Christmas of 2008 began like any other Christmas. Family parties were in full swing and countless Christmas cookies were consumed. I was 22 and had just graduated from college. However, my family started noticing that I was loosing massive amounts of weight and drinking insane amounts of anything I could get my hands on. My vision started going blurry, my legs cramped up a storm, my mouth was like cotton. Less than a month later, I found out I was pregnant. And three weeks later, I started having massive cramping and called my mom. She ended up rushing me to the hospital for fear that I was miscarrying. At the ER, I had my suspicions that I had diabetes. I asked the doctor to check me and sure enough, my blood sugar was well over 800. Had I waited one more day, I may have been in a coma. It was confirmed that I had adult onset T1 diabetes. Immediately, I was poked and prodded, given a blood glucose meter, diet plan, a barrage of insulin pens, EKG's, you name it. Sadly, after spending the night in the ER and on my now-husband's birthday, I miscarried our child. It was awful. We were incredibly distraught and heart broken.
Looking back, I am absolutely convinced that this child saved my life.
Today, I am 27 and nearly 5 years into my journey with T1 diabetes. I have my daily struggles, like any other diabetic. But I have a supportive husband, a beautiful 3 year old daughter, and another precious baby on the way! Words cannot express how incredibly bittersweet it is to know that such a precious gift ended up saving my life.
Houston, TX
