ORO VALLEY, Ariz. (KGUN) — On the outside, Andrew Eagar is a happy and energetic two-year-old. On the inside, his body is fighting a different battle.
"The first warning signs were probably about three months ago. We noticed that he was going through a lot more diapers. We thought we needed to go up in size on diapers, so we did that and that wasn't working. We thought maybe we needed to change the brand of diapers, so we did that and it just got progressively worse," said Andrew's mom, Jennifer Eagar.
It wasn't long until Andrew was rushed to the emergency room and diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes.
"When the doctor said it to me, I felt like I shrunk two feet. I was kind of in a state of shock. I got in the car, called my husband and let him know," said Eagar.
According to the American Diabetes Association, 1.9 million Americans have Type 1 Diabetes. Only 244,000 of that population is made up of children and teens. Type 1 Diabetes occurs when the pancreas fails to produce insulin - an essential hormone in the body's function.
"They gave us four hours of training about how to keep our son alive. After that they said, good luck," said Eagar.
Monitoring Andrew's blood sugar levels is an around the clock job. The whole family has had to get on board.
"That's one thing we've tried to do as a family, make it fun and make everything sound not as scary. Instead of a finger poke, we call it a finger kiss. He sits on the counter, we get all the supplies out, we clean his finger, he presses the button and we give him his finger kiss," said Eagar.
There's no cure for Type 1 Diabetes, but with treatment, kids like Andrew can live a normal life.
"Every family goes through their own struggles. So long as we keep up on his numbers, he'll be with us for a very long time. I'm not looking at losing my son and I'm very grateful for that," said Eagar.
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