Chloe

From her mom, Brittany:

Chloe had just graduated from kindergarten. Seven days later, we were playing at the park which was five-year-old Chloe’s favorite thing. We didn’t know but Chloe was very, very sick. After playing at the park all day, Chloe’s Mom picked her up. She took her to the er that evening because Chloe was crying with a headache, she thought it was a migraine. Her labs showed something we couldn’t believe. They gave her insulin at our local hospital and were waiting on her sugar to get below 600 so the Lifeline ambulance could take her to Children’s Hospital. I will never forget that phone call, “Chloe’s on her way to Children’s her blood sugar was over 1000 they think she is diabetic.”
We jumped in the car and took off, we beat the ambulance, we waited two hours before she got there…
Meanwhile, Chloe was asleep, slowly slipping into ketoacidosis, waiting for the insulin to start working.

Upon arriving at the hospital, we were whisked into a room with doctors and nurses coming in and out. The waiting. The not knowing what exactly is going on. Thinking about all the symptoms we had missed. My husband telling the doctors there that he gave her a Reese cup at the park — we all felt at fault; I felt horrible. I fed her crap and that’s why her sugar is high five hours later. Apologizing saying I will only give her vegetables for snacks from now on. Crying because I thought I’d never be able to buy her another happy meal. The ER docs telling us we are good parents and that was not it. The confirmation that it is Type 1 Diabetes, the insulin, feeling “shell shocked”, calling Children’s home for the next few days. The next days were a whirl-wind of learning how to draw insulin, test blood sugars, count carbohydrates, and learn what everything means.

Today she’s an amazing teenager, you probably wouldn’t even know about her diabetes unless you noticed her Dexcom or pump peeking out from her sleeve. She turned her life over to God, she’s driving, going to be a senior this coming school year, and has a summer job. I couldn’t be more proud of her.