Megan's Miracle

I know I am WAY behind on keeping this blog up-to-date but I wanted to journal about our last week before I forget it... Although I can't imagine ever "forgetting" such a terrifying experience.

A few weeks ago I mentioned to Trevor that I noticed Megan being really thirsty and having to go to the bathroom more often.  We especially noticed this on our recent trip to the Hiawatha since we had to pull the car over constantly in search of a bathroom.  Extreme thirst is a sign of diabetes and I mentioned the idea to Trev but since we have no family history of type 1 diabetes we weren't terribly concerned (it was hot out and we were all more thirsty) we decided we would just keep an eye on her and see if she got worse.

Thursday, August 23rd Meg woke up around 4am nauseated and I thought she might have a stomach virus but when she woke up later that morning she said she felt fine and still wanted to take the pictures at the park we had been planning on. We got all ready and headed to the park where I took the following picture as well as many others of Megan smiling and looking healthy and happy. 

However, as soon as the pictures were done she said she was tired and went to lay down and promptly fell asleep in the car. Maybe she has a virus after all, I thought. 

She laid on the couch the rest of the day feeling nauseated and sleeping a lot.  Friday was the same.  She slept, complained of nausea here and there, and had some new complaints of a head ache and sore throat.  We thought maybe she had strep throat. 

That night though, I started noticing her breathing had changed dramatically.  She was breathing rapidly in short bursts.  I asked Trev to check on her when he got home later the next morning and he did and was also concerned so he went to the local Walgreens and bought strips that detect glucose and ketones and my heart dropped when I saw the results.  Her glucose and ketones were as high as the strip could measure and it hit hard that this was not a virus and our little Megan was very sick.

Without a word Trevor grabbed his keys and I grabbed Megan (she did not want to go anywhere!) and put her in the car and they headed to Kadlec Medical Center ER (where Trev works).  Right before Trevor left he looked at me and said, "She has diabetes".  Mentally I knew that (because of the test results) but when he verbalized it my stomach dropped.  I knew that not only did she have type 1 diabetes but she was in diabetic ketoacidosis which I knew was life-threatening.
We hugged and shed a few quick tears then off he rushed.

I quickly gave Hallie instructions to watch the boys and called a friend to come get all of them.  Hallie was crying when I left but told me to hurry and go "help Megan" and so I drove off trying to decide who to call and reminding myself to pay attention to the road.  My mind was everywhere.

This is what Meg looked like when I got there... 

 

 She was so dehydrated they poked her over and over and over trying to get an IV line in and trying to draw blood.  Finally they got an IV in after 7 tries!  She was so lethargic she barely even noticed they were poking her.  They weighed her and she had lost 7+lbs.

After poking her several more times they still couldn't get blood to do labs so we waited for the IV fluids to hydrate her and finally after an hour or so (and 4 different people trying their luck poking her) they got a few drops and were able to get her blood gas labs drawn.  These labs would tell us how acidic the blood  was and how serious the DKA was. 

I'll never forget when they showed the results to Trevor.  He looked at the labs then he looked up to the sky and his eyes turned red and moist.  He told me her pH was 7.0 and if we had waited any longer before bringing her in we might have lost our sweet little Meg.

I was so grateful we had made it to the hospital but we weren't out of the woods yet.

Protocol says that someone with a pH that low should be in the ICU but since they don't have a pediatric ICU at Kadlec they transferred us up to the pediatric unit where they poked her some more and watched her carefully.  About 8 hrs after we arrived at the hospital Megan's labs weren't looking any better despite the insulin and IV fluids and they were concerned that she would develop cerebral edema (a complication in children with DKA) and so it was decided that we should send Meg by air to Sacred Heart Children's Hospital in Spokane.  Some friends came and helped give Megan (and me) a blessing before she left and I was SO very grateful for that. 

The kids came too and gave Megan lots of hugs and showed a lot of concern... especially Hallie.  She sat by Megan's bed and held her hand and just cried and cried.  The nurse gave Hallie a big hug and even gave her a stuffed animal to try to comfort her.  Of course Hallie just gave the stuffed animal to Meg.  :)  She loves her sister so much. 

