On December 22, 2000, I walked into the front door, after just having won full custody of my 5 year old twins from their abusive father, and one of my 5 year old daughters, Haley, slid down the wall to her bottom and complained of stomach pain. Her twin sister, Savannah, walked over to me, took my hand and said, "Mama, I feel sister dying". With those words from Savannah, it jolted me into action. I picked up little Haley and put her on the couch and her eyes began rolling to the back of her head. I called the pediatrician's office who wouldn't allow us to be seen due to a past due balance. They had already misdiagnosed Haley and told me she had sugar in her urine probably because she had eaten cookies or something. I put the girls in the car and drove straight to the nearest ER. The intake nurse kept sniffing Haley and then doctors and everyone began moving fast. Haley was critical and she was dying. An ambulance was called to get Haley to transfer to a hospital with a children's intensive care unit. Once at the new hospital in the PICU, I was informed her blood sugars were approx. 1100 and they couldn't predict if she would live through the night. I was warned of brain swelling and they inserted huge open lines into her little body in case of emergency. As I paced the PICU floors, I had trouble walking and my knees would buckle until I went to the ground. Later I realized it was shock that was causing my knees to buckle. Haley and I spent Christmas in that lonely empty hospital ward but she learned to thrive. Haley and her twin became state volleyball champions and are doing great! Haley's little sister got Type 1 as well.

Anonymous
Menlo Park, CA