I wasn’t going to post tonight. Then I checked my inbox and felt so compelled to comment about an issue I have touched on before.

I received this message from a 16 year old male, who is about to turn 17 in a few months.

He was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes 3 years ago.

From time to time, he tells how he checks his blood sugar levels with his glucometer, and they are normal.

He swears he doesn’t have Type 1 Diabetes, but his doctors assure him that he does. He even assures me that he drinks “normal” drinks and eats what he wants and whenever he wants, all causing no ill effect to his blood sugar levels.

The biggest mystery of all, is that this teenager proudly boasts that he hasn’t had to have insulin shots for almost his whole diabetic life, all excluding two months after he was first diagnosed.

He firmly believes that he does NOT have Type 1 Diabetes.

Somewhere, in this bizarre little scenario, this kid got his hands on a book entitled, ” The Dynamic Laws Of Healing“-a self help book written in the 1960’s. The boy (who would have been 13 at the time,) came away from reading this book rich with the firm belief that if the mind is powerful, and you truly believe that you aren’t sick, then the body will reject the fact that it’s sick and heal itself.

His last sentence was “I didn’t believe that I was diabetic after leaving the hospital, and to this day, I don’t take insulin.”

Ha.

I have a few comments that I feel must be made.

If you are sick enough to be admitted into hospital with symptoms that replicate Type 1 Diabetes, and the doctors’ can match your blood work with the physical evidence of ketones, weight loss, low levels of potassium…then YES. You do have Type 1 Diabetes.

Type 1 Diabetes is a chronic disease, that never improves by itself, or goes away. Once your immune system mistakenly kills off those beta cells that used to excrete as much insulin as you needed in the good ole’ days, you can’t get those beta cells back. Not even the world’s leading scientists or experts in the field of endocrinology have worked out how to create such a miracle.(yet.)

It’s only just acceptable to make these claims,(given your tender age and all,) however it’s downright cruel to tell “your story” to those who live with the heavy burden of Type 1 Diabetes. Like the author of the book you read, every parent whose child has been diagnosed has undoubtedly prayed, questioned alternative healing, cried in their endocrinologist’s office…we WANTED to believe that the diagnosis was all a huge mistake, and that the doctors’ were wrong.

I even believed for a few hours that MY son wasn’t capable of having this silent devastation occur before my very eyes. There’s no doubt that it’s very traumatic for all parties when a child, or in my instance, a baby is diagnosed.

The only reason that I can think that you would have written to me with this load of hogwash, is that you were diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes, and had to commence oral medication. Perhaps you changed your lifestyle enough that you could live your life without the medication. (I’m being really generous here…. )

My son, with Type 1 Diabetes, lies beside me as I reply to your story. He is sleeping, and for tonight, his blood sugar readings are okay. Not perfect, not dangerous, but acceptable. I have nursed him through the perils of DKA, where I have watched with my own eyes how the body responds to not enough insulin. Without medical intervention, he would have died. HE WOULD HAVE DIED. NOT JUST MY SON, BUT EVERY CHILD WHO HAS TYPE 1 DIABETES. IF YOU REALLY HAVE TYPE 1 DIABETES, THEN YOU ARE WRITING TO ME FROM THE “OTHER SIDE.” There is no possibility you could have lived without daily insulin for three years.

No power of the mind, no mantras, no alternative forms of therapy are going to stop this cochroach of a disease from rapidly sending a child into a diabetic coma, with death closely following. INSULIN IS the only answer, it’s not even a cure, but it will certainly keep you alive.

Im going to recommend that YOU do some more reading. THIS book is a true story about the parents of an 11 year old boy, who believed in the promises of a miracle worker, and turned their backs on insulin. Their child died a horrendous death before their very eyes, 3 days later. Larry Parker, a good, Christian man, let his son die, because his faith was so strong, he believed that”His God” would cure his son of Type 1 Diabetes.

