In the summer of 2022, Aysha had been sick a lot. Her family also noticed she was losing weight even though her eating habits hadn’t changed. Then one day in September, she fainted at school.
She was rushed to Emergency at the Alberta Children’s Hospital and it took many people and attempts to find her vein for an IV. It turns out, Aysha had Type 1 Diabetes and was very close to being in Diabetic ketoacidosis, when the body can’t produce enough insulin and begins to break down fat as fuel, building up ketones in the bloodstream. She was admitted for a week as doctors and nurses helped stabilize her glucose levels.
Soon, she and her parents Shannon and Michael were meeting with a team of other specialists including an endocrinologist and a dietician to help them navigate this new world of Diabetes. While overwhelmed, the family also felt well supported and reassured that they could learn to confidently manage the condition on their own when they left hospital. Thanks to training by nurse educator Shannon, Aysha’s parents, and Aysha were able to learn how to do finger pokes to test her glucose and administer her insulin at the right levels. Even when they were home, Shannon appreciated being able to call up the clinic anytime she had a question about her daughter’s condition.
It’s hard to believe this young woman once used to be afraid of needles. Today, Aysha can manage her diabetes even more easily with an insulin pump she received last spring and a sensor on her arm she can scan with her phone to monitor her glucose levels. Her parents are so proud of her and so grateful to their team of experts who have truly shown them the meaning of family-centred care. Shannon says they feel so fortunate to live in this community with our world-class hospital so close to home.
