No sugar coating, Mollie's Type 1-derful
Donation protected
No Sugar Coating, Mollie’s Type 1-derful!
“You would have found her in a coma within three days”
“They are sending an ambulance for her”
“There will be a team of doctors waiting for you when you arrive”
“Who else in your family is a Type 1 Diabetic”
On February 26, 2015 our lives changed, and we had no idea it would never be the same. Our nine year old daughter, Mollie, was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes. For several months Mollie was experiencing every telltale symptom of a diabetic, extreme fatigue, excessive thirst, frequent trips to the bathroom, headache, throwing up, lost weight, and sweet breath. Unfortunately, we were only familiar with what a Type 2 Diabetics was, our daughter was active, played sports, loved healthy foods, and was not overweight, we thought surely that is not what this was. We were right, Type 1 is NOT like Type 2 Diabetes. Type 1 Diabetes affects only 5-10% of our population and has no cure. It is an autoimmune reaction where the body attacks itself, destroying the cells in the pancreas that produce insulin which breaks down sugar in your body. Mollie will be insulin dependent for the rest of her life.
Sounds like no big deal, just take a shot of insulin and you're okay? We only wish it could be that simple. In an instant, we had an additional child, it’s constant pokes to check sugar, it’s dangerous highs and dangerous lows, always counting and calculating carbohydrates, measuring food, guessing if that ball game or practice is going to drop her sugar later, hours on hold with medical supply companies or insurance, trips to the specialist, checking on her in the night (that’s the scariest, have you ever touched your child when they are sleeping to make sure their body was warm? I do EVERY SINGLE DAY OF MY LIFE) and not to mention the financial stress. Diabetes can be a thief of joy, happiness, peace, and normalcy if you allow it.
We have encouraged Mollie to live her best life and appreciate all of the blessings from God. Mollie gives it her all in everything she does. She recently graduated valedictorian of her 8th grade class, has received numerous awards for outstanding character, has been the president of various school clubs, attends church weekly, is active in her youth program, started her first job this summer, and passionately plays softball and basketball.
But, on July 26, as we were getting ready to be seated in a restaurant with family, we had a horrific reminder that life for Mollie is not normal. Everything came to a drastic halt when Mollie’s blood sugar plummeted too fast, starving her brain of sugar, and sending her into a seizure. Words cannot express the fear, panic, and helplessness we felt. I thought my beautiful daughter was going to die right in front of our eyes...
We absolutely feel incredibly blessed to have the people around us act so quickly and call 911, for family to have sent urgent prayers on Mollie’s behalf, and for the two God sent nurses that were eating in the restaurant who came to our aid almost immediately. My husband's years in law enforcement helped him to stay calm and get her down to the ground and on her side. Watching my babies eyes roll back, go unconscious, and her entire body convulsing will be burned into my memory forever. I rubbed handfuls of honey into her cheek and rubbed her body, speaking comfort and prayers for healing, until the parametrics got there and they loaded her into the ambulance. Her sugar came up, she woke up, the threat was finally over, but again, our lives will never be the same.
How does this happen? Isn’t there something you can do?? Yes, there is! We are blessed with amazing technology called a continuous glucose monitor and even insulin pumps that work with one another and act as an artificial pancreas. The CGM (continuous glucose monitor) reads the sugar every 5 minutes, predicts sugar trends, alerts when sugar numbers are getting dangerous, and can send this life saving information to 10 devices. This would mean that Mollie, her loved ones, teachers, coaches, doctors, etc would be able to know her sugar levels every 5 minutes and be proactive instead of reactive to her health and safety. The insulin pump would work together to suspend insulin delivery when her sugar is dropping or administer insulin if it’s going too high. This technology is a total game changer for diabetics and their families, it literally can save their lives. Unfortunately, this technology also comes with a costly price tag and burdensome bills for families. Paying for just insulin alone can be more than some families can handle. People with diagnosed diabetes incur average medical expenditures of $16,752 per year for an incurable disease due to no fault of their own.
Our sweet Mollie is a warrior, as is every single Type 1. Her story is not unusual for those in the diabetic world, but she is precious to us. We are asking for your help in making a donation towards getting the necessary, life saving tools to improve her quality of life, to be healthier, happier, and safe. If you are not able to donate, we appreciate your prayer for her, the Type 1 community, and for a cure.
