The Family-Centered Life

I tired to go for a run yesterday and I was stopped by the police.  Stopped because my route was blocked by the Palin rally.  I had totally forgotten!  That’s OK, I just went a different way. But I wish I had known that Kimberlee and family were waiting on line in the opposite direction.  Then again given I was in sweats and had no make-up on —maybe not.

We didn’t even try to get tickets to this rally since we had already attended one last month but I was thrilled to once again see the huge turnout of support.

In all fun Danielle Bean lamented about not being able to see Sarah’s boots in the picture Kimberlee’s husband took.  Let’s face it, men just don’t think about these important things.  But ask and you shall receive:

Oh yeah, they’re smokin’!

Want to see more of the boots rally? Check out this video at Lancaster Online.

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I started this post this morning.  I’m just getting back to it now. . .

Outside my window. . . 53 degrees bright and sunny.  A perfect fall day! (It’s 69 now and dark)

I am thinking. . . about my to do list. I really seem to have a hard time getting back on track on Mondays.  It’s probably all just psychological.

From the schoolroom. . . no school today since it’s Columbus Day.  The older kids are going with a group to pray outside an abortion clinic.

I am thankful for. . . modern medical technology.  Its importance to our daily lives cannot be underscored enough.

From the kitchen. . . oatmeal and toast with tea as my morning repast.  Dinner will be something with chicken.  Spicy chicken with rice and vegetables sounds good. (Dinner is done –it was delicious)

I am creating. . . a planner.

I am going. . . to the grocery store for a quick run through.

I am wearing. . . my kicky new jean skirt , a long sleeved navy blue knit top, knee high socks and really cute t-strap Mary Jane’s that I got on clearance last season at Marshall’s.

I am reading. . . I’m rereading The Body Ecology Diet and trying to get back to following its plan.  It’s a great way to build your immune system and I am hoping to stop any further autoimmune diseases from happening here.

I am hoping. . . to be able to go for a run later.  I didn’t get to this morning and I don’t want to miss it.  (I didn’t get to go.  The big kids were gone most of the day, plus I have a sore throat and my ears hurt.  Feels like cold coming on.)

I am hearing. . . Maria laughing and running as various other children pretend to chase her. (10 hours later that’s still pretty much what I am hearing.  Is it bedtime yet??)

Around the house. . .a little cleaning, calls to make, sewing would be nice. . . (I got some cleaning done, no phone calls and no sewing)

One of my favorite things. . . dark chocolate.  ‘nuf said.

A few plans for the rest of the week. . . lessons, planner stuff, sewing (hopefully).  My new desk is done, now I am waiting on shelves and a cutting table. As always RCIA is Tuesday.

Here is a picture thought I am sharing with you. . .

Princess in pigtails.  I found the dress while sorting the bins last week.  She loves it!

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Don’t forget to stop by Peggy’s for all the links entered in this week’s Simple Woman’s Daybook.

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Please pray for this precious little girl who desperately needs a miracle!

Marie Breda’s life hangs in the balance.

Let’s join together as the family of God and pray for our dear sweet sister.

Update: Marie passed from this earthly life Monday Oct. 13th.  Please continue to pray for her family who will certainly miss her very much!

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In the comments of my previous diabetes post Dawn asked  “Would you mind explaining why a person can get sick enough to require hospitalization when they are first diagnosed w/ type 1 diabetes?” and then Bridget asked “Michele, how did you know Maggie was in trouble and had to get to the Dr. in the first place? What are the signs to look for? I know it can be an emergency situation.”

So how do you know?

With Maggie we didn’t.  She started out by being thirsty a lot,  but it was April and the weather was getting warmer so I didn’t think much of it.  The she started needing to go to the bathroom more often.  I had a very small bladder as a child and I have little girls who are similar so again I gave it no thought, plus she was drinking lots of water so of course she would need to go to the bathroom.  She got thinner, but we have pretty skinny kids and experience tells me they tend to thin out when they are getting taller.  That’s what both Tim and I thought was happening.  She was tired.  I thought she might have a virus (though she had no other symptoms.  No stomach pain, no vomiting, no fever and she had a very good appetite ).  And sometimes I thought she was just being lazy.  I hate to admit that now but I did.  Overall though she just wasn’t herself and it was after a few weeks of gradual symptoms that I started to think something was going on.  I thought maybe it was something emotional.  Something that was bothering her so I tried talking to her but she insisted there was nothing, she was just tired a lot.  Still, my gut told me something wasn’t right.  I went to bed Saturday May 3rd praying that God would unravel the mystery of what was wrong.

Sunday morning Maggie came in my room and said her chest hurt.  Her breathing was somewhat rapid and her heart was racing.  I stayed home with her while everyone went to Mass and I called her godmother who is a CRNP.  She came and looked at her but was also puzzled.  She thought maybe it was the flu but with no fever. . .  Still she suggested we take her to the after hours clinic that her office has in town so we made an appointment for later that day.  But Maggie was quickly going downhill.  She could barely get up to go to the bathroom and her breathing seemed quite labored.  Tim said he thought maybe she was sick in her stomach because she had a funny smell on her breath.  I called the Dr. she had an appointment with and he suggested we take her to the ER.  He said if she needed oxygen they didn’t have it at the clinic so off we went.

