Sweet Serenity

I am a mom to 3 little girls, ages 11, 9, & 8. I love them all dearly & consider myself blessed to be their mom. Alaina, my oldest, is 33% tomboy, 67% diva! Novalee, my 9 year old, has always walked to her own little drum. And Serenity, my 8 year old, is a little ball of giggles. She also happens to have type 1 diabetes. This is my story, as a mom to a T1D child.

When my kids were very young, I knew when they had an ear infection. I could correctly diagnose them with strep throat before taking them to their doctor. And, having grown up in the same house with my older brother who had type 1 diabetes, I knew when my youngest daughter, then 6 years old, developed the symptoms. Of course, you don't jump to the conclusion that your child has T1D right away. First I noticed her frequent urination and I, along with her teacher, thought she must have a urinary tract infection. I planned to make her an appointment while she was out of school for Thanksgiving break, but before I did I noticed that Serenity was asking for something to drink every time I turned around. Another symptom. But I questioned myself. I mean, maybe she was just thirsty. Maybe it seemed like she was drinking more than she actually was. So I decided that I would measure everything she drank the next day. From the time she woke up asking for a drink, Serenity had drank over 12 oz every hour and was still thirsty. I thought back, looking for other symptoms, and remembered mentioning to my mom that Serenity had developed a habit of crawling into my lap and just laying on me. Fatigue. Another symptom.

It was around lunch time, the day before Thanksgiving, when I called my sister-in-law and asked if I could check Serenity's blood sugar on my brother's meter. My brother's meter read 'Hi' when I checked (and double-checked) Serenity's blood sugar. On his meter, that indicated that her blood sugar was over 500. For a non-diabetic, a normal blood sugar is roughly between 80 and 120. When I got Serenity to the emergency room her blood sugar was 721. The doctor, rude little man, kept going on about how I should have gone to a different hospital because this one didn't have an endocrinology department and how he would have to call Serenity's pediatrician to see where they wanted them to send her. Even knowing what I knew, even after hearing how high her blood sugar was, I had to hear the words. I had to ask him. I think it was only then that the doctor realized that he was diagnosing my daughter for the first time, that we didn't know before then. He told me, "Yes, she has type 1 diabetes." He was nicer after that. He even brought her a little pink teddy bear.

 We were transferred downtown by ambulance to Texas Children's Hospital. They were wonderful. But the doctors kept asking me how I knew to check Serenity's blood sugar. They were in awe that I had brought her in before she got sick or went into diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA). The day my daughter was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes was the day I learned that knowing the symptoms can save your child's life.