I took my oldest daughter to her specialist today. My daughter sees a wonderful endocronologist that, last week, wasn't very happy with me or my daughter. Last week, when my daughter went into Ketoacidosis and was rushed by ambulance from our little hospital to the one an hour away, this specialist was a little perturbed by the fact that my daughter had gotten so sick. I wasn't exactly happy about the situation myself, and took some heat from this doc.
Today, with Laura and Megan in attendance, I didn't feel like hauling them to that little exam room. So, I made my daughter go on her own. At seventeen, I figure she can handle the heat if the doctor wanted to bring any correction. Soon, she'll be handling her health on her own all the time without me to hold her hand. Besides, if she can not take proper care of herself, she can face her doctor on her own.
Her insulin levels have been raised. She has to email her blood sugar numbers weekly. We still have to go back on Friday to meet with a nutritionist/educator. All in all, the appointment went well.
On the home front I know that I have to keep constant vigil over my daughter and make sure that she is doing what she needs to do for her health. I am hoping that her habits change over time. I am also hoping that God deals with her heart. As much as I want to, I can't change her heart. I have tried to change her heart over and over the last couple of years. It just doesn't work long term. She changes as long as she is grounded, but once I trust her again she slips back into lazy habits.
There is new technology. There is a constant meter that she could wear that would test her blood sugar every five minutes. Insurance companies don't want to pay for it, however. It is expensive, but so many of the future complications of diabetes could be avoided with good management of the disease. Blood sugars sometimes jump up and down rapidly, especially in hormonal teenagers. It makes management all the more difficult. Yet, the longterm effects that can occur on a diabetic body are just devastating. Every system can be damaged. My Father-in-law lost his life because of the damage done to his heart.
My daughter is an amazing young woman. She is a seventeen year old fireball in every other area of her life. I know that God has amazng plans for her life. I also know that she will never get to any of those plans if she allows this disease to manage her instead of the other way around.
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