Helping Others With Diabetes vBy Julie Eickhoff While Trista Miller is on her own path to conquering the obstacle she’s recently facing, the brave twelve-year old is already looking forward to helping other people meeting the same challenge. She has been learning how to live with the Type 1 diabetes she was diagnosed with in early June. Trista’s parents, Michelle and Chad, started to notice changes in their daughter a few months prior to her diagnosis, first noticing that Trista was beginning to lose weight. The weight loss on the already thin girl was worryingly obvious on her small body. “It started to become extremely noticeable weight loss,” Michelle explains. You could see all her ribs and her collarbone was sticking out.” Suddenly her clothes were too big and hung on her undersized frame. The swimsuit from the prior year that should have been getting smaller on her was instead too big, and they found themselves buying her a new swimming suit that was two sizes smaller. They first attributed the weight loss to the braces recently put on Trista’s teeth, believing her difficulty eating was due to the new apparatus in her mouth. As she continued to lose more weight, the thought of a possible eating disorder even crossed their minds. Chad explained how he noticed how thirsty she had become, and Michelle explained that they suddenly started going through a gallon of milk every day, an amount suited for a much larger family than their family of four. Suddenly a large Powerade that previously lasted Trista two days she now gulped down in only 20 minutes. One Saturday in June while Trista was eating applesauce, she commented on how much it hurt her mouth. Her mom was alarmed when she peered into Trista’s mouth and discovered her tongue was white. Suspecting thrush, a yeast infection, Michelle took her to Convenient Care at the Yankton Medical Clinic and younger daughter Tori came with. They were fortunate that Trista’s regular doctor was working the shift that day. The doctor examined Trista and found her to be underweight for her age, weighing 61 pounds instead of being in the 80-pound range. Dr. Dawn Larson conducted some tests with Trista and had her get blood drawn for lab work. On a whim, she also included a hemoglobin check in the lab request. The Miller’s left the clinic knowing that they would have to patiently wait for the lab to run the tests before they could get the results. “When we were walking out of the clinic that day, from the clinic to the parking lot up front just up by the little hill to my car, she just sat down and put her head down on the center console,” Michelle explained. Trista added that she just felt very winded and tired with that short walk. Michelle began to wonder if they needed to turn around and go back in to the doctor. After the appointment, Michelle headed to the park, so Tori could play while she sat with Trista to rest. They stopped at a gas station on the way to buy something to drink. Michelle’s cell phone rang; Dr. Larsen was calling to tell her she needed to get her daughter to the Practicing the gentle art of modern dentistry. New Patients and Emergencies Welcome! 1101 Broadway Ste. 105, Morgen Square 605.665.2448 • www.scottfamilysmiles.com Experience Gentle, Personalized Dental Care For Your Entire Family! 16vHERVOICEvSEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2018