God Bless,
The Sims family-
Scott, Erica, Mollie, and Owen
“You would have found her in a coma within three days”
“They are sending an ambulance for her”
“There will be a team of doctors waiting for you when you arrive”
“Who else in your family is a Type 1 Diabetic”
On February 26, 2015 our lives changed, and we had no idea it would never be the same. Our nine year old daughter, Mollie, was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes. For several months Mollie was experiencing every telltale symptom of a diabetic, extreme fatigue, excessive thirst, frequent trips to the bathroom, headache, throwing up, lost weight, and sweet breath. Unfortunately, we were only familiar with what a Type 2 Diabetics was, our daughter was active, played sports, loved healthy foods, and was not overweight, we thought surely that is not what this was. We were right, Type 1 is NOT like Type 2 Diabetes. Type 1 Diabetes affects only 5-10% of our population and has no cure. It is an autoimmune reaction where the body attacks itself, destroying the cells in the pancreas that produce insulin which breaks down sugar in your body. Mollie will be insulin dependent for the rest of her life.
Sounds like no big deal, just take a shot of insulin and you're okay? We only wish it could be that simple. In an instant, we had an additional child, it’s constant pokes to check sugar, it’s dangerous highs and dangerous lows, always counting and calculating carbohydrates, measuring food, guessing if that ball game or practice is going to drop her sugar later, hours on hold with medical supply companies or insurance, trips to the specialist, checking on her in the night (that’s the scariest, have you ever touched your child when they are sleeping to make sure their body was warm? I do EVERY SINGLE DAY OF MY LIFE) and not to mention the financial stress. Diabetes can be a thief of joy, happiness, peace, and normalcy if you allow it.
We have encouraged Mollie to live her best life and appreciate all of the blessings from God. Mollie gives it her all in everything she does. She recently graduated valedictorian of her 8th grade class, has received numerous awards for outstanding character, has been the president of various school clubs, attends church weekly, is active in her youth program, started her first job this summer, and passionately plays softball and basketball.
But, on July 26, as we were getting ready to be seated in a restaurant with family, we had a horrific reminder that life for Mollie is not normal. Everything came to a drastic halt when Mollie’s blood sugar plummeted too fast, starving her brain of sugar, and sending her into a seizure. Words cannot express the fear, panic, and helplessness we felt. I thought my beautiful daughter was going to die right in front of our eyes...
We absolutely feel incredibly blessed to have the people around us act so quickly and call 911, for family to have sent urgent prayers on Mollie’s behalf, and for the two God sent nurses that were eating in the restaurant who came to our aid almost immediately. My husband's years in law enforcement helped him to stay calm and get her down to the ground and on her side. Watching my babies eyes roll back, go unconscious, and her entire body convulsing will be burned into my memory forever. I rubbed handfuls of honey into her cheek and rubbed her body, speaking comfort and prayers for healing, until the parametrics got there and they loaded her into the ambulance. Her sugar came up, she woke up, the threat was finally over, but again, our lives will never be the same.
How does this happen? Isn’t there something you can do?? Yes, there is! We are blessed with amazing technology called a continuous glucose monitor and even insulin pumps that work with one another and act as an artificial pancreas. The CGM (continuous glucose monitor) reads the sugar every 5 minutes, predicts sugar trends, alerts when sugar numbers are getting dangerous, and can send this life saving information to 10 devices. This would mean that Mollie, her loved ones, teachers, coaches, doctors, etc would be able to know her sugar levels every 5 minutes and be proactive instead of reactive to her health and safety. The insulin pump would work together to suspend insulin delivery when her sugar is dropping or administer insulin if it’s going too high. This technology is a total game changer for diabetics and their families, it literally can save their lives. Unfortunately, this technology also comes with a costly price tag and burdensome bills for families. Paying for just insulin alone can be more than some families can handle. People with diagnosed diabetes incur average medical expenditures of $16,752 per year for an incurable disease due to no fault of their own.
Our sweet Mollie is a warrior, as is every single Type 1. Her story is not unusual for those in the diabetic world, but she is precious to us. We are asking for your help in making a donation towards getting the necessary, life saving tools to improve her quality of life, to be healthier, happier, and safe. If you are not able to donate, we appreciate your prayer for her, the Type 1 community, and for a cure.
God Bless,
The Sims family-
Scott, Erica, Mollie, and Owen
Organizer and beneficiary
Becca Warren
Organizer
Blackwater, MO
Erica Sims
Beneficiary
