Brynlee's Story
Brynlee was a happy, healthy 9 year old girl, loving life as a 3rd Grader. She loved to ride her bike while listening to music. In late March of 2023, we noticed her eating habits changing. She was passing up her favorite foods. We became very concerned at this time because a classmate had told her she was fat. We would watch her play with her favorite foods, just moving the food around her plate, hardly eating anything. We were noticing at this time that she was beginning to lose weight and became very concerned that she was developing an eating disorder at the age of 9.
One day, her grandmother asked her why she didn’t ride her bike anymore. She said, “It hurts my legs too bad.” Again, we were concerned and felt it could be an eating disorder. I made an appointment and took her to a counselor. The counselor told me she did not feel it was an eating disorder. That was on Wednesday. By Friday, she slept most of the day. We were concerned but we were at a loss because she did not have any symptoms of being sick. On Saturday, she would not eat or drink anything nor get out of bed. We were still at a loss and Saturday evening took her to the E.R.. She couldn’t put her shoes on and couldn’t even walk into the E.R.. The nurse working the front desk took one look at her and whispered, “High blood sugar” to us.
They did tests, hooked her up to an I.V., and found out that she was in severe D.K.A. (Diabetic Ketoacidosis), which can be deadly. They began treating her at the local hospital and immediately arranged to fly her and mom to Diamond Children’s Hospital in Tucson. She was placed in the Pediatric I.C.U., where she remained for 4 days. Sunday and Monday were very scary days. Much of the time, she was completely unresponsive. The doctors told us that if we had waited 1 more hour, we would have lost our daughter.
She gradually began to improve and was transferred to the regular floor, where she and her parents could begin a new life-long training on treating and managing childhood Diabetes.
Brynlee has been an absolute trooper when it comes to receiving up to 10 shots a day. 2 months into having Type 1 Diabetes, she began giving herself all her own shots.
There have been many return trips to Tucson to see a dietitian, doctors, nurse trainers, and equipment trainers. She still has to make frequent trips to Tucson to see her many health-care providers.
Brynlee has been blessed to receive a Continuous Glucose Monitor, which allows her parents, herself, and her doctors to monitor her blood sugar constantly on their phones. Just recently, she received her first Insulin Pump, which now eliminates the 10 shots a day because the pump is constantly giving her Insulin. Her life ahs become as close to normal as it ever will be the rest of her life. Brynlee will always have Type 1 Diabetes because her Pancreas has completely quit working, therefore, her life has changed forever.