I feel like my story needs to be told to keep other parents from experiencing what I am. In fact, I was interrupted writing this post to change my 10 year old son's diaper. My son, Charlie, has had diabetes for 5 years. He had diabetic ketoacidosis when we discovered his illness, and we never experienced it again until now.

Charlie had recurring strep throat, and our general practitioner recommended that he get a tonsilectomy. Following her advice, we set up a surgical appointment. Before the appointment, we received a call from the surgical center, and they instructed us not to feed him or give him insulin before the surgery due to the anesthesia. Since they were doctors, we put a lot of faith in them and trusted their judgement. This was a huge mistake on our part.

Charlie had a high blood glucose of over 300 prior to the surgery. They instructed us to give him 2 units of humalog which was still too little on the sliding scale. They were doctors, so, again, we trusted their judgement. Charlie had his surgery and did not have insulin until 1:30pm that afternoon, but still, he only had short acting insulin. The advice we were given was to be wary of his time release insulin due to him not being able to eat. Charlie also was not drinking very much due to the pain.

That night, I gave him his Levimir and Humalog like normal. I knew he needed to be back on his routine. I gave him Tylenol for the pain. Around 7:30 pm, Charlie began vomiting. The instructions given said to give him a nausea suppository, but we were given the liquid medicine which he vomited up. I called the on call doctor and made sure he was aware that Charlie had type 1 diabetes, and his current blood glucose was around 250. He just called in a prescription for a suppository to be picked up in the morning. After I hung up, Charlie continued to vomit. I looked at Charlie, and immediately saw the ghost white child with dark circles around his eyes that was diagnosed at the age of 5. I knew then that I needed to test for ketones. He tested the highest it could be. I immediately drove to the hospital. dress for extra sized girl in homecoming season

It didn't take long for the emergency room doctors to identify that he was in diabetic ketoacidosis. Before I knew it, we were in an ambulance and headed to Children's Hospital in New Orleans. Immediately we were brought to the pediatric intensive care unit.

Treatment began immediately for Charlie. Due to his condition, he was also experiencing neurological issues. He had assymetrical pupilary reflex, was soiling himself, and going through periods of not knowing who we were or where he was.

This is the lesson I want everyone to take away. Before any procedure, do not assume that the other doctors will communicate with the endocrinologist or even knows much about diabetes. Always call the endocrinologist if any one else tells you to stop insulin. We are the biggest advocate for our children, and don't assume because someone has a medical degree they know more than you.