Meet T1D Momma, Emily
My name is Emily and I was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes right after my oldest son turned one.
I was 28. I now have two sons who are four and two. Being a type 1 and mom of two boys is rewarding and challenging at the same time. Boys are constantly on the go and that can take your mind off keeping an eye on your blood sugar levels. Recently, I learned just how hard it can be to care for your kids and care for yourself at the same time when you are truly sick.
My husband is a police officer and works nights so I am alone a lot. He does have access to my CGM data so he can see if there are any major changes to my blood sugar while he is gone. Due to his job however, there are many nights where I have to play mom AND dad. On those nights, I rarely look at my CGM and I’m always running around. There have been plenty of times where I try to quickly eat and forget to take my insulin. The list goes on.
I am a huge runner and I will run in any type of weather. A week ago, it was pretty hot, but I continued on my daily runs. I started feeling a bit off one day- super thirsty, urinating a lot but normal blood sugar. I continued on with my day with my kids and just powered through because mom does not get to be sick right? WRONG. I slowly got worse. I sped through their dinner and could not get them to bed fast enough. I felt like a terrible mom because I skipped their book and just needed them to go to sleep so I could try to feel better. I got them to sleep and my husband called and told me I should probably check my ketones (I definitely forgot to do that). I went into the bathroom and my test strips were expired. I called my mom, who luckily lives close by, and she came to sit at my house while I went to buy test strips. I got home and sure enough, I was spilling mild to moderate ketones. I rode it out until morning but went through over 6 liters of water through the night. The next morning I felt even worse. My mom came back to sit with the kids so I could take myself to the ER. Due to COVID restrictions you have to be alone at the hospital so that was hard. I ended up being in mild DKA. Such a scary moment because when I was diagnosed with type 1 I was in DKA then too and almost died.
Moral of the story is, having type 1 and being a mom is hard!
You put your health on the back burner when sometimes it could be detrimental to your health. Always listen to your body and take care of yourself. I’m so thankful to have two healthy boys and they deserve a healthy mom. Type 1 is hard and so challenging at times but the key is to take care of yourself so you can take care of your kids and be the best version of yourself.
