So much has changed!
Since the last time I posted. I don't come here much anymore. I think when I started working I just had so little to say and so little time on my hands. Since the last time I posted I stopped working and Ven got a good job. He's now the director of marketing for an advertising company.
The big news though came last weekend. The last month or maybe longer I had noticed some changes in Lena. She became very thirsty. It was extreme. She would wake in the night to wee and scream bloody murder to get a drink. Some nights she'd have 2 drinks and still scream for more. One of these nights I posted to my Chicago moms group I became so frustrated by it. I got a lot of suggestions about diabetes. Then over the next couple weeks I noticed her getting more and more lethargic and grumpy. I also noticed when she weed on the toilet seat and I would wipe it off, it would leave a visible residue and if you sat down your leg would stick to it. Looking back on it now, she also kept complaining that her tummy hurt and her eyes were "furry". She was falling asleep in school and pulling her chair up to the water fountain so she could drink constantly. She also threw up there one day.
Then on Tuesday the 26th she took a 4.5 hour nap. This kid has taken about 5 naps since she was 18months old and only when she's very ill. So I made a doctors appointment. Whenever I told anyone we were going to the doctor to be tested for diabetes I got a lot of looks as if I were being paranoid and lots of suggestions as to what else it might be. It couldn't possibly be something THAT serious could it? Even I thought I was over reacting. I never for one moment thought she would have it.
Friday the 29th I took her to the doctor. The doctor obviously thought it would come out fine as well. I was disturbed to find out my fears that she was losing weight were real as she had lost a pound in a month. The doctor amused me and did the test. They drew blood from her arm and we went back to the doctors office to wait. She took FOREVER. Then the nurse came in and asked for a urine sample. After that the doctor came in and told me her blood glucose was 522. I looked at her blankly as that meant nothing to me. She told me a normal level was 70-120 and that Lena did have diabetes. She also had ketones in her urine and was in Diabetic Ketoacidosis (DKA). They sent me to the ER at the hospital and said I would see a pediatrician there and that they would call ahead so they knew who we were. I stopped to get Ven on the way. It took me 30 minutes to make a 5 minute trip because I just kept going the wrong way.
When we got to the ER they had no idea who we were and we never saw that pediatrician. We saw an ER doctor who had no idea what to do. They put an IV in her arm which came out as they were taing it on and had to be put in again. There was blood all down the side of the bed. They hooked her up to fluid and tried to get her blood sugar to come down. The WHOLE night she was begging for food. She was so hungry. Eventually they decided to transfer us to the Children's Hospital in Iowa City (about 2 hours away from where we live) as they have a team of pediatric endocrinologists. My aunt came and got Sephie and Ven and took them home. Then she brought some stuff for Lena and I back to her house. Once Lena's blood reached the right level they let us go and we went and picked up Aunt Sandy.
We got to Iowa City about 1am I guess. They did know who we were and we were admitted to the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU). As soon as we got in our room we were surrounded by nurses and doctors. They took blood from her wrist. Her glucose level was 175 which they were all really surrised about. After a while she was allowed to go down stairs and get food. We all probably fell asleep around 4am.
We ended up staying in Iowa City for 4 days. We got home on Tuesday evening. Lena has Type 1 diabetes. She's been declining for over a month although they couldn't pinpoint exactly how long. Most kids, at the time of diagnosis, are almost dead. The symptoms are so subtle that most parents don't notice until their blood is septic and their organs are failing. We got REALLY lucky. They said the only reason she lasted so long was probably that she had been drinking so much water and flushing her system.
She has to have 4 injections of insulin a day. We have to eat breakfast, lunch, dinner and 3 snacks in between. We have to count her carbs and be careful about how much she eats. I was completely devestated, but now that we're home and reading and gaining knowledge I'm feeling more and more hopeful.
Things I've learned about Type 1 Diabetes in the past week? It's actually an autoimmune disease and not related to diet at all. Less than 10% of diabetes cases are Type 1. About 1% of those are diagnosed during the first year of life. Less than 10% are under 5.
I would be gutted if I had an infant with this. You would not be able to nurse. You'd have to pump or feed formula because you'd have to monitor EXACTLY how much they were getting.
In other news, I was supposed to get my period last weekend and didn't. I hope it's stress. Of course I've been feeling nauseous everyday morning as well. If there's anything that could make this situation worse, it would be a pregnancy.