2 years ago today Malaika's life changed forever and with it, our family changed forever. 2 weeks prior to this she had been taken to hospital with febrile convulsions from a virus, they tested her urine and it was full of sugar, a finger prick showed her blood glucose and it was 12mmol (normal is 4-6) nobody was concerned, her tiny body had just been through so much that it was common for things that shouldn't be raised to be raised. A test a couple of hours later showed that her levels had returned to normal and we were discharged with no concern Back to 2 years ago today. The day before, Malaika had taken part in a 6 mile sponsored walk, 6 miles is a long way for a 2 year old, but she managed it with a smile on her face (most of the way!) The following day she asked me for a drink, I gave her one and she swallowed it down without tasting it and before she had even finished she asked for another. I gave her another drink and remembered back the last few weeks how she had been wetting through her nappy a couple of times a night, how she had been more thirsty, how she was losing weight that I had put down to a growth spurt. She finished her drink and asked me again for another. She had drank close to 750ml in one sitting. It's then I realised I had to check her. Her blood glucose was HI, which means it was over 33mmol I went into a state of shock and thought back to the day before when I was encouraging her to walk 6 miles. Any diabetic will tell you how hard any sort of movement, let alone exercise is when your sugar is high. You have loads of energy (sugar) in your blood, but your body can't use it because the key to the cell door is missing (insulin) So you have all this energy floating around and cells that can't get any energy. Your body sucks the fluid from the cells to try and get rid of the sugar which is why you find diabetics get thirsty and urinate a lot more, this makes dehydration a massive factor When my sugar is high I am horrible to be around, I am grumpy, exhausted and feel sick. I certainly would not want to walk 6 miles. I started feeling guilty that I hadn't caught it sooner when the symptoms were so obviously there in hindsight and then I even considered not taking her to hospital, to let her have one final day of being 'normal', but that quickly passed as I remembered that at this moment she was slowly dying. A finger prick at the hospital confirmed the diagnosis of Type One Diabetes. We were made aware of JDRF immediately when we were given a bag with a little teddy called Rufus, he is diabetic too and was a massive help to Malaika in coming to terms with her finger 'pops' (blood glucose tests) and injections. Jump back to today. She has nearly died a number of times From a stomach bug, from swimming for too long, from feeding Amelie the food that she was meant to eat, from a failed cannula in the night, from the machines that keep her alive failing. But we keep fighting. We have had our tough times and Malaika often cries that she doesn't want to be diabetic. I tell her every time that I wish she wasn't diabetic, I wish there was a cure. Malaika once asked why I couldn't find a cure, I had taught her from a very young age that Mummy (and she, and anyone) can do anything they want if they put their minds to it. So I told her I would, I told her I would help find a cure. I promised her I would never stop until there is a cure. And that's where we are today. Malaika has been diabetic for 2 years and that is 2 years too long. Please consider a donation to JDRF, for me, for Malaika, for everyone who has to live with this horrible illness ♡ http://ift.tt/2gInRkB http://ift.tt/2yqr0PK

via Mission: Find a Cure http://ift.tt/2xpeGR4