"The love of a daughter makes life worth living. It makes my heart full and I just keep on." AJ Winners, The Love of a Daughter
This is Jewel Jael the one that I mentioned in my introduction, who has Type 1 Diabetes and I would like to share her story.
The Supplication
After I got married last 2014, I was diagnosed with (PCOS) Polycystic Ovary Syndrome, a condition that affects the work of my ovaries. I was told by the Obe Gynecologist that it is difficult for me to get pregnant because both of my ovaries were having PCOS. I don't understand what it was, she explained that my egg cell is inside a sack and once it gets matured it should release the egg cell there in its place waiting to be fertilized, but mine don't get matured. She added that my PCOS was extreme which is why my menstruation period lasted for almost a month. The reason I went to the Doctor that day was because of my almost month period.
I was so saddened by what the Doctor told me. But she said not to lose hope and she gave me a 3-month treatment. I prayed so hard to God to spare us at least 1 child to take care of and love.
After three months, we got a pregnancy test and to our surprise it was positive! The Doctor said that I was so very lucky to get pregnant for many of the PCOS patients she knew did not get the chance.
The Surprise!
July 2015 at 7:30 in the evening, a healthy baby girl was born. I and my husband were so extremely happy on that night seeing our beautiful baby. She is God's answer to our prayer. We named her Jewel Jael for she is our God-given treasure. Everything was fine and perfect. There was no problem seen on her newborn screening, so we went home from the Hospital on the third day. After I think a week, I noticed that she was a bit jaundiced. One of our friends advised us to expose the baby every early morning under the sun and yes her jaundice was gone after several days of doing it.
The Struggle
As a new family living together, especially being a new mother, everything seems like a "learning by doing" haha thanks to John Dewey for that. Funny, but how I wish motherhood comes with a manual, but it's not. I have no one to ask for help or guide me in hows, whens, and whats questions that arose in my mind while taking care of the baby since I have no mother anymore and my mother-in-law is in the second town next to ours. It was only the three of us, me, my husband, and our little one and with that, is the realization that motherhood is not as easy as I think before.
Jewel grew as a bubbly, happy, and very active toddler. And then one of my dilemmas when she was nearly two years old, it was how to make her eat her meals. She became a very picky eater. She started not eating the food that I gave her in a meal until she doesn't eat and drink milk at all and if I will force her to drink the milk it makes her vomit which made us decide to see a Pediatrician. Many times it happened and one of the Doctor's prescriptions was Maalox Plus.
Seeing the Pediatrician did not end the problem, and how did we feed her? Huhu, we used a syringe to feed her forcefully with milk that is high in Calories, during breakfast, lunch, and dinner, every day. Every time we did that, was like she was in a fight and it was a struggle for us parents. One day, she saw chocolates and wanted to eat them, so I gave her a pinch of chocolate and rice after it. I was so happy, finally, she ate the rice. From that time we feed her rice with a little chocolate or candy after every spoon.
When Jewel was three years old I gave her food supplements/vitamins with buclizine which help her become healthy and chubby but the side dish chocolate or soft candies were always there every meal.
The Sad Situation
As a mother, I always want the best for my child, but along the way of doing what I thought was the best, I haven't noticed the consequences of it.
Jewel started to have tonsillitis when she was almost 4 years old. I bet it's because of the chocolates and candies I let her eat. Sighing, but realization always comes last. Every time she got tonsillitis, Doctor's prescription was always antibiotics. Two months or three after medications and it will come back again but it's seemed not alarming.
The photo above was captured in January 2021. She was still a picky eater yet healthy, bubbly, and active as before. The first week of March, I noticed some changes in her. She started to lose a little weight, but I never bother because I thought she was just getting taller. Her attitude then changed also, she became sensitive, irritable, getting upset easily, and don't want to play with other kids anymore. I always scolded her not knowing that behind those actions of her, lies a deadly reason. What gets me worried at that time was when she always asked for food but still lose more weight rapidly the following days.
My heart was so broken upon looking at my child swinging on that hammock. I cannot sleep anymore during the night because I had to watch her while sleeping to check if she was still breathing. So many bad thoughts in my mind: What if she has cancer? What really is her situation? Crying was one way I can vent the heaviness in me, praying that God will extend my daughter's life.
She has no fever, no cough, or anything to make us go to the Doctor. We don't do a monthly check-up. We have this practice that we only go to the Doctor when there's a fever or cough or any emergency. Perhaps Jewel needs only to be dewormed, we guessed. But the symptoms became more obvious. She was always thirsty, peeing frequently, and physically weak (she always wanted to sleep) and her weight was the same as her 3-year-old younger sister, from 22 kilograms to 18 kilograms in just two months. She peed on the bed two times one night, which is unusual for her. I scolded her again telling her not to pee on the bed. The next night I have to wake up 4 to 5 times to let her pee on the toilet.
