Kaylee's Story

If you’ve already read Brooklyn’s story then you’ll realize that since we’d already done this once we were better prepared for the 2^nd time.

July 23, 2009.  We headed down to Austin, Texas. It’s was about an hour’s drive.  We were meeting long time friends who had come from North Carolina for a short visit.  Pizza at Cici’s! It was going to be a good few days!  I was excited to get the chance to visit friends, and also Paul and I had big plans for the weekend.  We were scheduled to head to the Gulf of Mexico for 2 days of deep sea fishing.  I personally could have done without the fishing part I was looking forward to us time.  However, I know Paul was super siked about the fishing. 

We got to Cici’s and had a really great time!  That is until Kaylee excused herself to go to the bathroom and got sick.  But she came back and seemed to be fine, so we sat there for a short while longer.  The kids begged to hang out all afternoon, but we really needed to head home to pack – and well, I was concerned about Kaylee.  This was not the first time this had happened.  A week earlier after a quick run through a fast food drive-through she had gotten sick after that meal also.  Additionally about week prior to that she was coming home from a youth temple trip.  They ate out that day; and she had gotten sick then.  At no other time had she been sick during that time period.  Only after eating out, different places, different food, same result.

Since we had an hour long drive home, I had plenty of time to think.  And not really sure about what was happening, I had an impression I could not ignore.  I turn to Brooklyn and asked her to do a finger poke to check her blood sugar and then asked her to pass her meter around and we were all going to check our blood sugar.  I had done this before but not for some time.  So it wasn’t a totally unusual thing for me to do.  My suspicion was confirmed when Kaylees number came up ‘Hi’.  The meter only reads up to 500 so a ‘Hi’ reading is anything above 500.  On a person without diabetes a number would never be that high even if they had just eaten an entire cake and washed it down with soda.  There was no other explanation; Kaylee had diabetes.

I wasn’t sure how to break it to her, but she saw the result on the meter and she silently covered her head to hide and cry.  She already knew.  I wasn’t ready to say it out loud and I definitely didn’t want to say it where she could hear me just in case I was wrong.  So I pulled out my phone and for the first time ever I sent a text message to my mom.  I didn’t even know if she knew how to text.  My first text to her went something like this: Do you know how to Text? I have something to tell you but I can’t talk out loud.  Of course I got the reply that yes she knew how to text.  So I told her my concerns and told her that as soon as we got home, we’d be taking her into the ER and I’d call her later.

We were foster parents and drove around in a 15 passenger van so it was easy to move back to sit close to Kaylee, put my arm around her and hold her all the way home.  I think we all knew what was up, but we didn’t talk about it.  I only said that I thought we should take her to the ER, and so we’d be dropping the girls off at home and we’d take her in.

I also sent a text off to Jules my friend who was going to take the girls for the weekend.  I told her what was up and cancelled our plans with her.  To this day she teases Kaylee about it.  You see Kaylee is kind of a homebody and had turned down several ‘sleepovers’ at Jules house.  In our family we really don’t do the whole sleepover thing, but on rare occasions there are times that we do, however Kaylee always preferred to come home and sleep in her own bed.  So Jules teases her that she would do ANYTHING to not have to stay the night at her house – even go so far as to give herself diabetes that very weekend.

When we arrived home we gathered a few things and headed for the ER on base.  When we walked in I told the receptionist why we where there.  Again we were put ahead of other people there.  In fact we sat in the waiting room all of about a minute.  I could picture the things going on in other peoples heads.  Here was 2 parents and a child, no signs of pain, no one even looked sick and yet we were immediately attended to.  I felt bad, we took a bed that someone else had been sitting there waiting hours for. 

Blood sugar was checked, labs drawn.  All quiet and orderly.  Although it did begin to get irritating that every new person that walked in to care for Kaylee asked, ‘When was she diagnosed?’  And everytime we’d explain that she hadn’t been, and that was why we were there now.  Eventually they got smart and called the only near-by pediatric endocrinologist Dr. Bryant in Temple, TX (45 minutes away).  I was glad for that, we already knew him, he was Brooklyn’s doctor.

Dr. Bryant wanted her transferred to Scott and White in Temple, where he could watch her for a day or two and get the insulin ratio adjusted that she would need.  This meant an ambulance ride.  We joked a little about that.  Kaylee by this time was feeling fine, walked out to the ambulance and crawled inside herself, but they did make her lay down on the bed.  All she could think about was this is cool, and she really wanted to take a picture of herself in it, but she was too shy to ask if it was okay.

