In early May 2002 when Brooklyn was 2 1/2, she began to act sick usually at night, but during the day she was generally fine, She never had a fever or a cold or any other symptom I'd usually look for in my kids. So we continued on, me feeling like there was something wrong, but not being able to put my finger on it, and just when I was about to give up and haul her into the doctor she'd snap out of her icky crabby state and be fine. One day early in the morning we were at the church with my Tae Bo and Brooklyn did something (I don't remember now what it was) so I put her in time out. And she actually stayed there, I went later to check on her and she seemed out of it, lethargic somewhat, however in my inexperienced mind I thought she's mad at me and just ignoring me. A friend I was with there talked with Brooklyn some and came back to ask me if I had given her any medicine, that maybe I had given her too much. Since I hadn't given her anything like that I was beginning to really get worried. But on the ride home she snapped out of it and when we got home she was running around like a normal two year-old again.I let it go chalking it up to a moody two year old temper tantrum. But the following Sunday (Mother's Day) I could not deny something was wrong. Brooklyn slept the whole day, through church and everything. We had invited the missionaries and other friends over for dinner so my mind was occupied with the events of the day and not where it should have been with Brooklyn. When we tried waking her up she'd just sit there staring off into space. No fever, no cough, no runny nose, none of the regular sick symptoms. But I was worried. And when my Mom called to talk with us she talked briefly over the phone to Brooklyn and was concerned when Brooke was definitely not herself. Instead of just taking her into the ER I called the health nurse. The number provided to us by the military to answer questions to make a better judgment call about the necessity of going into the doctor vs picking up medicine from the store. As I talked with the nurse on the phone and she asked questions the light bulb was turning on. Brooklyn was showing many signs I had never thought to look for.
She was eating a ton - when she was awake. Like one day she ate her whole sandwich and then ate her sisters. (remember she was two).
She was losing weight - I thought she was losing her baby fat, but come to think of it she was eating ALL day.
She would ask for a glass of water and drink the whole thing in seconds - I remember Paul saying he'd get a glass of water for Brooklyn any day because she actually drank it - the other kids would take a sip then put it down and run off to play. (I had 4 of my own and fostering 2 others at this time)
Then after big meals those were the times she would act sick but it would go away in an hour or so.
The nurse was very brief not telling or confirming anything to me, but strongly suggested I drive the 45 minutes it would take to get her to the ER. I did as I was told, thankful that our company was still around and I didn't have to wait for a sitter.
This was the first time I'd taken a child to the ER and was seen immediately, no waiting in the waiting room. The nurse had called ahead and told them we were coming. Everything for the next few hours was a fast paced blur. They first tested her blood sugar on a regular meter, it read High (meaning the meter could not read how high she really was because it was over 500). Then put her on a bed and began making preparations for drawing out blood to be tested at the lab. I was at the foot of the bed, Paul was cuddling her head, as Brooklyn lay there on the bed screaming while 6 doctors and nurses tried to each get what ever it was they needed. I watched as the color was draining quickly from his head. I understood everything was moving fast, doctors seemed to be everywhere and our precious 2 year old was frantic. The doctors noticed too and tried to coach him through so he wouldn't faint all I could think was he about fainted at all the births he'd probably hit the floor any second, so I traded him places. I wasn't any better though - I had to bury my face into the bed next to hers and as I kept telling Brooklyn that everything was going to be okay - I had to tell myself to breath, to keep it together, my baby needed me and all the doctors attention. She didn't need her parents passed out on the floor. I have no idea how long that lasted before the fury settled down. It seemed like forever.
It's hard to retain information when you brain is in shock. I knew she had diabetes I didn't know what that really meant. I mean I knew all about the disease I just didn't know how it was going to change our lives. And while the doctor was trying to explain what they were doing and what needed to be done, all I could think about was calling my own mommy. At the first break, when things settled down and Brooklyn was sleeping (still in the ER) I did call, and it was the first chance I had to really let myself think about it and cry. We were living in Hawaii at the time so I couldn't just pack up my family and run back home for comfort. I had no choice but to face this with just my husband, my kids, and the military 'family' we had close by. I remember the warm breeze coming up from the ocean I could smell the salty air as I walked out of the noisy stuffed ER and into the dark quiet night air. I felt alone. I called my Mom and cried.
Brooklyn spent 2 days in the ICU and 5 more on the pediatric floor. Her Blood sugar turn out to be 1380 normal is 80 - 120. She was in diabetic Ketoacidosis, the state just before going into a coma. The first few days she was in the hospital for her health. Towards the end they kept her there until they knew we could take care of her. And until we each showed them we could give the daily shots of insulin (she would get at least 4 everyday), test her blood sugar( at least 6 times a day), and that we fully understood all that was going on. It was a huge one week crash course on the body. With tests and all.
She was Diagnosed in Mother's day and got to come home a week later on her Daddy's Birthday.
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