Emma’s Diabetic Alert Dog

Since November is Diabetes awareness month, I thought I would share my story:)

I bet most people don’t realize this, but I have Type 1 diabetes! Most people don’t think twice about it, and trust me I didn’t either. As a kid, I had heard about diabetes but knew nothing about what it actually was. So what is it you might ask? Well….

Let’s start here. There are actually 2 types of diabetics. They are Type 1 and Type 2. Both have to do with your pancreas but affect our daily lives differently. A normal functioning pancreas has two jobs. The first is the digestive system, and the second is the endocrine system. A normal functioning pancreas will help you digest fats, carbohydrates, and proteins. It also keeps your blood sugars in check! When you eat, your body is able to break the carbohydrates into glucose which goes into your bloodstream and is your main source of energy! Our bodies work a little differently. People with Type 1 Diabetes have to monitor their own blood sugars and pick up the jobs of their pancreas.

Type 1: Your pancreas makes either little or no insulin. This is caused either genetically or from an autoimmune reaction where the body attacks itself accidentally from a virus. We have to manage our blood sugar with insulin and try to keep the blood sugar level between 80-160.

Type 2: Your pancreas makes too little insulin or becomes resistant to the insulin you are making. Most people who hear about diabetes think it is associated with obesity. This isn’t always the case. There are other factors that can cause type 2. A majority of the time this type is managed with diet and activity changes. Other times small doses of insulin are required to get sugars down. Most times sugars are over 180 and need to be closely monitored to make sure the diet changes are keeping them under that level.

I have started a GoFundMe in hopes of getting a medical alert dog. I stumbled across these dogs recently, and they really caught my interest. I had no idea they even existed, but have a feeling it could be a tremendous help to me. with all my life changes it just makes sense! In the last year I have moved to Florida to help open some new restaurants! While it's been a blast learning so many new things in this career, it's been difficult being away from my family in Nashville. I have had to get used to living so much more independently while facing the challenges of diabetes day to day. Thankfully, I have the best-adopted family through my boss, however, there still are some frightening things that can happen with diabetes to where they can't always be there.

My Diagnose story:

I woke up just like any day. This certain day my mom was taking me in for a physical for school. I was about thirteen at the time and had to get shots and all the other things needed for middle school. When the doctor came in the room he gave me a look almost of shock. He continued with his regular exam and eventually got to talking to my mom about my weight. As a kid, I was always on the smaller side, but he had some concerns. When talking to my mom he started to ask her if she had noticed any changes with me and she mentioned my weight, but other than that not much. So my doctor decided we should run a blood test to check my blood sugar. My mother is a nurse. I had been so small all my life this kinda became my normal. We wrapped up with the doctor and went on our way. He told us they would get results fairly quickly, so we should keep our phone on. We no more than got out of the parking lot when we got a call. It was kind of odd how quickly they called us, but my mom picked up and put it on speaker. In this moment my life changed. The nurse on the phone said to my mom, "Her blood sugar is over 800. Take her to the emergency room now! We have already informed Vanderbilt you are coming." At that moment I really had no idea what that meant, but my mom did. As we were driving my mom did her very best to keep me calm, but I started to panic. I think all the uncertainty of what was happening was making me think "I AM GOING TO DIE!"In reality, I had always had a crippling fear of needles and blood work and would not speak to my mother for days when she made me get it done. I'm sure the nurses slightly laughed at me when I got there because all I was worried about was how I could avoid getting an IV at all costs. Once I got checked in and many tears later, I was just angry I had gotten so many labs done. My mom and dad were there with me and the doctor told us I was in DKA, which is very dangerous for a diabetic. It can kill you. With DKA your body is fighting itself to retrieve nutrients to keep you alive from your consistently high sugars. It was overwhelming with all the people I met that day and all the things, I learned but things finally started to click. My mom and I literally looked at each other after receiving some education on diabetes, and a light bulb went on in our heads. This explained so much. Throughout the last year and a half I had been experiencing so many alarming symptoms that it had just become our normal. I was drinking over a gallon of water each day and excessively peeing. I specifically remember going on trips that year and constantly having to stop every few hours to either get water or pee. My dad nicknamed me peanut bladder haha. I was also always hungry. I was eating the amount a bodybuilder would if not more. On top of that with all the eating I was doing, I was losing weight rapidly. When I say I looked like a skeleton, that was not an exaggeration. I spent two or three days in the hospital, and in that time I gained over 20 lbs because my body was finally receiving the nutrients it needed. The doctor told us I probably would have died a week later if I had not gotten that physical. My body had become so damaged since my pancreas was unable to use the carbohydrates for energy it turned to my remaining fat for energy. My body was slowly eating itself away. I learned many things in those few days from how to prick my finger, give a shot, count carbs, track my food, read nutrition labels, etc.

The first year was the hardest. I had to adjust to a whole new life of things I never had to think of. I had to count carbs before I just dove into eating and give a shot beforehand as well as having to wait an average of 15 minutes for my insulin to kick in while everyone else got to eat. I learned how scary a low blood sugar is and how sickly a high sugar made me feel. Since I had high sugars for so long I felt so much better now that they were in range. So when I did get a high or low sugar my body could finally feel it. My mom and dad helped me so much and never left my side. My poor dad had to give me all my nighttime shots in my butt because they burned so badly. For some reason I only wanted him to do them. My mom though came on many trips with me and visited me at school often to help me count carbs and or give shots. My amazing grandma also printed all her recipes for me should I could figure out my carb counting. Dinners at Grandma's were always my favorite. I think getting diagnosed with diabetes in middle school was especially difficult. For some reason, I felt so insecure with all my devices and having to give shots in public that sadly I sometimes chose to neglect my diabetes.

Over the years I have gotten more and more confident. All my appointments were at Vanderbilt, and they had an amazing staff and education department. Oddly enough with how much I hated my diagnosis and spent many days full of anger questioning "why me" they made it better. They did education classes where they had a couple of families attend together, and they were really fun! It was great to meet other kids my age with diabetes because they knew exactly what I was going through. In the classes, I really did learn there is no perfect number for each person. Each person's ratios and prescriptions were entirely different, everyone's body really does respond to food/insulin differently.

To this day I have come so far in my diabetes. I currently have an insulin pump. This way I only have to do an injection every 3 days. I also have a continuous glucose meter which reads my blood sugars every 5 minutes and sends it to my phone! The technology is advancing quickly. I seem to get excited every time a new device comes out. To all my close family/friends I'm sure you have heard me ramble about it. Although there are great advances in the diabetes world there isn't a cure. That is probably the hardest part to deal with.

This is why an alert dog would be very beneficial to me. It would be my buddy in helping me manage my diabetes. I feel as though it would lift a lot of the anxiety I have of being alone at times, plus I am an animal lover as most of you know. I battle with the occasional high/ low blood sugar any other diabetic has, but I am by myself quite often. These dogs can provide many services from alerting a high/low sugar 15 minutes before my phone will, getting help if I pass out from a low, calling emergency services, retrieving low snacks, and many more. They unfortunately come at a very steep price with all that goes into training them. That is where you guys come in. Most people who know me see how stubborn I am, and I hate asking for help. However, I do need help this time as I am unable to afford one with all my other medical expenses. Anyway, I thank you for taking the time to listen to my story if you made it this far. LOVE TO ALL OF YOU!

-Emma <3