Our Diagnosis Story

     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.