It can't be just strep, can it?

Spring Break two years ago we took our two littles to the Houston area. We did Kemah, we did Galveston, and we did the Houston Children's museum, which henceforth shall be known as The Germ Pit.

Type 1 diabetes means that when you get sick, even with the common cold, you could potentially do it up big. Because type 1 is an autoimmune disease, a diabetic's immune system is already wacky. Add germs, and it gets interesting. Getting sick usually means high blood sugar readings and being on a ketone watch every time your kid has to pee. It's time consuming and exhausting, and its even more interesting that each time you get sick, the way the diabetic's body responds differently.

So back to our Spring Break. We went, we saw, we had a blast. On the drive home, Charlotte was complaining of her head and throat hurting. Not long after we got home, she vomited. Note that vomiting is not ideal for a diabetic. Getting rid of those sick-caused ketones requires two things: water and insulin. If diabetics can't hold down water, they are going to the ER for IV treatments. This is how, a few hours later, we found ourselves power walking into the ER with a super sick kid.

Side note...you mention "diabetes" and you get a fast pass to the head of the ER line. We do not wait...ever. That's how serious diabetes is.

It turned out Charlotte had strep throat. That's right...strep throat. She ended up in the ER because of strep throat. And just to add to the ridiculousness of it all was the fact that she had had strep about ten months prior to all this, and it was almost weird how normal she was. A sore throat, but no high fever, no high blood sugars, no ketones. Now months later, same diagnosis, we had a medical emergency on our hands. Why the difference? Because that's just what diabetes does.

Yeah ... this sucked!

Confused yet? Yeah, it's confusing. Diabetes is different for every person, and even within that one person, diabetes doesn't act the same from day to day...or sick day to sick day. It's enough to make a person crazy and willing to do anything for a cure for her kid...including co-hosting a craft show annually ... so her kid doesn't have to deal with it anymore.

And how does The Germ Pit fit into all this? There were germy kids everywhere that day. I am pretty sure that is where she picked it up...or it could have been at NASA...or at the Kemah Boardwalk. All those germ bags kids touching everything, spreading their sickness everywhere - ugh...we just can't go anywhere fun again. Ever.

Just kidding. We will go fun places. We just have to remember that she's a kid and she's gonna get sick. And yes, she may end up in the ER because she gets strep throat. But making her a Bubble Girl isn't the way we want her growing up. But it's nothing a little cure can't fix, so one of those soon would be nice.