatric diabetes because they knew next to nothing about the condition. As loving parents, they worked through their initial feelings of sadness and shock and by the time they brought Mateo home, they were ready to take on the responsibility of caring for a two year old with special medical needs.

Mateo, Juan, Heather, and Dante, who is seven, are home and are slowly and but surely adapting to their new way of life. Mateo’s schedule now consists of “poking” to test his blood 4-5 times a day, monitoring his carbohydrate intake calculated at every meal and snack, and receiving insulin injections after each meal.

Juan and Heather have missed many days of work spending more time at home caring for Mateo and their other son, and learning about this disease. They are in the process of training Mateo’s childcare providers on how to care for Mateo so that they can return to full time work.      

Even though they thankfully have medical insurance through Juan’s work place, it doesn’t begin to cover the total amount of medical expenses and ongoing medical supplies as well as the travel costs for their regular visits with Mateo’s Endocrinologist team in Santa Barbara.

The good news is that Mateo has once again begun to smile and laugh and play and cuddle!  The challenging news is that the financial burden has caught up with Juan and Heather. On behalf of Mateo and his parents, I kindly ask you to consider donating anything that will help Mateo and his awesome family.

Thank you
Toni