Sunday afternoon the ER was packed with people.  At this point Tim had to carry Maggie because she was too weak to walk and we were both getting very scared.  They got her into triage right away and told us that she would be the next person called because of her condition.  When they called her moments later we followed the nurse back into the main ER area and I will never forget that moment; the nurse directing us said nothing but gave a look and gesture towards us so that every other nurse and doctor jumped to their feet and descended on her.  At that moment I was terrified.  The doctor immediately asked me if there was diabetes in my family –to which I answered “no” –”That’s what it is” she said. Immediately in my brain everything clicked.  The thirst, the frequent urination, the hunger, the tiredness, the smell of her breath, it all made sense. And I felt terribly guilty for not knowing sooner.  For letting it get so bad.

They tested her blood sugar right away, it was over 400 (which at that time meant nothing to me) and immediately put an IV in to give her fluids and insulin (the insulin took a while to get but they started fluids right away).  She was then transferred to Penn State Hershey Medical Center by ambulance.  I was able to ride along while Tim drove our car.  She was in constant care for 3 days and then sent home.  She went from being listless to her lively old self in no time.  It was amazing!

So what happened?  Maggie was in DKA or diabetic ketoacidosis and she was clearly very critical.  At that point of DKA organs start shutting down and coma ensues.  Thanks be to God we got her there when we did.

She had sugar in her blood but without enough insulin it couldn’t get into her cells.  Insulin is the “key” that unlocks the cells and lets your body use sugar for fuel.  Without insulin she had no fuel so in an effort to survive her body started burning fat and muscle (thus the weight loss - which in total was almost 10 pounds –she gained it back in just a little over a week!).  Once she got insulin all that stopped (though not immediately and the insulin need to be given in small does because dropping blood sugar too fast can cause brain damage).  The hardest thing for me while she was in the hospital was having her beg me for food.  They would not let her eat anything for the first 24 hours because it would only prevent her blood sugar from coming down and she was SO hungry.  She pleaded with me to give her something to eat and it just broke my heart that I couldn’t.  I knew it was for her good but oh it was so hard.

So how did we know with Matthew?

Well we know that siblings have a 5% chance of developing the same disease and both Tim and I automatically felt we should watch Matthew because he had shown symptoms of low blood sugar in the past.  Two weeks ago tonight he kept coming downstairs after being put to bed and was asking for cold water.  He also kept having to use the bathroom.  On an impulse I grabbed Maggie’s blood sugar meter and tested his blood.  The meter read Hi which means it is over 400.  I took a breath and did it again with the same result.  I showed Tim and we were both dumbfounded. I checked his urine for ketones and it was negative.  I called Maggie’s godmother and she said “Take him in!”.  So at midnight two weeks ago today we took him to the ER.  He wasn’t sick.  He was bouncy and bored and just had to pee and drink a lot.  The wait was much longer and when we finally got his blood tested it read greater than 600 on their meter so they have to take blood from his arm.  It was 665.  The doctor came in to talk with us and we told him what had happened.  We told him that our 8 yr. old daughter has diabetes and he said “You understand that he does now too right?”  I nodded my head but I don’t think I really believed it yet.  Matthew was able to be admitted to the Peds ward there and not taken to Hershey.  He didn’t need IV insulin, just fluids and then we began his shots.  He wasn’t critical because we knew what to look for but they still wanted to watch him so he too was in the hospital for 3 days.

Are our other children at risk?

Yes, they are and we hope to have them tested for islet antibodies very soon.

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From the children with diabetes website:

Symptoms of Diabetes

Once over 90% of the beta cells are destroyed, the body is no longer able to regulate blood sugar levels and the patient develops some or all of the classic symptoms of diabetes:

• excessive thirst
• excessive urination
• excessive hunger
• weight loss
• fatigue
• blurred vision
• high blood sugar level
• sugar and ketones in the urine
• Kussmaul breathing (rapid, deep, and labored breathing of people who have ketoacidosis or who are in a diabetic coma)
• vaginal yeast infections in girls (even infants and toddlers)

While the symptoms appear abruptly, the development of the disease actually occurs over a much longer period of time.

If you suspect that you or your child has diabetes, contact your doctor immediately. Untreated type 1 diabetes can lead to a very serious condition called diabetic ketoacidosis, which can be fatal.

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“I take a deep breath and remember: We’re only lost when we’re outside The Story. We’re only angst-ridden when we’ve lost our place in God’s grand narrative. We’re only unsteady when we’ve slipped from the Word and into the whirl.“

A beautiful meditation from Anne at Holy Experience.

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If you read this blog regularly you can expect to read about diabetes.  Please don’t skip these posts.  So many people are not aware of how devastating this disease can be or even really understand what it is and how one lives with it.  You may find you don’t know as much as you think you do.  I know I was certainly surprised by the big difference between what I thought diabetes was and what it actually is.