I rode with her, but up in the front passenger seat, and for me it was different.  Again as with Brooklyn, this was the first time I had let myself think about all that was happening and all the things that would now be different for her.  However, the driver wanted to chit chat and make small talk – I had a hard time concentrating as he rambled on.  Although annoying, it did prevent me from thinking too much and of course that would have led to crying.  Since it wasn’t life threatening he was in no hurry and the drive seemed to last forever.

I think Paul went home to get some clothes and dinner; and then made the drive over.  I was grateful when he finally arrived.  I didn’t like facing this without him, in fact I kept him there for a long time to just hang out.  There was too much déjà vu in the whole situation, although very different, it was all very much the same.

We got to see Dr. Bryant way too early in the morning.  But it was comforting to see him.  I knew he’d get her started off on the right foot.  The first thing he told kaylee was that she could go home as soon as she was giving herself her shots.  So she got a one day crash course in counting carbs, and insulin doses.  And at her first opportunity she started testing her blood sugar herself along with giving herself shots.  I was pretty proud of her.  She just wanted to go home.  And as promised the next morning he said we could go home. 

In our house we share a lot of the work load and the diabetes was the same.  Kaylee knew exactly what was going on because when Brooklyn was diagnosed we made it a family affair.  Alyssa, Kaylee and Emma were and are all well versed in diabetes and what to do in almost any situation.  So now for Kaylee it just meant learning to deal with it herself.

 Although Kaylee was not happy with the diagnoses she took on a ‘it is what it is’ attitude. She just did what she had too and tried to not let it interfere with her life.  And even though Dr. Bryant told her she’d have to wait 6 months for a pump, she convinced him at 3 months that she was ready for one!

I think for Brooklyn it’s was somewhat of a comfort to her to now have a buddy to bond with; that understands what she  goes through.

Brooklyn's Story

May 12 2002.  Mother’s Day.  It started out like so many other days, but it ended so very different than I ever imagined.  I knew I had a little girl (2 ½ years old) who didn’t feel well, but I didn’t know just how sick she was.  In fact she had been, what I considered, mildly sick off and on for about 2 weeks.  So I’ll start there.

Brooklyn had a few bouts of been sick, throwing up during the night, but she would be fine the next day.  No fever, no cold, no runny nose, no complaints of ear pain.  Everything seemed to be fine, except every couple of nights she would get sick, and then feel better.  Looking back I think I should have maybe wondered about her being allergic to something she was eating, but it wasn’t happening that much.  And again no hives or other signs of an allergy.  So we carried on. 

Then she started wetting the bed.  Like the sheets were completely soaked as if she hadn’t gone all day and waited until bedtime to flood her bed.  Unfortunately we had just switched to cheap diapers since she was two and didn’t really wet at night so much anymore – I thought it was the diapers and her just drinking too much so close to bedtime. Switched to heavy duty diapers and limited her drinks at night.

Then there was the day when a friend and I had walked over the church for a Tae Bo workout.  We got there and Brooklyn was acting up so I put her in a timeout.  I went to check on her a few minutes later and she ignored me.  I thought ‘Wow, this 2 year old is mad at me for putting her in time out!’  My friend went out to talk to her and came back saying she thought she looked dazed. She asked me if I had given her any medicine that morning.  I hadn’t.  However, by the time we got back home she seemed fine. I brushed it off.

Then Mother’s Day.  We headed to church with a drowsy kid, she slept on my shoulder off and on for the whole 3 hours.  Being that it was Mother’s Day we had invited the missionaries and another family over to BBQ.  Brooklyn slept from the time we got home from church until the meal was almost over.  I woke her to eat and she was very lethargic.  Still no fever or other signs of illness I usually looked for.  But I knew something was wrong, was this a weird flu?  I called my Mom to wish her a Happy Mother’s day and of course all the kids had to take a turn talking to grandma.  When Brooklyn talked to her my mom also knew something was wrong.  Brooklyn was slurring her words and hardly said anything.

Next I called the health nurse hotline.  After answering a thousand questions she calmly directed me to head to Tripler Army Medical Center.  She even said that she was going to call ahead and tell them to expect us.  I thought how nice; it should have tipped me off to the seriousness of the situation.

