The day that our life changed so drastically actually started a couple weeks earlier...something I still feel bad about. I should have known that something wasn't right earlier...that this was serious earlier...I should have taken her in earlier....But hindsight, right?
We noticed that Sam, just 4 years old at the time, was a little thirstier than normal...maybe a little hungrier too. On Thanksgiving, she ate a big meal for a four year old...but that's what Thanksgiving is about. Then she threw up. Her dad and I thought she must have eaten too much or maybe it was a flu bug. We waited it out. No more vomiting but as the week went by she continued to drink and eat more than normal. In addition, she had two or three peepee accidents which had never been a problem for her before. She began to wake up in the night to go to the bathroom. Of course, due to the increased fluid intake.
I began to notice that she was really looking thin. She hadn't lost weight but she must have hit a growth spurt and stretched out...hmmm. Also for several days, she just wanted to sit on my lap or her dad's lap. She was invited to go to the Christmas parade with her aunt and uncle but she turned them down. Her 8 year old sister went without her. This is when I began to think...I should get her in to the doctor. It was a Sunday so I had to wait to make the call the next morning. That night she had insomnia...not just a little difficulty getting to sleep...absolutely no sleep at all. She was sweet as an angel...just laid there wide awake all night...not complaining, not crying about it...just awake. RED FLAGS! Four year olds don't have insomnia. I called Monday morning and got an appt with the pediatrician...any one that could see us that day. They gave us an afternoon appt. I went to work and Sam stayed with her dad. On my recess break that day, one of the other teachers said what had been in the shadows of my mind for a few days..."sounds like diabetes". It doesn't run in our family at all. No one I knew had it. My children are all healthy...always have been. How could my four year old be diabetic?
But I knew that it made sense. The symptoms fit. I ran home after school, picked Sam up, and we went to the doctor. Sign in...sit down and wait... I notice that Sam, as she is sitting on my lap, has a sweet smell to her. Fifteen minutes later the receptionist calls us up..."We can't see her today because we can't seem to find her chart"...At this point I am almost in tears. "You have to see my daughter today" I tell the lady as nicely and calmly as I can "I'm not leaving until someone sees her" More waiting. So it must be about closing time because the office is nearly empty when they finally call us back. Fortunately the doctor comes in quickly, asks what seems to be the problem and after hearing a little of what I have to say, she does a urine test. She sends the nurse for a wheelchair and begins explaining to me that they are wheeling us across the street to the hospital. The nurse will take us to the emergency room so that she will be taken right in. Sam's numbers were too high to be read at the office. At this time, I called in back up, my husband, who arranged a sitter for our other three children and came ASAP. Everyone at the emergency room was awesome! They made Sammie feel like she was the only patient there...She looked so tiny and helpless on that hospital gurney....We started to realize how close we were to losing her. Her sugar was 750 and she was in total DKA. They started an IV, gave her fluids and a small amount of insulin then arranged for transport to the children's hospital in Madera 70 miles away. It was too foggy that December night for the helicopter so we had to go by ambulance. Now it was nearly 10 o'clock at night. My husband rode in the ambulance with Sammie while I followed in the car. It was the longest trip of my life! I just kept watching through the back window of the ambulance. I could see Rob talking to the EMT. He would give me a "we're still okay wave" every once in a while. About two hours later, we made it to the ER at the children's hospital and Sam was put on an insulin drip. Fortunately she improved so quickly that she didn't have to go to the ICU. Around 2am she was admitted to the hospital and our crash course began.
There were tears...not just Sam's...I slept (when we slept) in the bed with Sammie and Rob on the fold out chair/bed in the room with us...I remember my husband listening to The Pixies on his mp3 player...I still can't hear "Gouge Away" without getting that sinking feeling in the pit of my stomache...but we all came through it. I am very thankful to my brother and sister-in-law for taking care of our other children so we could keep our focus where it needed to be. Sammie was so tough and brave. She wowed the nurses. The finger pricks were hard since they need so much more blood than the home meters do. And the insulin needles too are bigger. But Sam got to where she would eat her meal and then skip out to the nurse's station and tell them she was ready for her shot. She loved that she got jell-o and crystal lite whenever she wanted it. And they had a playroom we visited daily. Volunteers came through often with Christmas gifts for the kids or a dog to pet. We were at the hospital for nearly five days before we were able to take Sam home...though we still felt woefully unprepared for life with diabetes.
It's been nearly three years now and though we feel capable of taking care of our daughter, I feel like we'll never stop learning.
