Newsletter Article

Well, it’s been a long month for the Collins family. As many of you know, Elizabeth had been sick for several weeks in late October and early November. On Friday, November 9th, Elizabeth was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes. We spent the weekend with her in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit at St. Francis hospital in Tulsa, followed by two days of instruction in the care of Type 1 Diabetes. One of the things we learned was that we did not know much at all about Type 1 Diabetes. Our main experience had been talking with people with Type 2 Diabetes (which isn’t surprising when we found out that 90-95% of persons who have Diabetes have Type 2). And we discovered through our training that while both types of Diabetes result in high blood sugar, they are very different diseases. We learned that Type 1 is an autoimmune disease. It is often caused by a virus that attacks the pancreas, resulting in an autoimmune reaction that kills the insulin producing islet cells, which stops the production of insulin. Without insulin, the body cannot get the sugar from food into the cells where it is needed to produce energy. So, insulin must be given to enable the body to digest the food that is eaten.

One of our initial misconceptions was that Elizabeth would never be able to eat sugar. Those with Type 1 need to avoid high sugar drinks, like regular pop, kool-aid, and more than 1⁄2 cup of regular juice at a time. But other than that, those with Type 1 are simply encouraged to eat healthy meals, like anyone else. The treatment that Elizabeth is on is called MDI (Multiple Daily Injections) in which she receives a shot of long-acting insulin at bedtime and then receives shots of short-acting insulin with every meal or snack that contains carbohydrates, since all carbohydrates turn to sugar in the body. There are a few “free” foods that can be used for snacks between meals that do not require a shot, like cheese, some peanuts, sugar free jello, sugar free popsicles, etc. Elizabeth learned these quickly (before she even left the hospital)!

I’ve been pretty occupied caring for Elizabeth over the past month, but am now beginning to get back to normal. Granted, it is a new normal, but Elizabeth is doing great. Insulin is a wonderful thing that has brought Elizabeth back to her happy, cheerful, playful, active self. She’s back in school and doing well. And after only two weeks, she has already gotten used to the blood sugar checks and shots that she gets several times a day.

We are encouraged by the many stories we have already heard about people who have led very active, healthy lives with Type 1 Diabetes, and we know that we are going to a good treatment facility in Tulsa. I thank God every day for all the people who worked to help us figure out what was wrong with Elizabeth and worked to get her the help she needed. And I thank all of you for your understanding as we live into our new routines.

May know the presence of God and experience Emmanuel, “God with us,” in the coming Advent and Christmas seasons. Look for those miracles all around us and know God is here.