The TEDDY Study – Christian’s Story
Graham Daugherty • April 26, 2019
By Tara Dana
The time leading up to Christian’s diagnosis is a little different than most. Since I have a family history with type 1 diabetes (T1D), we decided to have both our boys in the TEDDY Study to test for the high-risk gene for diabetes. Christian’s results came back positive for the gene upon birth.
Because of the results, we decided it was important for Christian to be a part of the study being done. I wanted to be as proactive as possible. Every 3 months, we went to our TEDDY Study appointments and at the age of 1 1/2 Christian began to show elevated antibodies (2-3 out of 4), which indicated a 50% chance or greater for developing T1D.
Christian continued to go to hisTEDDY Study appointments, which still showed an elevated antibodies (but no increase) and a normal A1c. At this point, we knew there was an increased risk for Christian to develop T1D but we just didn’t know for sure if or when this would happen.
In March 2015, we had our usualTEDDY Study appointment. Nothing had changed from the previous appointments, but within a month, it ALL changed!
On April 26th our life was changed forever.
That Saturday morning Christian told me he wasn’t feeling well and he just wanted to “lay with mommy.” I didn’t think much of it at first and was actually relieved because I was recovering from the flu and didn’t have the energy to keep up with our usual energetic and full-of-life 6-year-old.
As the day went on, I began to realize that Christian wasn’t his normal self. He didn’t want to play. He was sleeping the day away and he had no appetite. Later in the day, Christian told me he was thirsty and wanted something to drink. Within about 10 seconds he had downed a glass of milk and then turned around to pour himself a glass of orange juice (which he drank without even taking a breath). That’s when reality began to sink in. I knew something wasn’t right.
I immediately found our glucometer that we had from being in the study and tested his blood sugar. But unfortunately, I couldn’t get a reading…all I saw was the word HIGH running across the screen (which I knew meant his blood sugar levels were over 500).
My heart immediately stopped and I began to panic. I tried to get him to drink water…waited… rechecked….and repeated multiple times. His blood sugar readings never came down under 400. I was trying to be strong for my little boy, but he could tell I was worried. I explained to him it was time to call the doctor, and that we were going to have to take a trip to the hospital for the doctors to help take care of him.
Since Christian was a part of the study, we had always openly talked with him about the chances of becoming diabetic. On the way to the hospital, I had to explain to him that the time had finally come. We spent 7 hours in the ER and were finally admitted to Children’s Hospital overnight because they were having a hard time getting his blood sugar levels stabilized. His blood sugars reached up to 700 throughout the day, but thank goodness he never went into DKA.
On that Monday we were sent to the Barbara Davis Center to start our journey and begin our education on how we could manage Christian’s diabetes at home. I felt so overwhelmed and cried A LOT that day! Yet, Christian was the one comforting me. He never batted an eye when it came to test his blood sugar and getting his insulin shots.
Christian is my HERO! He motivates me every day and reminds me to never give up! He fights his every day battles with strength and perseverance….and despite the daily battles, he is a thriving and happy 10-year-old that is determined to live life to its fullest! We are blessed to be celebrating Christian’s 4-year diaversary with no hospitalizations and, with lots of hard work and diligence, an A1c of 6.0! Christian was excited to become an advocate this year so he could develop relationships with others that are walking the same walk of life that he is all while helping raise awareness for type 1 diabetes 💙
