What's On Your Menu?

July 1st was fast Sunday, a day set aside each month for members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints to fast. Generally members go without food for two consecutive meals and then donate a portion of money to help the poor. It is a day that spiritual needs outweigh physical needs and souls are turned to God in prayer and fasting.

Our family prayed for rain for the wild fires we have been experiencing in Utah. I also had a secret prayer that I would finally be able to have the courage to make my health a priority in my life.

I spent the following week measuring my meals. I wanted to know what I was truly taking in. I wanted to be sure I could do it for myself as well as my family.

On Saturday the kids participated in the Tour de Donut in American Fork. I ate a donut and a half and it was terrible. I had been so careful all week and I realized what sugar did to me. I didn't feel well at all for the rest of the day.



Fast forward to Monday and I was running all day. Not running as in slip on the running shoes and head out the door, but running as in trip to the water park, Salt Lake City, orthodontist, and then pediatrician.

I had taken Syd to the pediatrician because she was having trouble at night time keeping her bed dry. I was washing sheets multiple times a week. On Sunday morning I found her in the bathroom sobbing because she had soiled two beds. My heart ached for her and I wanted to get some help for her. My worst fear was that she had been somehow abused and it was manifesting itself at night.

We made it to the Dr and Sydney gave a urine sample. After waiting in the room for about a half hour we met with our pediatrician and discussed what could be going on with Syd. We agreed that it was probably the change in sleeping patterns that she's had since school got out. The Dr requested a height on Syd so he called his assistant to take her and measure her height. As she left the room, Dr Bennett turned to me and said, "Deni, this isn't good. She has sugar in her urine, we will need blood work." I knew immediately what the diagnosis was, but I secretly hoped my intuition was wrong. Dead wrong.

Over the course of the next half hour, Syd's finger was poked and a diagnosis was confirmed. She has type one diabetes. We were instructed to go to the hospital as soon as we could get there. Do not eat the dinner that had been prepared, just leave and get there. Her blood sugar was so high it was off the charts. meters were not reading it and an actual blood draw was ordered. They want her blood levels to be in between 80 and 150. Her blood sugar was 680.

Syd is a champ

Our lives have changed in an instant. The days of eating whatever we want without answering to anyone or anything are over. Everything will have to be monitored. Because I don't believe it is fair for Syd to do this alone, we will all be making changes.

I am constantly amazed at how God works. I have no doubt that over the past couple of weeks I have been prepared to help Sydney succeed. We will be measuring our food and testing everything. Of course she can still have whatever food she wants, she just has to have insulin to replace what her body isn't making. We will do this together, and once again I will become an expert in the medical field. This time -- type one diabetes.

What's on your menu?