I cannot contain the heaviness in my heart anymore and Googled what these symptoms are, and the first thing that popped up was Type 1 Diabetes. I then remembered that 1 of my churchmates had given us a glucometer the previous months and immediately read the manual and made a blood sugar test on Jewel. The result was "HIGH".
Here Comes The Type 1 Diabetes
The Lab Results
My heart beats faster than ever. I could barely remember in the glucometer manual that when the test results are HIGH, the patient needs immediate attention. So, we immediately proceeded to the Pediatrician the next day, April 7, 2021, for a consultation and were told that it was possible a Type 1 Diabetes with all the symptoms shown and the glucometer reading. The Laboratory Results did confirm it.
We were referred to see a Pediatric Endocrinologist in the City but we were in a denial period at that moment and sought a second opinion. On April 9, 2021, Friday, went to another Pediatrician and he told us the same thing, but this time Jewel was referred to be hospitalized as soon as possible we could or she could lose her life if we waited for another day.
My husband burst into tears when we arrived home from a check-up, a cry I had never heard before. Jewel asked me why was her father crying so loud and looking at the innocent eyes of a 5-year-old child, I answered her with tears and a tight hug.
The Decision
Covid-19 was already a Pandemic and it impacted all hospitals that year. Admitting Jewel to the hospital was so difficult for us because we have to wait for our turn and we need to undergo a swab test the results would be 2-3 days. What made it more difficult as we don't have a house to stay in in the City which is a 3 to 4 hours travel, so we opted to see the Pediatric Endocrinologist instead of admitting her which we cannot afford also.
We tried to contact the Endo but it seems the line was busy. We were so worried, waiting for another day to come was like a terror. I don't know what to do anymore yet I need to compose my mind. Then I remembered again, that my husband's sister has a friend who is a Doctor. We then called him for help not knowing that he is a cousin of that Endo and he was able to arrange our schedule. Another help came, one of my husband's friends called and offered us her condo unit so we can rest and stay there while waiting for the schedule. We were not alone in this battle I knew.
Saturday, April 10, 2021, we traveled to the City via an Ambulance, and while on our way I asked myself. Why did this happen to my child? Is it because I had PCOS or is it hereditary? Since my mother died having Diabetes. Or maybe it's because of the chocolates and candies that I let her eat. Am I a bad mother? Who should I blame?
Jewel The Little Warrior
In the condo unit, we stayed until Monday. I frequently check her blood sugar and it's always HIGH. The more I pray to God to spare her life because we don't know what to do to her yet. Even if she doesn't eat her meal still has the same results. She looked so tired and always wanted to sleep. The brokenness in us was so deep that we cried almost all day in the condo. We missed our youngest daughter and we're scared for the life of our eldest. The more I cried when she asked me one time, "Mommy if I die, will you cry?" I answered while crying, "Baby, you'll not gonna die. Jesus loves you." I know deep within me that my daughter, Jewel, is a fighter and she will never give up on us.
I never slept well until Monday came and I was so relieved to see my daughter woke up that day. The faith I had within me gives me strength every day.
At last, we were inside the Doctor's clinic. Yes, Jewel has Type 1 Diabetes, (an autoimmune disease) he said but she can live a normal life as other kids do. She needs insulin to be injected into her body twice a day because the beta cells in her pancreas were already damaged and cannot produce insulin anymore and it's a lifetime. We asked him what was the cause, "nothing" he answered. It's not the chocolates nor her Jaundice, nor my type 2 Diabetic mother and anything else, it just happened.
The Endocrinologist added that Jewel actually needed to be admitted and that may cost us a lot but because of our situation, he just gave us a prescription and taught us how to inject the insulin. I tried to digest all that he said in my mind, super heavy but I will and I can do it for my daughter. Right away before dinner, I injected her with insulin and checked her blood sugar in the morning. From HIGH to 115, we were so very happy.
Reading on the local news about a 5-year-old girl who died from Type 1 Diabetes after 3 days of seeing the symptoms, horrified me because she has the same age when Jewel was diagnosed. It took us weeks after noticing the symptoms to go to the Pediatrician and 5 days until we see the Endocrinologist but God is Great, He gave us a daughter that has a heart of a warrior.
Now, Jewel is perfectly fine and I am so grateful for all the people who prayed and extended their help to us. To the owner of the condo unit, to the Endocrinologist, and to the Nutritionists who never let us pay and rendered their services to us for free, thank you so much, and especially to the Lord Who is the Owner and Giver of life for preserving our daughter's life since then and up to this time.
May you find this post helpful and inspiring. Thank you for reading till the end.