3 things parents should know about a diabetes diagnosis

Pediatrician Jamie Wood, MD Clinical Diabestes, shares advice for parents on the three things that every parent should know about a diabetes diagnosis in their child
What Parents Need To Know After Their Child Is Diagnosed With Diabetes
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3 things parents should know about a diabetes diagnosis

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The diagnosis of diabetes in a child can be a very emotional, overwhelming and scary experience. And when I'm first sitting down with a family to talk about the diagnosis, there are three main points that I need them to understand before they leave. The first is that they did not do anything to have caused this. Parents, we feel guilty just by, I think, our nature. Parents often carry a lot of guilt that they somehow could have contributed to this. And so the first thing I do is reassure them that they did not do anything, they did not feed their child something, they did not give them too much candy, that that's not the cause of Type 1 diabetes. The second is even though diabetes is going to be hard work and it's going to mean adjustment, and there will be hard times, their child can do absolutely anything that they want to with their life. One of our Supreme Court Justices has Type 1 diabetes, there's triathletes, NBA, NFL, NHL, I think I mentioned most of the professional sports organizations, who have Type 1 diabetes. I know marathon runners, college sports athletes, college stars who have Type 1 diabetes. So really, anything that their child wants to do with their life, they can do with a diagnosis of Type 1 diabetes. And the last thing is that we have amazing technologies, good therapies, and if we work hard and take care of the diabetes, their child can have a long, happy, healthy life with diabetes without complications.

Pediatrician Jamie Wood, MD Clinical Diabestes, shares advice for parents on the three things that every parent should know about a diabetes diagnosis in their child

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Jamie R. Wood, MD

Pediatrician, Clinical Diabetes, Children’s Hospital Los Angeles

Dr. Jamie Wood was born and raised in Vermont, where she also attended medical school. She completed her pediatric residency at Rainbow Babies & Children’s Hospital in Cleveland, Ohio, and her endocrine fellowship at Children’s Hospital Boston and the Joslin Diabetes Center of Harvard University. She moved to the Los Angeles area in 2008 and is now the Director of Clinical Diabetes Programs at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles. Dr. Wood’s specialty is the care of youth with type 1 and type 2 diabetes—a field she fell in love with during a medical student rotation at a summer camp for youth with diabetes.  She also enjoys gardening, cooking, hiking, and playing with her husband and two children, Jackson and Olivia.

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Transcription: 
The diagnosis of diabetes in a child can be a very emotional, overwhelming and scary experience. And when I'm first sitting down with a family to talk about the diagnosis, there are three main points that I need them to understand before they leave. The first is that they did not do anything to have caused this. Parents, we feel guilty just by, I think, our nature. Parents often carry a lot of guilt that they somehow could have contributed to this. And so the first thing I do is reassure them that they did not do anything, they did not feed their child something, they did not give them too much candy, that that's not the cause of Type 1 diabetes. The second is even though diabetes is going to be hard work and it's going to mean adjustment, and there will be hard times, their child can do absolutely anything that they want to with their life. One of our Supreme Court Justices has Type 1 diabetes, there's triathletes, NBA, NFL, NHL, I think I mentioned most of the professional sports organizations, who have Type 1 diabetes. I know marathon runners, college sports athletes, college stars who have Type 1 diabetes. So really, anything that their child wants to do with their life, they can do with a diagnosis of Type 1 diabetes. And the last thing is that we have amazing technologies, good therapies, and if we work hard and take care of the diabetes, their child can have a long, happy, healthy life with diabetes without complications.