HINSDALE, Mass. — According to the American Diabetes Association, two Americans are diagnosed with diabetes every minute.

 

At Kittredge Elementary School, two youngsters are fighting back.

 

Fourth-grader Nelson Pelkey and his cousin, fifth-grader Emily Ham, each have Type 1 diabetes, a condition formerly known as juvenile diabetes.

 

On Friday, they marked the beginning of National Diabetes Awareness Month by distributing water bottles with stickers calling attention to diabetes to every child in the school.

 

Nelson's dad Jesse said this week that standing up to diabetes is nothing new for his son, who was diagnosed in the summer of 2021.

 

"The very first day he was diagnosed at age 6, he wouldn't let us do a finger stick on him," Jesse said. "The doctor showed how and he did it himself.

 

"He's taken the helm of it. He has the Dexcom and the pump and all of that. He knows when to do what he needs to do or how to program the machines. Emily is the same way."

 

Today, Nelson does not have to prick his finger quite so often. Dexcom is the brand of continuous glucose monitor, or CGM, that helps him monitor his blood sugar and manage his diabetes. Instead of the shots that generations of diabetics know so well, he uses an insulin pump — one of the technological advances that grew in popularity in the beginning of the century.

 

Emily is "old school," Jesse said. She prefers to use regular finger sticks and multiple injections of insulin each day to keep her diabetes in check.

 

Both also have a caring support network, starting with one another and Emily's mother, who also has diabetes along with Nelson's grandfather on his father's side and a number of other relatives, Jesse said. At school, that network grows to include the nurse at Kittredge, who has access to Jesse's blood glucose numbers in real time via the CGM through a cell phone Nelson carries.

 

Even with the history of diabetes in his family, Nelson's diagnosis story is an example why the annual Diabetes Awareness Month is so important.

 

"For six years, we always monitored how much carbs he had because we knew it ran on both sides of the family," Jesse said. "He came to us one night and said he had to keep peeing. My wife at the time said, something's wrong here.

 

"I had a [blood glucose] meter because I'm an EMT firefighter. We did the test, and it was 500. We instantly ran him to Pittsfield. He was diagnosed in the ER."

 

A normal fasting blood sugar for a non-diabetic is between 70 and 99 milligrams per deciliter. Blood glucose levels over 300 mg/dl are associated with diabetic ketoacidosis, a life-threatening condition, according to the Mayo Clinic.

 

The Mayo Clinic's website lists some common symptoms that might be a sign of diabetes, including the one that helped keep Nelson safe:

 

• Being very thirsty

• Urinating often

• Feeling a need to throw up and throwing up

• Having stomach pain

• Being weak or tired

• Being short of breath

• Having fruity-scented breath

• Being confused

 

In people with Type 1 diabetes, an autoimmune disease like multiple sclerosis, the pancreas does not produce the insulin the body needs to regulate blood sugar. In Type 2 diabetes, the body either does not produce enough of its own insulin or does not use the hormone properly. 

 

Jesse Pelkey said Nelson does not shy away from talking about diabetes at school and might even have a chance to share his knowledge with kids in the same situation.

 

"The school nurse … told us she would like to contact a facility in Boston that is always looking for children to teach children about how to use Dexcoms and pumps. He thinks he could be a good advocate to do a little video, because kids learn better from other kids.

 

"It might mean a few trips to Boston, but if it helps other kids, that's great."