My friend Deanna offered to stay with the kids while Paul and I packed up Brooklyn and we headed the 45 minute drive to the hospital.

The next few hours were tough, the next few days were draining.

It was the first time I had ever taken a child to the ER and got immediate attention.  They checked her blood sugar the moment we walked in.

1350

She should have been in a coma. Normal is 80-120.  Everything else becomes a blur.  She’s put on a bed and suddenly there are 15 doctors and nurses in a room that only fit 5.  Paul is by her head trying to calm her.  Brooklyn is screaming as person after person draws blood for this and that. One trying to get an IV started in dehydrated veins.  Questions being asked, I’m trying to concentrate on the questions and forming answers. I looked over and I see Paul go white.  One of the people notice to, he tells us to change places.  But I don’t do any better.  I feel myself about to faint.  I remember talking to Brooklyn telling her it would be okay, then telling myself to knock it off, get a grip, and hold on.  Stroking her cheek I keep saying it’s okay and then a deep breath, and tell myself again to hold on; like a broken record I kept that up until things began to calm down.  They got the IV started, they got all the blood they needed and my exhausted baby girl fell asleep. 

They confirmed the diagnoses of type 1 juvenile diabetes.  Oh gosh, I didn’t know what to think.  I was too tired to think.  While we waited for a room upstairs Paul sat by Brooklyn’s side and I walked outside for fresh air and to call my mom.  I knew she would be waiting for my call.  It was then in the warm Hawaiian night breeze that I got my first chance to break down and cry.

They moved her up to the NICU.  When the nurses told us she’d probably sleep for quite some time, and we knew she would be there for at least a week – we headed for home to talk, shower and pack our bags for an extended stay.  We were told that there would be a week of training and both of us would have to be present.  Although we both headed back that night; for the rest of the week we took turns one of us going home each night and one of us staying there. 

The next week we had a crash course in the body and how it works, and a crash course in nutrition. We gave an orange a shot, then moved to giving each other a saline shot.  Graduation would be giving Brooklyn her shots.  Being able to count carbs.  Converting that to the right amount of insulin, both long and short acting.  Timing everything just right to prevent highs and lows.

I don’t we had a second for anything other than learning that week.  I know that we didn’t see much of the rest of the kids our other 3 daughters and 2 foster kids.  But I knew they were in very capable hands with good friends of ours.  2 or 3 different families stepped up and took over a part of our life that we just didn’t have time for that week.  I know for both Paul and I our brains were exhausted, and trying to comprehend all we were learning was tough.  I kept thinking, ‘what if I mess up? What if I don’t get this right?  This is a life we are talking about here’.  I’m grateful to the wonderful friends we had to watch our back. 

I was grateful to also know that our Father in Heaven also had our back.  You see about the time this all started, just prior to when Brooklyn first started showing signs of being sick, I also began to feel my grandfather near me.  My grandfather had passed away a few years earlier from complications to juvenile diabetes.  One particular evening I remember very clearly I distinctly felt him near.  Close enough that I had to call my mom and tell her.  I found out that my SIL had just headed to the hospital to deliver a baby and we mused over the idea that he was close by bringing a sweet new spirit to earth.  However, while in the hospital with Brooklyn I began to realize that he was there for me, for my comfort.  This was confirmed to me when we had our first low blood sugar seizure scare almost 6 months later.  Again just prior to and after I know the veil was thin.      

We got to take our Brooklyn home the following Sunday the 19^th of May.  Daddy’s birthday!

Looking back over the few weeks prior to the diagnoses there were warning signs we didn’t realize were there: 

She was 2 and when she would ask for a drink she would literally guzzle the whole cup and sometimes ask for more.  My husband commented on that he liked getting her drinks – it wasn’t a waste of time – with the others girls, they would ask for a drink only to take a sip and be done. *without insulin the high blood sugars were causing her body to dehydrate*

She was eating everything on her plate and her older sisters.  I remember her eating a whole PB and J and then taking Emma’s and eating hers (Emma is one year older then Brooklyn). Yet I also remember telling my mom that same week that my little girl was already losing her baby fat.  Her cute little chubby cheeks were disappearing. *without insulin her body was basically starving, food wasn’t able to get into her blood stream and so it was going out as waste as fast as it was going in*.

Always hungry, always thirsty, tummy aches, flooding the bed at night, losing weight spaced out or lethargic – all are typical signs of diabetes. 

I think we got her to the ER just in time.