Mikel's Blog

Last week started off hectic with Pop going into The Med Hospital in College Station. Mom and I rotated being there with him on Monday and Tuesday. Allyson was not feeling well on Tuesday as well. She was not eating and was sleeping a lot. She was also complaining of pain in her abdomen and sides. Later in the afternoon she started vomiting and complaining of shortness of breath. We figured she had picked up a bad bug when we visited Pop at the hospital the day before. I came home to check on her around midnight Wednesday morning. She was feeling very bad and appeared to have a low-grade fever. I gave her a dose of children’s Tylenol and stayed with her until around 3am. I then went to stay the rest of the night with Pop in his hospital room. Around 7a.m. I left to come home so Sandy could go to work. When I got home Ally was whimpering and her breathing was erratic. She was in pain and requested I take her to see a doctor so I called to make an appointment with her doctor that morning. As we were on the way to the doctor she pleaded with me to hurry and looked really bad so I took her to St. Joseph Emergency room instead. She was in a bed within 10 minutes. The doctor quickly ordered blood tests and started her with morphine after quickly assessing her condition. Her heart rate was around 150-160. We were possibly looking at an appendix problem. Sandy came to be with us and only a short time later the Doctor informed us Ally’s blood sugar was indicating that she was a diabetic. He also informed us that she needed special care because of her condition and recommended to make a call to Texas Children’s Hospital. We agreed that whatever she needed we would do and within a few more minutes a Doctor and staff were in an ambulance headed towards Bryan. Willie and Lupe came to get Brandon for us and we rushed home to pack a few things. I phoned Marc and he agreed to check in on our cats for a couple of days. Before we knew it the ambulance containing the doctor and her staff had arrived with the necessary medical equipment to keep Ally stable during transport. They told Sandy that there was a “Kangaroo Crew” airplane fueled and waiting for them at the local airport. As you can imagine we were overwhelmed by emotions and the events that were transpiring. I then said goodbye to them and headed to The Med to make sure Joni and Mom had Pop’s situation under control and I left for Houston. By the time I got to the hospital Ally was in PICU (Pediatric ICU.) From the moment of my arrival to the time we were discharged the staff at TCH made sure we were taken care of. They had Ally on a testing and treatment plan to get her stable from the start. They kept us informed of her progress by sharing test results. They also informed us that, in addition to the Diabetes, Ally was suffering from DKA and Pancreatitis. Ally had her fingers pricked every hour and had blood drawn 10-15 times per day at first. As her condition improved the tests were spread out but were very invasive as they needed the information. She had 3 IV inserts and was on 4 bags for the first few days. Her inner arms, outer arms, back of her hands and inner elbow areas were bruising badly but we knew it to be necessary. Her lipids were going crazy and her blood looked like strawberry milk and clotted so fast that some of the tests had to be repeated because the blood was clotted in the vials before the transport tubes reached the lab. It was painful for us to see our child in that condition. She didn’t do anything to deserve this condition. Guilt had set in, big time, by this point. Why had we not realized what was happening before now? What should we have done differently? The low point happened when, during a routine check, Ally could not respond to myself or the nurses. She had a blank stare on her face with her eyes wide open. I was more afraid at that point than I had ever been in my life. Luckily the doctors came in and within a few minutes she was normal. It would seem disrespectful if I ignored the fact that some greater intervention had just occurred. Prayer groups had started in churches across Texas, on many on-line forums throughout the world, from family and friends…even other families with children in the hospital. After a few more days in PICU, Ally was up and responding well. She started taking solid food again and was feeling much better. Her numbers were coming in line with a few exceptions. Her pain was subsiding and the main numbers that the doctors were watching was her triglycerides and cholesterol .The triglycerides were over 3,900 (normal is below 150 and over 500 is considered high risk) and the bad cholesterol was off the charts (seriously the results were: “unable to measure”) Allyson was eventually moved to a regular hospital room after a few days. Her recovery accelerated as treatments continued. The nurses and staff of TCH became like family. They treated Ally with great care. They also helped us by introducing Sandy and I to The Ronald McDonald House at the Hospital where we were able to nap, shower and eat snacks that had been donated. There was a couple of computers, a library and an outdoor garden area as well at the Ronald McDonald house. All free for parents of children in PICU. What a blessing. Throughout Ally’s stay we received special visitors. Randy and Kimm Knight brought us our initial snacks and special gifts to help. The Bryan Bass club got together and set Bill Ray down as well with more relief. The support from our friends was timely and touching. We also had special visits from many family members. We even had to curb visitor traffic a little so we could get some rest  . We realized just how fortunate we are to not only live in America; but that we are blessed with a network of people that were there for us through difficult times. I felt humbled and grateful all at the same time. Allyson is doing well and is home now. We are testing blood sugar levels and communicating with the doctors at TCH and our own pediatrician to come up with an accurate medicine schedule to enable her to have a normal life. She appears to not have suffered any long-term effects of the illness or treatment. She is even testing her own blood, logging her food and carbohydrate intake, and helping select meals that are appropriate. She has gained about 3, much needed, pounds since being released. She could use 10 or 15 more to be back to normal so her clothes will fit again. As I am writing this it is 5pm and time for another blood-sugar check and meal preparation. I will end here and continue to update soon. Mikel

p.s.: I now know where my future support donations will go. Please consider doing the same when the time is right for you.