These 2 pictures were taken only 4 months apart.
The one on the left was from Christmas morning (December) and the picture on the right was taken at our very first JDRF Community Kick Off (April).
Cara was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes smack-dab in the middle of both pictures in February.
I hate to think what would have happened to our extra sweet Cara if we had not brought her to the ER that day in February. You see, we knew that she was sick, we just did not know with what,
NO ONE KNEW!
We had brought her to 3 clinics and 1 appointment with her pediatrician and NO ONE knew the symptoms.
We saw the symptoms, we explained the symptoms BUT NO ONE, not even 4 different doctors put 2 and 2 together until the ER visit and thank GOD they did because if they did not Cara may not be here today.
Cara was so sick in February that we later learned that one of our wonderful diabetes clinic nurses who has worked with many, many diabetic clients had to leave the room after taking one look at Cara. She was in disbelieve, she immediately turned to the doctor and told her to run more test because diabetes does NOT look like this she said, diabetes does not do this to kids she said, there has to be something else wrong with this little girl.
And guess what... DIABETES does do this, diabetes did that to Cara.
There is not a day that goes by that I wish I KNEW and UNDERSTOOD the SIGNS & SYMPTOMS of type 1 diabetes. So I really would love for you all to read these signs, read these symptoms and know what type 1 diabetes looks like.
Warning signs of type 1 diabetes (these may occur suddenly):
- Extreme thirst
- Frequent urination
- Sudden vision changes
- Sugar in urine
- Fruity, sweet, or wine-like odor on breath
- Increased appetite
- Sudden weight loss
- Drowsiness, lethargy
- Heavy, labored breathing
- Stupor, unconsciousness
12 comments:
Those pictures took my breath away :( How can these doctors not know!!?? I dont understand WHY so many dx stories are the same with doctors who turn kids away for months until they are just soooo sick. It breaks my heart. And, we WILL be heard. You are a great advocate for Diabetes, together we can all turn this world BLUE. ((HUGS))
thank you for posting this Nicole. Looking at those pics of your sweetie brings tears to my eyes. So completely baffled and angered that none of the clinics or doctors recognized what was going on with your little one! So happy that it was finally caught and she is ok and here with you today. HUGS to you!!
Her picture breaks my heart. You are right, the doctors don't know and they should. Heartbreaking on so many levels.
this is a time where I hate saying same-same, if I didn't check Isaac's BG when I did we would have had a much worse outcome, but I did...after two doc appts, countless phone calls and many sleepless nights we finally got an answer. I am thankful that Cara is here, she's getting the right treatment and has an incredible family. Thank you for putting these pics together so we can share them in hopes that others become more educated about the signs so that no other child has to get that sick before receiving treatment.
diabetes does do that :( how tragic, but thank the Lord you got an answer at to what was wrong ... and for us too. we get a second chance with our sweet kids.
man, im close to tears with all the blogs today... such a f*cking sad thing.
The same thing happened to me. At 15, I went to several doctors and NO ONE KNEW. How is that possible?!?! Thank you for sharing.
WOWWWWW!!! We had the opposite affect! We couldn't see it with Kacey :( We had no clue til that big diabetes train ran over us!
BTW, our brains must be on the same track cuz I just blogged about this this morning and was just catching up on blogs and read your post...LOL! Great minds girlie!! (((HUGS)))
Dude!
The pictures of me before and after diagnosis are a little scary (140 lbs down to 100 on a 5'3" frame) but yours are horrifying.
I am so glad we get to see the Cara on the right now :)
Heartbreaking :( But thank you for sharing Cara's story nonetheless. These stories MUST be told. We MUST continue to educate so that people everywhere - especially doctors and nurses - recognize these symptoms without a doubt!
That picture make me sick to my stomach --- I'm sorry it does. I hate it. I'm so sorry that Cara had to suffer because of the lack of knowledge. UGH!!! She's lucky to have a mom like you to fight for her.
Iloveyou!
thank you for sharing this information, actually a friend of a friend was just talking about how her daughter is losing weight drastically, so this actually made me tell her to go to the ER, i hope they find out what is wrong with her, but i think it is diabetes. You probably saved her life. More people need to be informed. I new about the being thirsty and excessive urination, but actually did not know about the weight loss. Thanks again. Maryam =)
That photo!!! Holy cow is that powerful!!! Sweet, sweet Cara, thank goodness, she was finally diagnosed! It blows me away that doctors keep missing the diagnosis.
Great job with this blog post!
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