Diabetic Alert Dog

On October 31st, 2018 Sidney was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes.  Type 1 Diabetes (T1D) means that Sidney’s pancreas doesn’t work properly.  When working properly, the pancreas creates insulin.  Insulin is a hormone that allows sugar (glucose) to enter cells in the body to produce energy.  Sidney’s pancreas creates little to no insulin, which means she has to receive synthetic insulin via an injection or insulin pump. 



T1D is a chronic illness for which there is no cure.  It is manageable, but management can be extremely difficult as insulin needs are always changing.  T1D is extremely dangerous if not managed properly, and can be deadly in a matter of hours or minutes.

 

T1D is an auto-immune disease, which means that her body mistakenly destroyed the insulin-producing cells in the pancreas.  This was most likely while her body was fighting off another virus or infection.  We believe the trigger for Sidney’s T1D diagnosis was the Coxsackie virus, which she had been diagnosed with in early September of 2018. 

 

It is important to know that T1D is not a lifestyle disease.  Sidney was not diagnosed with this disease because of poor habits or diet choices.  Sidney carries each of the 5 anti-bodies present in the body that can be a predictor of a future diabetes diagnosis, indicating that a diagnosis was always imminent, it just needed the right trigger.

T1D has a profound effect on not just Sidney, but her whole family.  Her parents and sister have received extensive education on Diabetes management.  Mom and Dad monitor her BG multiple times throughout the night and monitor Sidney throughout the day via the Dexcom device that monitors Sidney’s BG to give instruction to family or school staff who are caring for her.  T1D never takes a break, neither do those around it.

 A little about Sidney:

She was diagnosed with T1D at the age of 4.  After her parents noticed some unusual symptoms: frequent urination, unquenchable thirst and weight loss, she was brought in to her regular pediatrician who diagnosed her and sent her straight to the hospital for treatment and education.  At diagnosis, her fasting blood sugar was 211 and her A1C over 11.  Fortunately, she was diagnosed early and in a controlled setting – not as a part of a medical emergency.

 

While other kids were celebrating Halloween by having class parties and going trick-or-treating, Sidney spent the night in the hospital learning as much about her new diagnosis as possible.  She missed 5 days of school.

 

She learned:

·        Everything listed above, but more in depth.

·        Blood sugar is checked via a finger poke.  By the time she was out of the hospital, she could explain this process to a complete stranger if she needed to.  This would need to be done before every meal and snack, before bed and at least once over-night.  That’s 5-8 times a day, more if she were ill or there was a problem.

·        Insulin is delivered via injection.  She would need an injection before every meal or snack, and extra injections if her blood sugar was too high.  That’s also 5-8 times per day, more if her sugar was too high. 

·        About carb-counting and nutrition.  In order to eat anything containing carbohydrates, Sidney requires insulin.  She learned about fast acting and slow acting carbs, how protein affects her carb intake.

 

Things that help manage her diabetes:

·        Dexcom G6 Continuous Glucose Monitor (CGM) – a device placed on top of her skin with a needle that goes into her arm that reads her blood sugar every 5 minutes.  This gets changed every 10 days.

·        Tandem Tslim X2 Insulin pump – A handheld device with a tube to a needle that gets placed into her stomach to deliver her insulin more easily and in a more exact amount.  This gets changed every 10 days. 

 
Since diagnosis, she has endured approximately:

·        1200 insulin injections (since diagnosis on October 31st 2018)

·        300 finger pokes. (since diagnosis on October 31st 2018) This number is decreased greatly because of her CGM.

·        44 pump site changes (done every 3 days since April 16th, 2019 when she received her pump)

·        36 Dexcom site changes (done every 3 days since November 11th, 2018 when she received her Dexcom)

 

Despite all of the safeguards already in place, emergencies still happen. On May 25th, 2019, Sidney experienced her first medical emergency related to her diabetes.  She was camping with her family and taking a nap outside.  When she went down for her nap, her BG was 130 – an excellent number.  She is prone to BG increases when she sleeps so there was no worry about her laying down.  Her phone that is used to read her BG from her Dexcom was charging just a little too far from her to read, and her parents were just out of earshot of her pump alarm. 

 

When her phone was placed back with her, it didn’t take long for it to alarm at the lowest level it could, which is just to say LOW with 2 downward arrows indicating that her BG was below 40 and falling.  A finger poke read that her blood sugar was 29.  She was able to drink a little juice from a juice box, but quickly became unresponsive.  Following that she had a seizure and as she came back around a bit from the juice she was able to take in, she became combative and was kicking, hitting and screaming that she was scared. 

 

When her BG finally came back up, and after paramedics were called, she was freezing cold and ravenous hungry.  Luckily, due to quick action from her parents and other family present, she was able to avoid transport via ambulance and any time in the hospital.  In reviewing the Dexcom chart from that time, it was determined that her BG dropped from 120 to 29 in less than 20 minutes. 

 

In a long, round-about way, this is where this Go Fund Me comes in. 

 

We are raising money to get Sidney a Diabetic Alert Dog.  D.A.D for short…….or as she calls it, a ‘Protector Dog’.  D.A.D.’s are specially trained dogs that are able to detect via change in scent, rising and falling blood sugars up to 30 minutes before they register on her CGM or with a finger poke.    Having a D.A.D. does not eliminate the need for finger poking, the Dexcom or insulin administration – whether by pump or injection.  A D.A.D. is just another in a series of safety nets that can be put in place to ensure Sidney’s well-being. 

 

D.A.D.’s go through in excess of 1500 hours of training before being placed with their handler.  A D.A.D. for Sidney would be specifically trained to alert her parents and caregivers of her rising or lowering BG so that either a corrective dose of insulin or a quick carb snack could be given in enough time to avoid an emergency like the one that happened to Sidney.  D.A.D.’s are able to detect the BG changes while sleeping and have even been known to alert when not with their handler if their handler is nearby (i.e. a couple houses away at a friend’s house).  A D.A.D. would accompany Sidney everywhere and be the added layer of defense in keeping her safe, which is a piece of mind that she and her family deserve. 

 

Her current wish for Santa this year is that he help her get a ‘Protector Dog’.  It’s her only wish, and one that we are hoping to help make come true for her.  Having a ‘Protector Dog’ by Christmas isn’t realistic, but we’re hoping to have the ball rolling and maybe be able to tell her that one may be coming shortly. 

 

Unfortunately, they are expensive.  The average D.A.D. can cost around, or in excess of $20,000 just to get them trained and home to their handlers.  There are multiple organizations that train and place D.A.D.’s.  Sidney’s family is currently looking to work with an organization out of Buckeye Arizona called Bark to Basics.  Sidney’s mom has had the opportunity to talk to the mom of another T1D child who received a dog through this organization and it seems like this would be a great fit. 

 

Thank you for considering Sidney as the recipient of your donation.  She is a bright sunny kid, with a bright sunny future who has been dealt a tough hand but does everything she can to not let it stop her.  We hope that this next step is one that gives her more freedom to do the things she loves to do and helps her just be a carefree kid.