Ok, so I freaked out!

(This post is written specifically for my non-D family and friends out there.  I wish that I could guarantee that every single person that I care about would read this post.  I wish that they would, in turn, pass this along to every one that they love.  I will be the first to admit that I did not know anything about Type 1 Diabetes before Ally's diagnosis.  And I certainly did not recognize the warning signs and symptoms.)


Ok, so I freaked out!  Lexi has been waking up earlier and earlier the past several mornings.  6:15 am, 5:30 am, 5:00 am, and last night...er this morning...whatever it was 4:15 am. - and we can't get her to go back to sleep.  Keith and I were taking turns rocking her.  It was my turn to try to get a few minutes of shut eye. 


But instead, all of these things keep popping into my mind like a slide show. 


Why does she keep waking up at odd hours, and crying hysterically?  What is going on with this child?


She can now say "Juice please."  "More Wa-Wa."  "Milk!"  I have been thinking that it is so cute that my almost 18 month old will find me, grab onto my pinky and "drag" me to the refrigerator for a drink.  Oh, no. WAIT!


Yesterday when I went into her room, she had soaked through her diaper.  NO WAY!  Please God, NO! (I repeated over and over agian.)  I knew what I had to do.


My hand was shaking...I couldn't even get the darn test strip in the meter.  I hugged Lexi tight, holding her finger steady, while Keith cocked the Delica lancing device.  Click.  Click.  I held my breath...first because I knew she would scream and second because I didn't want to know the answer. 


By the way....She did not scream.  She did not even flinch.  She sat still and watched as we checked her blood sugar.  Maybe because she has seen this so many times as we check Ally's blood sugar approximately 8 times a day.  In Ally's Two Special Sibs, I mentioned that all things diabetes, including blood glucose meters, lancing devices and test strips, have been around our house since before Lexi was born.  They are not foreign to her...they are just life at our house.


And even more importantly, she was 80-something.  I only heard the first part and let out a HUGE sigh of relief.


In November, I wrote about the importance of knowing and understanding the Warning Signs of Type 1 Diabetes.  This month the Diabetes Community around the world is mourning the losses of 6 of our own.

I know that I am not alone in saying that my heart aches for the families of...

...The 24 year old Australian girl, who went into DKA (Diabetic Ketoacidosis), a coma and then passed away.


...The 16 year old boy.


...The 16 year old girl, who did not wake up from a nap.


...The 27 year old, mother of 2.


...The 9 year old girl.


....AND today, my heart is especially aching for the 18 month old, who was misdiagnosed.
I am not alone in this either.  Tracy was also hit the hardest by the loss of this youngest one.


I am so grateful that I did not wait one more day before taking Ally to the doctor.


Maybe my freak out on Lexi was due to the recent news of the 18 month old, whose diagnosis was missed. 

Or maybe it's because, now, I am all too familiar with the Warning Signs of Type 1 Diabetes. 

Either way, it is a reminder to me that I need to educate others about these warning signs.  I did not know before that horrible February day in 2009.  The Kuehl Family did not know.  This 18 month old's family did not know. 

Why did I make it looks so "pretty"?  Well, I'm hoping that you will post this list.  You may not want to post it on your refrigerator, but why not the inside of your pantry door?  Or give it to your neighbor.  It may, one day, save the life of someone that you love!




**Tracy also wrote a really nice in-depth description of the signs and symptoms in One of the 40... back in November, during Diabetes Awareness Month.