Diabetes sucks. There I said it and it about summarizes all emotions that have occurred in the last four days.
Friday I heard about the five, count them that is F-I-V-E young ones who died because of Type 1 Diabetes. There was a young woman who went into DKA while her parents were on vacation. The callous reaction was to say, well she should have caught that she was high and treated. What was wrong with her? Reality--some people go into DKA very easily and the situation can quickly escalate out of control especially with no one to help you.
There was the nine year old little one who became so depressed that she took her own life. She was nine! She was so devastated by this disease that she ended her life? Heartbreaking for those of us reading about it but the pain for the parents must be unimaginable.
I’m posting the answer I put on Barb’s blog, so that more people can see it:
I had a coma last September. If my friends hadn’t come looking for me when I didn’t show up for a picnic, and immediately gotten me to the Emergency Room, I would have died by the next morning.
The lesson for me, and I think a lot of diabetics, is how to recognize when you’re in more trouble than you can handle by yourself. No one ever told me that when my BGs were in the 400 - 600 range and I COULDN’T get them down, no matter how much insulin I took, I was in danger. The girl who died in DKA may have tried to self-treat, and didn’t know to call 911. I certainly didn’t. The best I could say is that I knew I was in trouble, but I didn’t know how much.
I’d love to see a column, and more advocacy about how to know when you need help.
