So as some of my followers may have noticed, I’ve been a tad absent from the blogosphere for a while… I apologize. Things in our house have been crazy for the last month and a half and we are just finally starting to get back to some sort of normal so now I have some time to tell you about it.
Carter’s Journey
In October, we started noticing that Carter wasn’t sleeping through the night anymore and after having him as such a fantastic sleeper since he was 6 months old, it was a bit frustrating not knowing why he was waking up to 5 times a night, screaming his face off. So, to rule out any medical issues, I took him into our family doctor on November 4th. She checked him over, asked a few questions and we determined together that it was probably him testing boundaries and just being generally mad that he was awake and alone at night and wanted to make sure the rest of the house was awake with him! This made sense to me because he is forever testing his boundaries during the day, so why not at night! As we travelled around Red Deer later that day, Carter vomitted twice but having a new vehicle with a DVD player combined with a delayed lunch, I figured some form of motion sickness because he was fine otherwise.
The next day, although a bit sluggish, Carter was pretty normal. Friday was when things began to turn for the worse as he vomitted 3 times, slept away most of the day, had increasingly heavy breathing and refused to eat or drink almost anything. HealthLink (a service I LOVE), thought perhaps he was going to be coming down with a bug and that the breathing could be a sign of a fever on the way, as he did not have a fever at any time.
Sleepy, sick little man
Saturday, November 7th, Carter vomitted three times before 8 a.m., was even more lethargic and his breathing had gotten worse. I searched online for about an hour after he vomitted the first time looking for something that matched his symptoms with the huge missing symptom of a fever. (A fever typically indicates the infection of a cold, flu or other common illness). After finding nothing, I ignored the inner voice telling me I was overreacting and went with the mom instinct (picked up my own mom) and took him into the Stettler hospital.
Dr. du Plessis was fantastic at the Stettler ER, keeping me calm and informed. He put Carter on oxygen and IV fluids right away and contacted the pediatrician in Red Deer for additional advice. Nurse Holton, Nurse Schilling-Wraight (“Kelsey’s Mom”, lol) and an EMT-in-training, Reagan Stuckey, were all very patient with us, giving us as much information as possible, lots of smiles & encouragement for me and entertainment and cuddles for Carter.
Because Stettler does not have a pediatrician, Dr. du Plessis decided to send us to Red Deer to see the pediatrician and because of Carter’s IV and oxygen, it was easier to be sent by ambulance. So they immediately loaded Carter and I up in the ambulance with two friendly EMT ladies and their nascar-driver (faster than 140km/hr!!! Stettler to Red Deer in 20 minutes) and we arrived in Red Deer shortly after 1:00 p.m.
At the Red Deer ER, we were immediately seen by a large team of nurses, respiratory specialists, residents (Dr. Kwak aka Hewey) and the pediatrician, Dr. Du Plooy. After many more tests, two new IVs and a few respiratory therapies, the possible diagnosis of Diabetic Ketoacidosis (DKA) was mentioned. In short, it’s a life-threatening condition in diabetics when their blood sugar reaches sky high levels, ketones are released into the body and causes the body to become acidic and essentially, fill up with Carbon Monoxide. (The body tries to rid itself of Carbon Monoxide — hense the heavy breathing.) Feeling like we were on an episode of House with ‘possible’ diagnosis, Kyle and I were confused, scared and vulnerable but Hewey kept us calm, letting us know that we were still awaiting blood test results to confirm DKA & Diabetes and that a STARS Air Ambulance was on the way to take Carter to the Alberta Children’s Hospital in Calgary.
With an Air Ambulance, only the patient and medical team are permitted in the helicopter so, while I really don’t want to relive it, you can imagine what it’s like to watch your baby go through a large set of doors in a critical medical state while you have to turn around and walk the other way. Amazingly, Kyle did not speed on Highway 2 on the way to Calgary and we made it there only 10 minutes after Carter did. (The helicopters are the safetest route but not the fastest, contrary to popular belief.)
