Remember when all the kids had the flu a few weeks ago? Remember how I declared Tamiflu dead to me because Brooke was so sick with it? Well, turns out, maybe it wasn't the Tamiflu.
It had been three weeks and Brooke still wasn't over the flu. She wasn't back to herself. She had no energy. The little Brooke spark was gone from her eyes.
Then we started noticing that she was drinking. Alot. And going to the bathroom. Alot.
And the emotional roller coaster was getting a little rough. One minute fine...the next minute snipping...the next minute fighting with her sister over nothing...the next minute...sobbing.
Her appetite was crazy. This, the child I felt lucky to get 2 good meals in her tummy, was eating me out of house and home. She was finishing her lunch and if I happened to be subbing that day, digging in to my lunch.
And then the headaches started. Severe. Making her feel so awful she didn't want to participate. Even if it was fun. And the vomit came with the headaches.
And even though her appetite rivaled her 11 year old brother's, she was loosing weight. Her clothes were hanging on her.
Wednesday night at church she had another sudden headache with vomiting. I had an appointment to see the doctor next week, but decided that since the headache was so bad, she needed to go in the next day. I had to work, but Honey was in town, so he was going to take her. He wanted a list of symptoms from me to make sure he didn't forget anything. I sat down Thursday morning to write down everything I'd noticed.
When I saw it all in writing, I knew what the doctor would tell us.
I cancelled my day and headed to the doctor at 9:15am. It didn't take long for them to tell us that she had Type 1 Diabetes and refer us to an endocrinologist. (Which, by the way, I spelled that without using spell check.) We were sent straight to the hospital and Brooke was admitted immediately.
It's been 36 hours since her diagnosis. 36 hours makes a huge difference. Her lab numbers are back to where they need to be. Her blood sugar is being tweaked and managed. The color in her cheeks is normal. Her body is being re hydrated. The Brooke spark is back in her eyes.
Honey and I know more than we ever wanted to know about insulin and pancreases and carbs. And we still have a lot to learn.
But for now we'll just take it one finger prick at a time.
7 comments:
I cried when I read this. Bless her heart. I noticed at school that she didn't look like herself. K told me today that we had to find a stuffed animal for her because she is sick. I am glad that she will begin to feel like herself again.
i heard she was in the hospital... i'm sorry that you have to travel this journey-- but gratefully many people have walked this path before you. please let me know if there is anything i can do to help- it is no problem for me to bring a couple more kids home from school in the afternoon or drop them off in the morning.
oh, poor sore fingers!
I've been on that emotional rollercoster. Not fun. And I can't imagine dealing with it in my kids. It will not be long before you figure it all out. Glad she is feeling better!
Wow. We have friends here who are going through that with their teenager. I know that you are certainly going through a roller coaster of emotions! Glad she is at least feeling better.
Bless her heart. Bless yours too. So, that news can really turn things upside down but from reading your blog, I'm certain it won't take long for you to have everything right side up again. Hope everyone can adjust quickly. And most importantly, glad she is feeling better! Nothing is worse than having your child hurt.
Oh my goodness, girl! I am just now seeing this!
I'm going to catch up on your posts now, but I had to stop at this one to say that I am praying for your sweet Brooke. :(
I'm not sure how I stumbled upon your blog, but I did, and I wanted to poke my head in and say hi. I'm a 'grown up kid with diabetes,' having lived with type 1 for the last 24 years. I'm sure you and your family are in the midst of this steep learning curve, but I wanted to let you know that there are a lot of people with diabetes and people who are caring for people with diabetes writing about their experiences online. If you need anything at all, there's a whole mess of people you can lean on. For anything.
Best to you and Brooke, and if you need anything, please drop me a line at kerri (at) sixuntilme (dot) com.
- Kerri.
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