Betes Won’t Beat Us
By Kelsey Huss
I can’t say I remember the day clearly, as my blood sugar was over a 1000 mg/dl by the time I got to the hospital, but it was a day that changed my life forever, initially for the worse, but now for the better.
I was thirteen when I had started to get sick. I had a really bad flu in December and never quite recuperated. I was tired all the time, skinny as could be, but trying to navigate life as a middle schooler. While on a family ski trip, I came flying down the slope because I had to pee so badly that I went in my ski pants. I really could never refer to it as an accident because what 13 year old has an accident? I was drinking all the liquids in sight.
At a friend’s house, I drank half of their five gallon water cooler in one sitting for dinner. At my own house, my dad had come downstairs to find that I had finished off two gallons of milk in one night, then tried to sleep on the stairs before making it back to my room. Something was really wrong with me, but no one could figure it out.
I was sitting in my 8th grade class taking a test, when the teacher would not let me use the bathroom for the second time during that 45 minute period. I finally caved and asked to go to the the nurse. My mom picked me up and the nurse mentioned diabetes. I wasn’t sure what it was at that point because we had no family history of diabetes. Off we went to the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia for a week long stay. We didn’t know any better so we stopped at a Dunkin Donuts on the way to the hospital and got a slushie for me to drink that probably had 75-100 carbs.
I was in the hospital for a week, learning all about diabetes. I first had to take my shots at a certain time of day and eat only a certain number of carbs at each scheduled meal. I remember eating a lot of eggs and pickles to compensate for my hunger because they were “free foods.” I used Lantus and Novolog and then an insulin pump by the time my one year anniversary of diabetes came up.
Being diagnosed as a teenager was extremely difficult. I was heavily influenced by friends, who had not one clue in the world about diabetes and listened little to my parents. It was hard to bond with the other kids with diabetes in my school who didn’t remember life before diabetes and I easily went down a bad path that continued for a couple years.
After Kelsey received her first insulin shot
I hated going to my doctor because it seemed like no matter how hard I worked, I was always in trouble. Midway through high school, my kidneys started to push protein or microalbuminuria. That got me scared about taking care of myself, but not enough.
College came at Penn State, which was a whole new world that involved drinking. Luckily I had no emergency lows from drinking, but I now know how dangerous it could be. At some point during sophomore year, I started throwing up a lot. Many chalked it up to stress and partying, but something wasn’t right. I found myself looking for the nearest bathroom at any location to throw up. I was diagnosed with diabetic gastroparesis and continued to throw up at every meal. I don’t think many understood the severity of the situation or how much it was ruining my life. I was almost kicked out of my program at school in the fall of 2011, which happened to be the same semester I had my Gastric Stimulator implanted, which I refer to as the robotic lifesaver. My student teaching mentor told me that she was “warned” about me because of my illness. Later, she told me I was one of the hardest workers and didn’t see an ounce of illness shine through.
My life changed ultimately for the better when I accepted a job in the small town of Iliff, Colorado. I would be the only fourth grade teacher and I had a young girl with type 1 diabetes in my class. Knowing it was fate that I must move, my dog and I picked up and moved to a place where we knew no one. My diabetes care was now happening at the Barbara Davis Center in Aurora, Colorado and I fell into the lap of a Physician’s Assistant by the name of Rachel Garcetti. Rachel has truly been a gift in terms of my health. Initially she made diabetes appointments a lot less scary. My A1c was dropping probably a half a point each time I saw her. She gave me the hope back that I could carry my own children safely and she is always supportive in the decisions I make.
This chart shows the drastic improvement on Kelsey’s A1c when she started coming to the Barbara Davis Center (values between 2013 and 2018)
At almost 8 months pregnant, my a1c has hovered in the mid to low 5’s for most of my pregnancy. I am a part of an online diabetes community that is doing amazing things in terms of advocating and helping all with diabetes. I am a resource in my community for families with type 1, as well as for my own father, who has now been diagnosed with late adult-onset, and my sister who is dealing with reactive hypoglycemia.
A look at Kelsey’s blood sugars before pregnancy (left) and during pregnancy (right)
Without the “downs” of this horrible disease, I never would have been able to experience the amazing feeling of helping others with Type 1 around me. I hope to continue to grow as a person, with a few medical conditions, and make the best out of what has been given to me.
Diabetes technology, such as an insulin pump and CGM, have helped Kelsey get the best blood sugars she’s had since diagnosis. The Children’s Diabetes Foundation now has a Helping Little Hands Program to help pregnant women with type 1 diabetes get the diabetes technology and care. Click here to learn more about this program.