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The Today Show had a segment on diabetes this morning and I have to say I was very disappointed.  The focus was very much on type 2 diabetes and type 1 was barely mentioned and never clarified. They talked about the causes of T2 and how it’s almost always preventable but not once mentioned that type 1 is not preventable and is not caused by poor health habits.

Someone asked me about that when Maggie got sick.  She said “I thought only fat people got diabetes” I told her she was thinking about type 2 and while being overweight can certainly be a factor in type 2 it isn’t always.  I tried to explain that type 1 is not preventable (that we know of) and not curable (technically, though as always there are alternative medicine options that some people find success with), whereas type 2 can often be reversed.

I think there needs to be important clarifications made between the two types of diabetes because they are not at all the same disease. The clarification is important to me because while I can handle people thinking badly of me (like I fed my kids too much junk food and sugar which is funny because my sisters use to get on me about how I wouldn’t let my kids eat sugary cereal) I do not want my children to suffer under the notion that they did something to cause this disease when they in fact did not.  It’s hard enough to live with this disease as it is —they certainly don’t need to be made to feel they did something to contribute to it.

Please don’t misunderstand me.  I know that type 2 diabetes is a serious problem in this country and is nearly epidemic, and I am in no way wanting to point fingers of blame at type 2 diabetics.  I am a product of our culture as much as anyone.  I eat too many of the wrong foods and don’t exercise enough.  I am overweight and probably at pretty good risk for developing type 2 diabetes.  I am working to change all that but it’s easier said than done.

So what’s the difference?

Type 1 diabetes (which two of my children have) is an autoimmune disease.  Autoimmune means a self-allergy.  The body’s immune system attacks what it sees to be a threat.  In Type 1 diabetes the body mistakenly thinks it’s pancreas islet cells are invaders and it begins attacking them.  We don’t know exactly what causes this to happen but there seems to be a strong case for viral and environmental factors.

It isn’t contagious and it isn’t caused from eating too much sugar.  Let me say that again, type 1 diabetes is NOT caused by eating too much sugar.  BUT, eating too much sugar can cause insulin resistance which can lead to type 2 diabetes –but not type 1.  More on that in a minute.

There does seem to be an inherited factor in type 1 but not necessarily the way you might think.  It’s not uncommon for children who have type 1 to have no other close relative with it.  It may be that they got one HLA type from one parent and one from another and the mix is what causes a problem.  This mix wouldn’t be a cause of diabetes but it does put them at greater risk.   That being the case siblings then have a 1 in 20 (5%) chance of also developing type 1 diabetes.  But type 1 isn’t completely due to heredity.  We know this because when one identical twin gets type 1 only in half of the cases does the other twin also get it.

Environment also seems to be a factor and in fact may be what triggers the whole thing.

Basically it is believed that it breaks down this way:

• You inherit the tendency for the disease (which again doesn’t necessarily mean a relative has it but that the genetic markers are there, possibly from each parent)
• This tendency allows a virus or toxin to damage islet cells.  Part of the damaged cell is released into the blood and the body begins to make islet cell antibodies.
• The damage attracts white blood cells which produce chemicals that further injure other islet cells.
• Over time anything that activates white blood cells (viruses, toxins - in the environment and the foods we eat, stress) can result in further islet cells being destroyed until eventually so many cells are destroyed that the body cannot make enough insulin and type 1 diabetes develops.

For some children this process may have been happening since their birth.  It could have been years in the making.    Because newly diagnosed children with type 1 diabetes typically have not lost ALL islet cells yet and thus still have some pancreas function, there is hope that a cure can be found to stop this process further.

So what then is type 2 diabetes?

In type 2 diabetes the problem isn’t that there’s not enough insulin being produced or that islet cells have been destroyed (there are no islet antibodies present in type 2 diabetics) but that the insulin has become ineffective at controlling the body’s metabolism.  This is called insulin resistance and unfortunately it is most often related to being overweight and inactive.  Its rise in occurrence can be directly related to the way we live as a  culture.  We are too sedentary and we eat too much fat and sugar.

With insulin resistance the body makes more and more insulin to get the body to do what it needs to do until eventually the pancreas gives out.  At that point a type 2 diabetic would need to be on insulin.  But with serious lifestyle changes a lot of times type 2 diabetes can very often be reversed.  It isn’t easy and again I am not pointing fingers but I do think it’s important to make the clarification that type 1 and type 2 diabetes are very different diseases and one does not turn into the other.  Also note that not all type 2 diabetics are overweight and sedentary.  About 20% of type 2 diabetics have a genetic defect which causes insulin resistance –regardless of how well they eat and how active they are.

The risk factors for type 2 are:

Genetics for one.  They vary from family to family apparently but have nothing to with HLA type as in type 1 diabetes.  Also, children born after their mothers have been diagnosed with type 2 or if the mother had gestational diabetes are at greater risk of developing type 2.

Lifestyle is a factor (usually) but fortunately it is one that can be controlled.  Insulin resistance can be improved in most people with diet and exercise.

So that’s it in a  nutshell.  Now you know.

Questions?  Ask them in the com box or e-mail me.  I’m not an expert (though admittedly I feel like I am quickly becoming one) but I’ll do my best to answer them.

Thanks for reading!

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