EA was ill and
on antibiotics at the turn of 2007 and only 15 months when she
began to have diabetic symptoms. However, since neither my husband
nor I have
diabetes in our family, we did not pick up on it quickly. She was still
nursing at the
time and slowly stopped eating food and stopped moving about: rolling over,
picking herself up, holding up her head, etc. She was soaking her diapers and
losing
weight quickly. I took her to the Dr.'s office 4 times for the illness she had
and kept telling
them I was worried for her but they never pinpointed it until I
went to the ER. Before she
was diagnosed, I remember taking her to the store
and she slept all the way there,
during the trip and all the way home...in fact,
she slept continuously. One lady commented,
"What a good little baby you have!"
I felt upset with this woman because EA wasn't
being "good". Rather, something
was very, very wrong.
We finally went to the ER on a Friday night and after many
tests they discovered
her Blood Glucose (BG) was over 500. The Doctor started her on
an IV and
admitted her to the PICU. She was there for 5 days where they checked
her blood
hourly and gave Lantus and Novolog. We were in the hospital for 9
days total and
she had IV lines in both legs and one in an arm. It was
frustrating to receive her
meals that were "diabetic" but laden with
white rolls, applesauce and food that
was made for adults which made her BG
even harder to control.
 |
| EA at 15 months with her adult "diabetic" meal. |
EA wanted to nurse for comfort, but PICU Doctors told
me I needed to immediately
stop nursing since they couldn't count the carbs in breast milk.
However, when they
saw that she wasn't doing well with the other food; they
allowed me to nurse her
again. Aside from the grief I felt over EA's diagnosis,
my body was going through
hormonal changes as I was trying to wean her, nurse
her, wean her, nurse her.
Thankfully I was able to wean her after our discharge from the hospital. Life became
more normal and we could both say goodbye to
nursing on our own accord.
 |
| Trying to entertain a baby in the PICU wasn't easy... |
During our stay in the hospital, EA couldn't walk due to the
IV lines in each foot,
which didn't help with her high BGs. The pediatrician
didn't really want to release us
after 9 days since her BG was still high, but
I just knew that once we got home and
EA could heal, exercise and eat more
appropriate food, EA would do better.
I still feel immense joy when we go on
family walks and I see her running ahead of
us now, remembering how sick she
was after her diagnosis.
 |
| First beach vacation with Diabetes, 17 months old wearing her first pump. |
 |
Girls ready for the beach. I quickly learned the thigh isn't the best place to
put a pump site if you're going to be sitting in the sand and waves! |
I remember the first time I had to do EA’s shot and how the
nurse looked at me
strangely that I was so nervous. She looked me in the eye and told me, “Don’t
be
afraid, you’re keeping her alive with every shot you give her.” Almost 5 years later,
I have become a pro at
giving shots, although we are now on the Medtronic Revel
insulin pump, which
means we do one shot to insert the pump cannulla every
2-3 days instead of the
10 shots she would normally take every 2 days.
Shortly after our discharge, my husband and I debated what we
should do about
his upcoming trip to a restricted nation in Africa. If it were just him, he could easily
cancel
the trip, but since a whole team of people were also going with him and
sacrificing money and vacation time for the trip, I really felt he should go. When
my sister-in-law and my father told
us they could come to stay with the girls and I
in his absence, we felt a peace
for him to go ahead with his plans. So,
about 5 days
after our release from the hospital, my husband left with his team
of medical
volunteers to do medical clinics in the desert. Since I have now experienced the
agony of
being a mother to a sick child, and wondering what in the world is wrong
with
my child, and how can it be fixed…my heart goes out to mothers around the
world
who have no clinics, no access to Doctors, no access to insulin and other
medications. I can imagine their desperation and heartache for their children and
because I have felt the same, I gladly send my husband. I gladly send him with
Teams from our church to help people in difficult situations, to hopefully
bring
comfort, knowledge and help. And
most of all, to share the One who can bring
peace in the midst of hardship and
pain.
Romans 5:1-5
“Therefore,
having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus
Christ, 2 through whom also we have access by
faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of
God. 3 And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations,
knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; 4 and perseverance, character; and
character, hope. 5 Now hope does not disappoint, because
the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was
given to us.
