When Kyli was diagnosed, Mike and I had A LOT going on and we still do. I came into contact with a lot of people. When I tried to explain that Kyli was diagnosed, a lot of people said, "That stinks." I was so upset, by the response. Devastated. Now, I know that people will say that sometimes when they don't know what else to say, but I got that response about 7 out of 10 times, besides my family.
When people told me that, it felt like people were saying, "That's not so bad." or " That is not a big deal." Let me tell you, this is a HUGE DEAL. Kyli's life has forever been changed, our life has forever been changed. There are things that Kyli will never get to experience that most kids do. She will do things that will scare the crap out of me and at some point will end up in the hospital because of her having diabetes.
Did you know that the 2nd leading cause of death is diabetes? See, you body relies on glucose to live. That means, your brain uses it for fuel. At night, and this is when it mostly happens, people with diabetes sleep and while they do, their bodies and breaking down the sugar in their bodies. Sometimes, their sugars get so low that they don't have enough glucose to feed the brain, the brain shuts down and then... well you get the picture. There are some awesome monitors now, but Kyli is not able to be on a pump yet, so we cannot have this. Am I scared, yes I am. Luckily, I have an awesome husband and we both ensure that Kyli is at a good sugar level before bed.
Moving on, if you ever have talked to someone with diabetes, they will tell you that they have at least once, bottomed out and came to at a different location. Sometimes, their sugar levels drop so fast they cannot see it coming. Somehow and only sometimes, there brain goes into a survival mode and they get to sugar. It is amazing, but imagine what could happen during that sugar low.
What makes me sad, Kyli will never have the same experiences as other children. She will not be able to binge on food when she is older like most teenage kids do. It can mess with her sugars something fierce and take her days to feel better. Kyli will have to eat, even when she is not hungry in order to maintain a healthy sugar level. She will not be able to eat a bag of popcorn or a bag of skittles for breakfast. Drinking can kill her, it makes sugar levels drop ridiculously quick. Although, I will be happy if she never drinks alcohol, just sayin.
When Kyli is physically active, she does not have an option, she has to eat something healthy otherwise she can bottom out. We have to keep an emergency syringe in her kit (the red container) that needle is long enough to go through clothing. It is specifically for when she has a sugar low so serious that she is not responding and is unconscious. Now, I don't know about you, but no parent ever imagines their child having seizures on them, but there is a chance that they may happen if her sugars get low enough. I also never imagined giving my child shots in order to keep her healthy, but I do anything in order to keep Kyli healthy.
With that all being said, I do want to say that the medicines they have now are AMAZING even from 20 years ago when I was little and watched my Mom deal with her diabetes. Kyli is going to live a quality life with some challenges, but she is going to thrive because they have made diabetes manageable. I cannot wait for Kyli to get a pump, they now have monitors that will alert us if her sugars drop below a certain level. Cannot wait for one of these, seriously.
I think another reason this hurts so much is because, I have already experienced so much with diabetes with my Mom. She was blind for about 2yrs when I was in middle school, trust me, I remember this. I remember this all while thinking she had seen me grow up and she needed to get her vision back in order to watch my 2 yr old sister grow up. Two years ago,her kidney disease became so bad that she had the option of dialysis or a kidney transplant. Luckily, my Aunt, her sister gave her a kidney. Blessed, yes we are, my Mom's vision is better now than before her eye surgeries and her new kidney is healthier than most peoples kidneys.
I guess, what I am trying to say is while I don't want anyone to have to live in our shoes...I just want people to try and understand that Mike and I have to be checked into Kyli 24/7. We might as well have diabetes. We are responsible for keeping her healthy, safe, and at the healthiest levels possible. That being said, what 2 year old has ever eaten everything their parents want them to.
And just so you can have a small idea, her are some of her goodies we have accumulated since her diagnosis.
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