Darci turned 2 on January 14, 2009. Around that time we (her parents) noticed that she was a lot grumpier, not sleeping well at night, always thirsty, and wetting through more diapers. She had even started looking a little thinner, but we attributed this to her losing baby fat and getting taller. Darci has a cousin and an aunt with T1 and we knew the symptoms, but they were disconnected enough at first not to worry. Then, the last week of February it all started getting worse. She would wet through diapers, clothes, and sheets at least 2-3 times/night. She would beg for a drink 3 or 4 times a night. She was lethargic and thin. I (her mother) was 8 months pregnant at the time and had recently been diagnosed with gestational diabetes. I decided to do a fasting glucose on her with my glucometer. 12 hours fasting her BG was 355. I immediately called her pediatrician's office and they told me to head right up to Primary Children's Medical Center. March 3, 2009 was the day she was officially disgnosed T1D. We were very lucky to catch it early or she would have been MUCH sicker. We went home from the hospital 4 days later with our entire world changed.
Now Darci is a happy, energetic, sunny 6 year old. She is so brave and we all think of her as a hero. She can do her own "finger pokeys" and even tries to help us calculate her carbs. We spent a couple of years doing insulin shots and now we have a pump. In every aspect of life she is a very normal 6 year old girl, she just has to do a few little things differently. We hope that we are teaching her to be self confident and to know that diabetes does not define her.
Lehi, UT
