Diagnosis Story - Milly

Here is my daughters diagnosis story. 

A little back story, in March 2019 my father was diagnosed with a brain tumour, so our lives had already changed and was very hectic. For his 60th Birthday on the 13th July 2019, we had a massive party to celebrate his life and make memories. 

This is Milly at the party (pictured below). Even on this day she had said she wasn’t feeling well (and looking back she wasn’t) and wasn’t eating. 

Little did I know that 3 days later, our lives would change again. On the 15th July I got sick and called the house doctor that night and thought I would get Milly looked at as well as she was still complaining that she wasn’t well. We both got diagnosed with viral infections. On the morning of the 16th July, Milly woke me with vomiting. Thinking she had a “viral infection” I raced to the chemist and got my script and some hydro lites to keep fluids up (for the vomiting).  Between her and myself we slept all day, and she continued to vomit. As she was getting worse with the vomiting have called the house call doctor again. Put Milly in the shower and then put her down to sleep while I got dinner ready. As I went to get her to give more medicine and hydro lites, I noticed that she was looking limp, so bundled her up and raced her to the emergency department.  Had only just really sat down with her and she was really limp in my arms, I noticed the nurse looking at us and within 10 minutes of walking in they had us out the back. I put the stuff on the bed and Milly is asking to go to the toilet. They needed a pee sample, so got that with great difficulty as Milly started getting upset and angry (Milly also has ASD, so thought she was having a meltdown). 

Got her back to the bed and was trying to get her settled and she said she needed a poo, again I am still thinking this is due to the vomiting, so take her back to the toilet, this time we were trying for a poo sample again Milly is getting aggressive and not being compliant (didn’t want to give any samples). Nothing happened so opened the door and there were two nurses waiting there with a wheelchair, they said we are taking Milly into another area, explained to me they had already moved our stuff to this area and that they are going to wheel Milly into this area. 

I don’t know if it was my sickness / tired brain or my flustered state with trying to calm Milly from having a meltdown that I don’t think I realised what was happening until there was a nurse holding Milly down with sheets to get cannulas into her arms, it was now I noticed a room full of people, and it was at this stage that I had a nurse getting me a chair and holding my hand and explaining to me that Milly was in DKA and that she had Type 1.  I just burst into tears and my first thought was for my mum as she is the one with Type 1 and her greatest fear has been my brother or myself getting diabetes, little did she know it was going to be her baby granddaughter. 

To say this was the worst night of my life is an understatement, watching my daughter scream in my face (which has never happened, even with her ASD) that she doesn’t want ice, she wants a drink of water, her trying to pull out her cannulas and seeing something in her eyes that I have never seen before and never want to see again.  Not knowing if we were going to be sent away to the Sunshine Coast/Brisbane, and just sitting not knowing what to do, I had so many thoughts in my head (one not so good, about if Milly didn’t survive the night then I was going with her). As I write about this night, my emotions are still raw, and it still feels like yesterday. 

We were very lucky, she made it through the night and we didn’t have to leave town and because my mum has diabetes I knew a Diabetic Educator and Milly has a very good paediatrician. 

We may have had to stay in hospital for 6 days to try and get her a low, but due to the food this was not happening (but that is another story).