Carter was admitted to the pediatric ICU around 5:30 p.m. and after a confirmed diagnosis of Type 1 Diabetes and DKA, he received a couple more IVs, a feeding tube and, our new best friend, Insulin. All we had to do now was wait and watch his blood sugar go down and potassium stabilize so after the longest, scariest day of our lives we managed to get some shut-eye on the awful chairs/beds they have in the PICU rooms. The next morning, Carter was already starting to look better but still far from great.
Early Sunday Morning in the PICU
Thoroughout the day on Sunday, November 8th, things started to look up and Carter began feeling better and we were able to meet Carter’s endocrinologist, Dr. Stephure. By Sunday afternoon, we were able to be transferred out of the PICU and into Unit 4 where some of our family could come pay a visit to Carter. By Sunday evening he was only connected by IV to monitor his potassium and I was able to have him sleep with me on the parent bed in the room, thanks in large part to Nurse Drew.
Monday morning we met Dr. Paccaud, another endocrinologist who we will see from time to time, and were introduced to a world of insulin shots and blood checks. Kyle and I had a morning learning session with Catherine, our diabetic nurse, and an afternoon session with Deanna, one of the dieticians, to start the process of cramming our brains with information about our new life plan. We would be checking Carter’s blood glucose levels at least 4 times a day and giving him shots of insulin 3 times a day. At first, we were nervous, scared and concerned about causing our son pain but soon learned that 1) the blood checks cause minimal pain with a tiny prick similar to that of poking your finger on a sewing needle by accident, 2) the insulin needles do not hurt at all (not an exagerration) and Kyle and I both received a poke from the needles so I can definitely attest to it, and 3) if we don’t do these things, the result is much worse and much more painful.
In our afternoon session, we learned all about Carter’s new food regime and how he would be able to eat all the same things as the rest of the world, just at certain times in certain amounts. His carbs are monitored and counted as that is what turns to sugar in the body and he is still able to eat candy, cookies, bread — all that good stuff — just in carefully monitored amounts and in co-ordination with how much insulin he gets that day. It’s all a numbers and monitoring game and finding right ratio of carbs to insulin for his system.
Also on Monday, Carter had some of his first solid meals and his first injections of insulin (not through IV). He was definitely feeling better and was starting to show his personality again.
Saying 'Cheese' ~ Feeling much better
Playing with Dad in his new Scrubs!
Tuesday, we had two more learning sessions throughout the day and after feeding Carter dinner, were discharged! We spent the night in a hotel near the hospital so that we weren’t driving home in the dark and because I was still a bit nervous to be away from our great team.
Looking very handsome after a bath
Wednesday we were back home and starting our adjusted life with a new normal. It’s been a bit of a road to where we are now, a month and a bit later, but we’ve learned a lot, are getting a bit more comfortable and aren’t jumping to call our nurse or endocrinologist at the first sign of a unusual blood glucose level. We’ve had the opportunity to connect with a teenage girl in town who was diagnosed with Type 1 at a young age and her mom, who has already been more help to me than I could ever ask! We’ve also learned of another family, who have been great support, that we already know quite well with a teenage son with Type 1.
Carter is doing much better now, advancing so quicklly, growing like a weed and doing better than imaginable with his diabetes regime. (Also, for those wondering, the chance of our next child developing Type 1 Diabetes is only slightly higher than any other child in the world. There is no way to detect Type 1 Diabetes but there is no reason to expect the next child will develop the condition.)
One Month Later ~ Back to Normal
I don’t think we would have survived this journey without the help and support of our immediate families (especially having our moms there), our other family members (especially Andrew, Cheryl & Kayla, the Stevens women, Keren, Jules & Josh) and most importantly, each other. Thank you isn’t big enough for the medical teams, family and friends that got us through this, but Thank You So Much to everyone.
Websites for more information or if you’d like to donate:
STARS Alberta Children’s Hospital
Canadian Diabetes Association Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation
