Juicebox Podcast: Type 1 Diabetes

Episode #1669 – “14 Months”
Host: Scott Benner
Guest: Hannah Marion
Release Date: November 3, 2025

Overview

In this moving episode, Scott Benner talks with Hannah Marion, a 26-year-old nursing student and mom, about her family’s unexpected journey through her young son’s stage 2 type 1 diabetes diagnosis, the challenges of navigating early detection, the complications of autoimmune comorbidities, and the personal resilience built through extraordinary adversity, including a harrowing legal battle over child custody due to misunderstood medical conditions. The conversation offers actionable insights for families managing diabetes, powerful reflections on advocacy, and honest discussion of the emotional toll of chronic conditions and systemic failure.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Hannah’s Background and Family Medical History

• Nursing Student: Followed her dream after previous health setbacks, specifically POTs leading to syncope.
• Autoimmune Disorders: Hannah has Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, Hashimoto’s hypothyroidism, and celiac disease. Her family, though heavily autoimmune, has no direct history of type 1 diabetes.
• Her Two Sons: The youngest, a two-year-old, is in stage 2 type 1 diabetes.

“Yeah, you have everything but type one.”
— Scott, [05:12]

2. Early Detection and Diagnosis of Stage 2 Type 1 Diabetes

• Nursing Education Sparked Awareness: While learning about classic diabetes symptoms (“the three Ps”: polyuria, polydipsia, polyphagia), Hannah noticed parallels in her son’s behavior.
• Initial Pediatrician Response: Her concerns were initially dismissed as ‘typical toddler behavior.’
• Blood Sugar Findings: In-office glucose of 153 three hours after eating—not alarming to the pediatrician but concerning to Hannah.
• Persistent Advocacy: Despite a normal A1C (5.3), home testing revealed higher sugars (e.g., 242), pushing Hannah to pursue further workup.
• ASK Program: Guided her to antibody testing (3 then 4 out of 5 positive), confirming stage 2 diagnosis.

“If your blood sugar is 153 hours after you’ve eaten, you probably have type 1 diabetes, you know, or you’re on your way to it.”
— Scott, [10:50]

3. Living With (and Managing) Stage 2

• Symptom Management is Complex: Despite the medical teaching that stage 2 is “asymptomatic,” Hannah’s son experiences crankiness and malaise during post-meal spikes (up to 378).
• Malabsorption Complications: Ongoing digestive issues may muddy the clinical picture—sometimes causing blood sugars to swing low or normalize suddenly.
• Treatment Discussions: Deliberation over starting insulin (including using diluted insulin for stability) weighed against the challenges of young age and non-cooperative daycare.
• Daycare Dilemma: The facility refuses to administer insulin, complicating care, despite good relationships and ongoing negotiation for flexibility and education.

“He spikes up with meals to like 370s... but he is able to still bring it down on his own… we want to be able to control it rather than sit back and watch my child have the symptoms and feel yucky and not be able to do anything.”
— Hannah, [12:12 & 12:51]

4. Navigating Healthcare Advocacy

• Endocrinologist Transition: Switched due to lack of support for proactive management (e.g., refusal for insulin despite clear trends).
• Struggles with Authority: Hannah recognizes her tendency to be deferential (“people pleaser”), complicated by being young and still in training—finding her voice as an advocate for her son.

“I may prolong [decisions] a little more than they need to be. But I’m still learning on that aspect of things.”
— Hannah, [27:56]

• Mother’s Support: Hannah’s mother was learning alongside her and provided crucial emotional and practical support.

5. Stage 2 Emotional Landscape & Community

• Psychological Strain: The uncertainty and ‘watch and wait’ phase of stage 2 can be uniquely grueling.
• Sense of Community: Hannah made a Facebook group for families of kids in stage 2, which grew to 90 members, offering targeted support.
• Belonging: Hannah sometimes wonders if families like hers ‘belong’ in the diabetes community yet.

“It also feels like we don’t belong as diabetics… if I say my son’s a type 1 diabetic and they go into talking about his pump settings... it’s just so unknown.”
— Hannah, [32:01]

6. Financial & Logistical Challenges

• Cost Burden: Managing expenses with a single main income, while in school full-time. Insurance is “okay” but slow and riddled with prior authorizations.
• Looking Forward: Hannah is excited to complete nursing school and to stabilize finances further.

