Type I Diabetes was a game changer for the Bowen family
By Ashleigh Plemper
Farmer Staff Writer
(Editor’s note: In honor of November being National Diabetes Month, one mother shares her daughter’s story.)
For parents whose children have never encountered any complications with their health, they’re the lucky ones. For parents like Christie Bowen, she knows that life was forever changed the day her daughter, Delilah, was diagnosed with Diabetes I at the age of 3 in 2020.
“What made us suspicious that something wasn’t quite right was when Delilah started to have behaviors that weren’t her normal,” says Bowen.
Delilah had been previously diagnosed with SVT (Supraventricular Tachycardia). Which required her to take a medication that was a beta-blocker, her mother says. Being made aware of the potential side effects that existed, Bowen realized side effects for each patient can vary.
“Delilah started having accidents at night,” she says. “She had an unquenchable thirst, she would have episodes where she was whiny and unable to entertain. She was always hungry,” she says.
Assuming it was a growth spurt, Bowen says it seemed excessive.
“We contacted our pharmacist to discuss possible side effects of the medication and the severity of her episodes,” she says.
The pediatrician encouraged Bowen to do some further investigation.
“She encouraged us to reach out to Delilah’s pediatrician to further discuss the changes as she truly felt it was more than the medication she was currently taking,” Bowen says.
Type I diabetes is a chronic condition where a person’s pancreas produces little to no urine. There is no cure and there are fewer than 200,000 cases per year. Type I diabetes is usually diagnosed during adolescence.
“The process of being diagnosed took no time at all,” she says. “We went in for a morning appointment with her pediatrician, had some labs run, checked her A1C with a fingerprint as well as tested a urine sample,” she says. “It was confirmed that she had Type I diabetes.”
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