Driving down Marie Terrace, I saw from a distance a smiling blonde-haired boy waiting on the doorstep. Getting out of the car, he ran inside yelling, “Mom, she's here! She's here!” Walking inside, I found myself in a fun-loving atmosphere with a mother cleaning, her oldest son playing in a sleeping bag, and the youngest still excited about my arrival. All smiling from ear to ear, nobody would ever guess that mother and son were diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes.

Type 1 Diabetes is a condition where the body doesn’t produce insulin, a hormone needed to convert sugar, starches, and other food into energy to be used in everyday life. It’s usually diagnosed when people are kids or young adults. Type 1 diabetes is very serious, but people can still live fun and happy lives with it.

Goshen residents Luanne Troiano and son Louie are both diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes. Louie is a 2nd grader in Scotchtown Elementary School. Luanne is married to Lou Troiano and is a nurse along with being a mother of two; Louie, 7 and Anthony, 4 (not diagnosed). I was able to sit down with her and discuss their lifestyles and what they are doing to increase awareness of Type 1 Diabetes. I started with Louie, who gave me the low-down of an event he took place in last month.



On September 28, 2008, Louie Troiano took place in a Diabetes walk at Chadwick Lake in Newburgh, where he was able to raise $3,300. Thanks to modern technology, 90% of the money came from a support letter sent through e-mail. For those with no e-mail, a letter was sent via postal mail. In spite of the clouds and showers that day, they still walked 2 miles (which felt like two hundred according to Luanne) and Louie had a good time walking with friends Anna, Christopher, and Lauren. Bad weather was not stopping them from having a great day.



Diagnosed when she was young, Luanne understands what Louie is going through. It was right before is 7th birthday when they got the news. “7-7-07, not a happy day for us” she said. Even though having it herself, they were still surprised when they found out Louie also had diabetes. Scientists are not yet sure if there is a genetic link, so before having kids she went to genetic counseling. They explained that her chances were as good as anyone else’s. “Clearly, they were wrong” she said.



Throughout the day, Louie is required to have two procedures to stay healthy. One is called a finger stick, where he pricks his finger and uses his own blood to measure his blood sugar. The second is an injection of insulin. Different amounts of insulin are injected depending on the carbohydrate count of his food. Luanne explained that it’s a ratio of carbohydrates to insulin. For every 20 grams of carbohydrates, he gets one unit of insulin. Once their insurance approves it, he will start with an insulin pump, which eliminates the injections but not the finger stick.



Luanne explained how a diabetic’s day is always on a strict schedule. Everyday, no matter what, he must get up at 8 a.m. At this time he gets a finger stick, two injections, and then he eats his breakfast. Two hours later, he gets a finger stick to test his blood sugar. At noon he gets another finger stick, an injection, and lunch. Around two, it's time for another finger stick, and at four, he gets a finger stick, an injection, and a snack. Before dinner, at about five, he gets another finger stick and injection. Louie also gets a finger stick at seven and another at eight along with an injection and snack. He goes to sleep around eight-thirty, but he still needs one more finger stick for the day. At midnight, Luanne goes into his room and gives him his final finger stick herself. If needed, she gets him up for a snack. “He likes that,” she said, “He thinks it’s exciting.” As exciting as this midnight snack may be, its also crucially important. If his blood sugar is below 70, she has to wake him up and give him a juice box. If he doesn’t get this snack and has low blood sugar, he could have a seizure. The juice box makes sure his body gets him through the night.



For the most part, she said that he can eat anything anyone else would with the exception of concentrated sweets like candy. If he ate candy, it would be too hard to regulate his blood sugar because of all the sugar in the candy itself. Also, she tries to keep their lunches at about 45 grams of carbohydrates, but for him it sometimes goes over. At Scotchtown Avenue Elementary School, where he eats lunch Monday-Friday, each lunch has up to 90 grams of carbs, and it is never less than 70 grams. Luanne has a list of the carbohydrate count written out for her, and with this, she instructs the school nurse as to how many units of insulin she must give Louie.



Louie’s condition sometimes restricts him from going to places like a friend’s house alone. Because he must constantly be monitored and checked, it’s hard for him to sleep over a friend’s house or go out with someone for the day. Louie can do these things, but only if the people he is with are willing to take on the job of monitoring his blood sugar every two hours. Luanne said they need to be as strict as she is and know what to do at any given time his sugar drops. There are people that do it, but very few. So for him to see and play with most of his friends and have sleepovers, all his fun social events are at his house.



Having two out of four people in a household living with diabetes is challenging, but together they are a strong, connected, loving, and unbelievably fun family. Anthony even took the time to give me his own interview by informing me that his birthday was September 8 and he LOVES eating pancakes and baked chicken. He adds, “And Louie is my favorite friend.”



Would Lou and Luanne have preferred a healthy child? “Of course”, she answers. Amazingly though, for a seven year-old, Louie knows where he stands in everyday society. Yes, he knows his condition is not easy and lives a more strict and difficult life, but he also understands that it could be so much worse than this. “In Disney”, Luanne recalled, with tears welling up in her eyes, “He saw a girl in a wheel chair and said ‘Mommy look. She has it so much worse than me.’ It made me cry knowing that he understood that.”