The American Diabetes Association designates the fourth Tuesday of March as Diabetes Alert Day, a time to raise awareness about the disease. The day also highlights the importance of recognizing its signs and symptoms. For one family in Journal Country, those warning signs recently became a frightening reality.
Deric and Jordan Ries of Pierpont are no strangers to odd viruses, coughs and colds. Like all parents, they have dealt with the yearly stuffy noses, stomach complaints and random viruses. Yet, the family was nowhere near prepared for the day their oldest daughter Teegan, who is a 7th grader at Langford Area, would be diagnosed with type 1 diabetes.
It was a normal Sunday on the soccer fields. Teegan was watching her siblings play. Jordan noticed that Teegan had drank two big jugs of Gatorade and found it odd that she was still asking for something else to drink. Later that week, along with the extreme thirst, they noticed Teegan acting extra tired, and almost lethargic. Her urination had increased along with noticeable weight loss. By Thursday, Deric and Jordan decided she needed to be seen by a doctor.
According to Marshall County Healthcare Center Certified Nurse Practitioner Sara Raabe, those are all classic symptoms that diabetes might be at play. The Rieses were right to have Teegan be seen by health care professionals.
“I remember trying to keep Teegan awake in the back seat while driving to Aberdeen,” recalls Jordan of that scary drive. Once at the doctor’s office, tests were run and Teegan tested positive for strep throat. Jordan pushed to have Teegan’s glucose tested, having a feeling that something wasn’t adding up with the symptoms she’d been having. “With how thirsty she was, the weight loss and overall lethargy, I just really wanted her sugars tested.” Jordan and Teegan were still in the clinic parking lot when they were told they needed to get to the ER, and fast.
Teegan’s glucose level was a staggering 672. “A glucose level of 600 or more is considered extremely dangerous and can lead to coma or even death very quickly,” states her mom. The family remembers things happening very fast after that.
Life Flight was called in and Teegan was being prepped for fast transfer to Sioux Falls. Jordan knew of a neighbor who was in Aberdeen that day, and called to ask if she’d be willing to drive her vehicle back home for her. The Care Flight then informed Jordan that she may not be allowed on the flight due to nurses and personnel who needed to care for Teegan, so she decided to have her neighbor sit with Teegan while she drove to Sioux Falls to beat or meet the plane.
It all played out well-- their neighbor was able to be on the flight with Teegan and the plane landed 20 minutes before Jordan and Deric arrived in Sioux Falls. “I remember the doctor pulling us into a room and telling us that our daughter had type 1 diabetes and that she needed insulin badly,” stated Deric.
Type 1 diabetes is a lifelong diagnosis. The pancreas shuts down and makes little or no insulin at all, causing high levels of sugar in the blood. The doctor also explained to them that giving a patient insulin with a glucose level of 672, can also be very dangerous. It needed to happen slowly and accurately. Thankfully, the nurses and care team at the Sanford Castle have dealt with diabetic children often and took great care of Teegan. By Friday evening, she was back to her normal self, but, with a new outlook on how her life would take shape.
In the days and weeks after, Teegan and her family learned all about ketones, insulin, carbs and how they all need to work correctly for her to live. “For the first 6 months, I gave myself up to 7 shots a day. My friends at school even would help me and they knew how to give me shots as well. After that I was given a pump,” says Teegan.
Teegan’s pump works like a cell phone. She types in how many carbs she’s going to consume before eating and it pumps out the amount of insulin she needs.
Teegan will have reached the one-year mark since her diagnosis in May. “It’s been a learning curve, but she takes it all in stride,” says Jordan. Teegan’s parents each have the app monitor on their phones, and one displayed in their home. They can watch her sugars at any time of day.
In recognition of Diabetes Alert Day this week, it’s important to understand that Type 1 diabetes is becoming increasingly common in children. According to the Centers for Disease Control, approximately one in every 400 children is diagnosed with this lifelong disease. While Type 1 diabetes cannot be prevented or cured, Type 2 diabetes can often be avoided through a healthy diet, regular exercise, and stress management.
Raabe emphasizes the importance of regular checkups for both children and adults. She advises parents to keep their children on schedule for well-child visits and to discuss any new health concerns with their providers. For adults, she recommends annual physical, including bloodwork, starting at age 40—or as early as 20 for those with risk factors.
Knowing the signs and symptoms of diabetes and asking for a blood glucose test at the hospital saved Teegan’s life. For more information on signs, symptoms and testing, visit ww.cdc.gov.