7. The Child Protection Ordeal

A Life-Altering Legal Battle Over Misunderstood Symptoms

• Ehlers-Danlos and Bruising: At one month old, her firstborn’s bruise led to an accusation of abuse and 14-month separation.
• Family Trauma: Immediate involvement of CPS and an ER visit, with the child eventually placed with Hannah’s mom (thankfully not foster care).
• System Failures: Lengthy, dehumanizing court process; the system penalized them for steadfastly maintaining innocence.
• Resilience & Growth: Despite the trauma, Hannah works to maintain empathy and uses her experience to inform her healthcare goals as a future practitioner.

"They did tell us…you have 10 minutes to find someone who's going to take him or else he goes to foster care."
— Hannah, [46:24]

“Had we done something, we would’ve gotten him back sooner…But because we maintained our innocence… [it was] a very long process.”
— Hannah, [42:19]

“I see the joys that I have in my life now when I didn’t have them. I’m enjoying that now that I know that it can change in one day.”
— Hannah, [49:13]

• Host’s Reflection on Systems:

“People have to do a better job…the decisions that are consequential…it would be nice if everybody was, I guess, just trying a little harder.”
— Scott, [55:28]

8. Personal & Family Growth

• Perspective: The harrowing experience led Hannah toward advocacy and informed her resolve as a future nurse, especially regarding nonjudgmental care and routine screenings.
• Marriage Resilience: The experience, and the diabetes journey, have unified rather than divided Hannah and her husband, who acts as a steadfast supporter.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On medical vigilance:
  “A lot of overlooked opportunities could be caught with simple screening.” — Hannah, paraphrased context [56:23]

• On adolescence and deference:
  “It would be weird for you to be in nursing school and feel like, ‘No, I probably know better than them.’” — Scott, [26:14]

• On finding unexpected community:
  “I actually personally created a stage 2 diabetes type 1 group…There’s 90 members now.” — Hannah, [33:43]

• On living through traumatic systems:
  “You have everything but type one.” — Scott, [05:12]
  “They took your baby. They were like, no, you can’t have your baby.” — Scott, [54:18]

• On perspective and healing:
  “I see the joys that I have in my life now…I’m enjoying that now that I know that it can change in one day.” — Hannah, [49:13]
  “We asked ourselves why this was happening…the entire time, and I think now it’s kind of coming full picture and I’m seeing the why.” — Hannah, [57:18]

Important Timestamps

| Time | Segment / Topic | |-----------|------------------------------------------------------------| | 02:22 | Hannah introduces her son's diagnosis journey | | 04:45 | Family medical history, Ehlers-Danlos, other autoimmunity | | 07:04 | Type 1 symptoms trigger Hannah’s concern | | 10:50 | Discussion about abnormal blood sugars and antibody testing| | 12:12 | Stage 2 symptoms and glucose management at home | | 19:05 | Discussions with endocrinologists, diluted insulin | | 20:02 | Daycare refusal to administer insulin | | 30:29 | Psychological impact of “slow motion” stage 2 progression | | 32:01 | Question of belonging in diabetes community | | 33:43 | Creating stage 2 support group | | 40:48 | “Why are you so mature?” — trauma, legal ordeal revealed | | 41:24 | 14 months separation, foster care threat | | 45:01 | Discovering the real cause: her son’s bleeding disorder | | 49:13 | On resilience and therapy | | 54:43 | Host and guest reflect on learning from the past | | 56:23 | How this experience will inform Hannah’s nursing career | | 57:18 | Finding meaning in hardship |

Tone & Language

Scott uses warmth and humor amid challenging subjects, creating an empathetic space. Hannah is open, articulate, and resilient, even as she recounts trauma. The tone mixes practical, conversational diabetes talk with raw lived experience and genuine emotional reflection.

Summary Takeaways

• Early recognition and persistent self-advocacy are crucial in chronic illness, especially amidst ambiguous symptoms and dismissive systems.
• The emotional toll of living ‘on the edge’ in stage 2 type 1 diabetes can be isolating, making community support vital.
• Systemic failures—both medical and legal—can inflict lasting trauma, but can also empower affected individuals to advocate for better care and preventive systems.
• Resilience and compassion, as shown by Hannah’s journey, offer models for both families and future healthcare providers.

For Listeners

This episode provides critical reassurance, practical advocacy tips, and deep empathy for anyone navigating a protracted, ambiguous, or traumatic medical journey—especially when compounded by systemic failures. It’s a testament to parent advocacy, the limits of medical certainty, and the healing power of support and self-education.

End of summary.