Caribbean Heat by David Horne

Author:David Horne
Language: fra
Format: azw3
Published: 2018-03-11T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter Five

Jimmy Hunter looked at Lawrence with wide eyes. After Lawrence had done a plethora of exams on him, there was only one possibility left. In reality, the sepsis had probably been a blessing in disguise, because juvenile diabetes was a serious diagnosis, one that required a lot of self-care and could be fatal if it wasn’t managed.

“You have something called type 1 diabetes,” Lawrence said. He had taken the blood sugar test himself and it was higher than he had expected, but he had done that during the night, when Jimmy was sleeping. He had gone down to the clinic on a hunch and woken him up, giving him a test by pricking his fingers. He had ordered a fasting test and a urine test, and the levels were exactly what Lawrence had expected for a child with type-1 diabetes. Jimmy Hunter was at a healthy weight and height for his age, he was active, and he ate relatively well. So he didn’t think that it was likely to happen, but he, of course, had to be sure. Bodies were strange, and he would have hated to misdiagnose Jimmy Hunter because of a simple oversight.

“What does that mean?”

“Diabetes 1 is what it’s called when your immune system destroys certain cells in your body that you need. These cells make insulin. Do you know what is?”

“No,” Jimmy said, shaking his head.

Lawrence sat at the edge of his cot and looked down at his face. “You need insulin to live. Insulin moves glucose from your blood to your cells.”

“Okay.”

“Your cells need insulin because that’s what allows your body to use sugar as energy and fuel. Insulin also makes sure that your body has as much sugar in it as you need. It’s the hormone that will tell your body if your sugar is too low or if you need more sugar.”

“But I don’t have it.”

“Right. You have to produce insulin, and your body is producing it, but your immune system is getting rid of it.”

“My immune system?”

“That’s what stops you from getting very sick when you have a cold, for instance,” Lawrence said. “Or when you cut your body and get an infection.”

“Wait,” Jimmy said, knitting his brows together. He looked up at his mother, a beautiful woman, who was standing right next to him and holding his hand. Lawrence had insisted that Karen call her when he was explaining diabetes to Jimmy, since they would need to handle it as a family. He had emphasized that it was important and the moment that he had explained the diagnosis to Karen, she had called her neighbor. It was important that he address Jimmy, though he suspected that his mother would be the one with the majority of the questions. “Does that mean that the… infection… that I’m here for, does it have something to do with that?”

“In a way, yes,” Lawrence replied. “You see, you are an otherwise very healthy young man. But the diabetes makes you more susceptible to infections,

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