The Signs that Led to a Diagnosis
At some point in 2019, I had read this Love What Matters article circulating on social media. If you haven’t read it, I recommend you do. But I’ll warn you, it’s heartbreaking. But it could save a life. It quite likely saved my daughter’s.
The Signs
I remember Mary playfully jumping on the bathroom scale in early January 2020. She was 7 and on school break. I took note that her weight was normal for her height and age. During the next few weeks, I noticed that Mary was hungry all the time. She must be going through a growth spurt, I figured. Then I realized she was drinking water all the time. Mary had always been a big water drinker, but this was different. She was chugging a full glass before bed and sometimes asking for more in the middle of the night. But it was winter, so I figured it was dry air. And she was getting up to use the bathroom a lot. Well, that makes sense, she’s been drinking a lot.
I grabbed my phone to Google her symptoms and “diabetes” popped up. I skimmed the information but then decided, That can’t be it. But I’ll keep an eye on her. Then I recalled the Love What Matters article I had read, but quickly brushed the thought away.
Toward the end of the month, I was away on a church retreat for the weekend. At some point, one of the women helping to lead the retreat started telling her story. She shared about the pivotal moment of being diagnosed with type 1 diabetes as a teenager. My heart started racing, and I had a queasy feeling in my stomach. I thought, I have to get Mary tested. This woman shared about her life-altering diagnosis, but also about God’s providence amidst it all. I somehow knew, too, that God would take care of Mary.
Time to Act
I think the fear of the unknown got to me when I returned home that Sunday evening, and I waited it out a few more days, wanting to be wrong about my concerns. But the signs were still there, and a few days later, I noticed that Mary’s clothes seemed to be hanging on her. Mary was always on the skinny side, but something didn’t seem right. I had her jump on the scale. She read the number aloud. “Seven pounds lighter?” I whispered in shock to myself as I walked over to look at the number. Yup, she had lost seven pounds in just a few weeks.
My heart started pounding as I said a quick prayer under my breath, “Oh, God, please let Mary be OK.”
I didn’t want to scare Mary, but I told her I wanted to take her to the doctor to make sure everything was ok. Google told me what to do. I called the pediatrician’s office, mentioned the symptoms she was experiencing, and asked for a fasting glucose test for the next morning.
The next morning, on February 7, 2020, I repeated Mary’s symptoms to the nurse, who then came over to prick Mary’s finger to take a drop of blood and run a blood glucose test. She left the room, and a few minutes later, the pediatrician walked in with a male resident. She greeted us and asked how Mary was doing as the resident quietly walked to the corner of the room and stood quietly. I knew our pediatrician from our church and school. She was a mom like me, and somehow that made this appointment a little less scary.
The Diagnosis
I repeated the signs … thirsty all the time, extra hungry, going to the bathroom more often, even at night, and losing weight. The pediatrician listened, thoughtfully, as did the resident. After a few seconds’ pause, she said, “I’m sorry, but it appears Mary has diabetes. You caught it early, her blood sugar is 236, which is high, but thankfully not dangerously high.” As the words sank in, she came over to give me a hug, and the resident followed suit, if a bit awkwardly. I thanked them quietly, and Mary and I sat stoically as she explained our next steps.
She was going to call ahead to the pediatric unit at our local hospital to prep a room for her. We were to make a brief stop at home to pack a weekend bag and go there as soon as possible.
I knew we were lucky to have the luxury of stopping home first. I knew we were lucky that we caught this early and could walk calmly into the pediatric unit later that morning. I knew my little girl would be OK, and I was grateful to God.
