Type 1 Diabetes
When Zachary Johnson was five years old, his parents noticed something wasn’t quite right. It was late summer, just before kindergarten began, when his mom, Bernadette, saw some small but concerning signs. “He had no issues with wetting the bed since potty training,” she recalls, “but all of a sudden he was sporadically having issues. I thought it was weird, but we kept going.”
The incidents came and went, but soon Zachary began complaining of extreme thirst and hunger. “We were only about a week into school when my husband, Alex, called and said Zachary kept saying he was really thirsty,” Bernadette says. Zachary was also requesting a specific food—a banana—and kept complaining of thirst. “That’s when the light bulb started going off in my head—I had Alex bring him to me at work immediately,” she says.
Bernadette’s instincts were right. Having been diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes just eight months earlier herself, she recognized the signs. Bernadette checked Zachary’s blood sugar, and it immediately reported his blood sugar as high. “If it’s over 600, a home meter won’t read a number,” she explains. “I called his pediatrician right there in the parking lot, and he said to take Zachary straight to Children’s.”
At Children’s of Alabama, Zachary’s blood sugar was found to be dangerously high. He was admitted immediately and stayed for a week while doctors stabilized his levels and began the education process for the whole family. “It was beyond scary,” Bernadette stresses. “But the nurses really got my head in the right place. They told me that the diagnosis doesn’t have to be a dramatic change for him and not to take away his favorite foods—just learn how to manage it. That advice made all the difference.”
The Children’s team surrounded the Johnsons with support, with diabetes educators coming in, and teaching them all they needed to know—from counting carbs to how to estimate food portions when eating out, Bernadette says. “They gave us cheat sheets, books, and so much encouragement,” she adds. “It really took the stress off.”
With the guidance of Dr. Atchison, nurse practitioner Sheila, and others, Zachary and his family learned to manage his condition confidently, and today, at 14 years old, Zachary is thriving. He plays travel baseball and catches for Calera High School’s team. “Dr. Atchison told us he can play sports—there are certain things we have to do, but he can play,” Bernadette says. “We’ve graduated from needles to a pump, and that was our saving grace. The baseball coaches also work with us to figure out what his regimen should be for games versus regular days.”
Zachary continues to visit Children’s every few months for checkups, where the care team feels like family. Now dreaming of becoming a physician himself, Zachary often talks with Dr. Atchison during those visits about med school. “The care at Children’s is top-notch,” says Bernadette. “I never feel like we were treated like a number. They always ask about everything—not just diabetes. They remind us it’s part of his life, but it’s not his life.”