Campbell just kept walking around her bed and saying over and over, "Poor Meg". 

Then he'd randomly reach over and give her a hug here and there.
It was such a tender moment for me to watch my kids show so much love and concern for each other. 



Only one person could go with Meg on the plane and so Trev stayed with her and I took the kids home.  The whole way home Hallie cried and said things like, "I'm going to miss her so much."  "Nothings the same without Megan."  "I can't believe they just kept poking her and poking her."  She was a mess and I felt strangely at peace as we drove home.  I think that was the result of all the prayers and the blessing I was given.
 They put Megan in an ambulance and took her to the local airport then loaded her into the little Medstar plane.

When they got to Spokane they put her in another ambulance and took her to Sacred Heart's pediatric ICU.  Unfortunately by then both of her IVs (one in her hand and one in her foot) went bad and so they immediately attacked her with more needles trying to get a line in.  We started counting all the "pokes" (IV tries, shots, blood glucose pricks, etc) from the 1st poke in the ER and we kept a running tally.  At this point Megan was at close to 30 pokes.  She was such a trooper!  She took it so well. 

Trevor's parents drove all night (Bless them!!!!) and arrived in Kennewick Sunday morning around 8ish so that they could help with the kids and I could go to the hospital in Spokane.

 

I made the 2 hr drive Sunday morning and got there surprised to see this familiar (and much healthier and happier) face...



Family and friends brought lots of cards and gifts for me to deliver to Meg.  When she saw all the gifts she said with a big smile, "I thought being sick was supposed to be a bad thing!"

What a relief to see her awake, alert, and smiling. 
What a difference from just 24 hrs before!

 We give most, if not all the credit to the hundreds of prayers that were offered in Meg's behalf.

Thank you for your prayers... they were answered!!!
And I have to say we are so thankful for great doctors and nurses.  They were amazing with Megan.
 

Meg still had some ketones so they kept a close eye on her but that night they transferred her to the pediatric "Clean" floor.  They call it the clean floor because the patients reasons for hospitalization are not contagious.  The floor was full of kids with diabetes, neuro problems, kidney problems, and cancer.  It was so humbling to spend the next few days around these families who were all facing such difficult challenges and circumstances.  I walked down the halls glancing in the rooms of little kids with bald heads and darkened windows and other rooms with metal cribs and babies sitting up and looking around their empty room... I just wanted to hold those babies...it was heart-breaking.  I still cry when I think about it.

 

The nurses were amazing. They were so kind, patient, and positive.

Now that Megan was no longer in DKA the focus became diabetic education.  The first day of education I was so overwhelmed by everything that just happened and everything that we needed to learn that I got a terrible migraine and was nauseated for the rest of the evening.  The next day I felt better and we spent hours and hours talking to dietitians, diabetic educators, and endocrinologists.  I was (and in some ways I still am) in denial of how life changing this diagnosis would be.  

Megan was such a trooper!  She tried her best to pay attention and answer questions or practice equations for insulin.  We checked her blood sugar (poked her finger) at least 8 times a day/night and she got at least 4 shots of insulin and she rarely even complained.  Meal time was a whole new world for us (it still is!) with all the weighing/ measuring counting carbs and putting it all into Meg's insulin equation to know how much insulin to give her before she can eat.

Wow, all the things we took for granted!!!!  Who knew the pancreas worked so hard! 

Be grateful for your pancreas people!  ;)

Here is Megan's tally of "pokes" while she was in the hospital.  Ouch!! 

Of course we have more than quadrupled that number since we've been home!

Finally, the day came to go home.  Our Endocrinologist said to Meg "You look WAY to healthy to be in a hospital."  For me, it was kinda like taking a newborn home from the hospital.  You are happy to leave and get back to your family but there is also a fear of being on your own and you know there are many, many sleepless nights ahead... and there have been with Meg.  So many new worries.

We are so grateful that she is okay and that diabetes is something we can manage day by day and we look forward to the day that it is not so overwhelming and better yet, the day they discover a cure for type 1 diabetes.  Wouldn't that be wonderful.  :)