Emergency Room, so Trista could be transported to a Sioux Falls
hospital, not yet giving her the details. Michelle and the girls picked
up Chad to find out that Dr. Larson had already called him with
some details upon his request. Dr. Larson believed Trista was Type 1
diabetic. Her blood sugar level which should be between 80-110 was
reading a dangerously high level of 589.
Trista remembers the incident clearly and listening to her parents
retell the story to me brought forth an emotional reaction from her
and sister Tori. Michelle explained that when the family arrived at
the Emergency Room, they were told that Trista would be flown to
Sanford Children’s Hospital, the hospital her parents chose. Chad
would ride with Trista during the flight while Michelle dropped Tori
off with family and packed an overnight bag from home. Because of
strong winds, the medical helicopter couldn’t fly that day, so Trista was
taken to Sanford in a twin-engine plane. Chad praises the amazing
service of the medics during the rough flight.
Michelle had already arrived at Sanford and met the others as their
flight landed. Trista was immediately started on saline drip and an
insulin drip, receiving the fluids very slowly due to her young age. The
young girl was so dehydrated that her veins had collapsed.
Chad explained Trista’s situation as it was explained to him: the
insulin in the body acts as a key for the cells to open and let the sugars
in, which is where your energy comes from. With no insulin in Trista’s
body, those sugars in her system had no place to go, forcing her to
drink more fluids to flush the sugars through her system. With blood
sugars as high as hers were, her body started to consume itself in a
desperate search for energy. Her body first looked to fat, then to muscle
for this energy source, explaining her rapid weight loss.
Trista was put in the Intensive Care Unit where she spent the next
24 hours. She was then transported to a hospital room while still on a
slow saline drip to hydrate her and drop her blood sugar. During the
next three days in the hospital, the family met with diabetic specialists,
nutritionists and dieticians. They had to learn about counting calories,
carbohydrates (carbs), what and when to eat, what “free foods” were
and how much insulin Trista needed to take. They had to learn how to
test Trista’s blood sugar and how to give her insulin shots.
She is on two types of insulin per day, Lantus and NovoLog. Lantus
lasts through the night, but she is still required to check her blood
sugar levels at 2:00 AM every day. NovoLog is a fast-acting insulin that
she takes with every meal, helping the cells to open and take in the
energy. The family is currently trying to get Trista’s blood sugar in a
consistent and stable range.
Chad explains that Trista’s pancreas quit working during this
process, a result from the diabetes. She is currently in the “honeymoon
phase,” where the pancreas could still produce a bit of insulin but
not enough for her to go off insulin. She will need to stay on insulin
throughout her life as her pancreas will no longer fully function. Chad
explains that her diagnosis, previously known as juvenile diabetes, is
now recognized as an auto-immune disease; the condition ran in his
family with his father’s mom and grandma both Type 1 diabetics.
He explains his first reaction to the diabetes diagnosis. “What
scared me right away is I remember seeing my friends or seeing my
family members taking insulin and I’m thinking there’s this great big
syringe and vial.” He quickly found out how advanced the treatment
had become and showed me her insulin pen, which appears to be very
efficient, with a built-in insulin dial and small needle.
Trista confidently explained where her insulin shots need to be
given, either on the backside of the upper arm, the upper thigh or
the waist, rotating injection sites. “Before, I had Mom or Dad give
me the shots because I didn’t know to do it. Then I had Dad teach me
and thought, ‘that doesn’t look so bad after all!’” She started by giving
herself the shots in her leg and then her arm and easily demonstrated
the process for me.
Her dad smiled, “We are about 7 weeks into this and she’s doing
everything on her own. She figures her own carbs, her own serving
sizes, it’s amazing.” Being very good in math has greatly helped her in
this routine.
During the learning phase of this new process, Chad and Michelle
credit the staff at the Sanford Children’s Hospital for being remarkably
helpful. They started off by calling the hospital with Trista’s blood
sugar levels every morning at 2:00 and at each meal. The staff would
help them calculate how much insulin to give her. In the beginning,
Trista would take one unit of insulin for 15 grams of carbs. She is
progressively feeling better, has gained most of her weight back and
can now consume more carbs before taking insulin. She quickly rattled
off her insulin schedule: one unit of insulin for 25 grams of carbs in
the morning, one unit of insulin per 23 grams of carbs for lunch and
supper is the same routine as breakfast. Her dosage in Lantus, the 24hour slow-release insulin, has also been reduced.
vTRISTA continued on page 27
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