If you can read that book, and come back to me and say that you STILL don’t need insulin, then you don’t have Type 1 Diabetes. In fact, the only reason I bothered to reply was for the simple fact that if ONE person saw your false allegations somewhere online, and decided, “YAY, I’m going to do it..if this kid can, I can..I can stop my injections!”…then it was worth sitting up on a bitter winter’s morning and swapping book titles.

I was skimming over JDRF groups in the States last night, when I came across the story of Larry and Lucky Parker. Most people who were alive in the 70’s and old enough to comprehend the tragedy that occurred concerning the Parker’s decision to withhold their son’s lifesaving insulin injections,resulting in his death were eager to watch the 1988 interpretation of the contoversy that surrounded the Parker’s, their church and the events following the death of their son in a Steve Gyllenhaal film, Promised A Miracle.

I read a lot about the Parker’s last night. They were a decent. church going family, who had tremendous faith and belief in the miracles that God had performed within their own congregation. When they were approached by a healer who convinced them that the life saving properties of Western Medicine would and could be superceded by the power of prayer, they considered withdrawing his medication, and were encouraged by the congregation to believe in the miracles that only God could perform. Their son, who suffered from “severe” Type 1 Diabetes was dependent on the life-giving insulin shots his parents gave him daily.

That was until they deprived him of his insulin requirements completely, putting all of their belief in their congregation’s desire for prayer to cure the Parker’s son of the “devil’s interference.”

His hyperglycaemic halluncinations were blamed on “the devil” or “evil forces”, trying to scare them back into commencing insulin therapy to correct their son’s rapidly deteriorating condition. Still. they did not relent and their faith remained stronger than ever.

Three days later, Larry and Lucky’s son died.

The Parker’s sent out media releases and asked for prayer groups from all over the world to pray for the resurrection of their son. (According to the evangelist, he would “rise” four days after death, diabetes free.)

Naturally, he didn’t.

The Parker’s were so overwhelmed with what they had done, and it wasn’t long before the police were called into the whole debacle.  They were charged and sentenced with involuntary manslaughter.

After reading many viewer’s comments. I found myself searching for as much information as I could regarding the Parker’s.

I checked on EBay Australia, and there was 1 tattered copy of the film available. I bought it-I just want to watch it once to see how the devout faith of one Californian family crashed and burned into nothing short of devastation and heartbreak.

There is also a book available by Larry Parker called “We Let Our Son Die.” In due time I will order it and read his reasonings behind allowing a “healer” to convince him to stop his son’s life saving medication.

I guess I just wanted to put my 5 cents worth in. I can’t judge the Parker’s decision, because I don’t know the entire story or all the facts behind their choice, however, I am imploring parent’s in the world today who have a child with Type 1 Diabetes to NEVER, EVER stop your child’s injections or insulin therapy.. Even when they are sick and not eating, people with diabetes STILL require insulin to stay alive. It is a hormone that is essential to LIVE.

Two arrests were made in April this year concerning the parents’ of a child with Type 1 Diabetes decision to cease insulin injections, resulting in her death.  These parents, too, were giving the power of prayer a chance to cure their child of Type 1 Diabetes. 

 As wonderful as it is to have faith, and knowing how much comfort it brings so many people across the world, your child WILL DIE if you stop their medication. Even though insulin is not a cure, you might like to stop and thank your God for the gift of man made insulin. It is what keeps our children and every person with Type 1 Diabetes alive and able to grow into healthy, strong adults. It’s the ONLY way. There are NO exceptions or alternatives.

Stopping your child’s insulin will end in tragedy and disaster.

Without their daily insulin, they WILL eventually become unconsious, they WILL eventually lapse into a coma, and they WILL die.

 As much as we create awareness and inform our politicians that ”insulin is not a cure”, it’s a blessed miracle that we have the ability to keep our children alive and healthy as a result of daily insulin injections.

NEVER STOP INSULIN INJECTIONS. YOU’LL NEVER FORGIVE YOURSELF FOR MAKING THIS FATAL DECISION.

If you want to test God through the power of prayer,keep praying for the cure that our all too-patient, beautiful children deserve.