My Life As a T1D

Chapter 8: Glucagon

It was October 30, 2018 (yes it was almost Halloween). Earlier in the year I had joined my school's JV Volleyball team and I had a game that day after school against another school in the city. The weekend before we had had tournament which we lost so my team was a little tired in general but we were determined to win the game.

I stayed at the school for a while because, well, our school has two courts that we usually play in but we couldn't use one of them because it was being used for an event the next day. So we could only use one court and both varsity and JV (junior varsity) volleyball teams had to play that day and we had to share the one court that we had. Before the varsity volleyball team had always gone after us in other school that didn't have two courts so now I guess it was our turn to go after them. So we stayed watching and cheering for our varsity team that went to the third set but sadly didn't win. Then it was our turn we played around 6:15 which is pretty late. Our game went great because it was the first time that we made it to the third set even though we didn't win. (A/N: I know...you probably think we are a horrible team...eh...what can I say).

Moving on...I arrived home late. I tried to study a bit for a test that I had the next day and went to be around 10:30ish. I was really happy that we had won our first set and I thought that a nice night of sleep would be my reward. But...turns out that diabetes had a different plan for me that night.

At almost 1 in the morning I woke up with my parents beside me asking if I was already and how I felt. At the beginning I was very confused and I felt awfully weak. My parents were standing beside my bed looking very worried. I also saw that besides me my bed was wet like I had just showered but in my bed. I looked like I wet the bed. I was all confused till I saw the small red box open and empty on my nightstand and I started to understand a bit.

"What happened?" I asked my parents.

They explained to me that my blood sugar according to my dexcom had gone below 40 and that when mom asked me to wake up so that she could give me something to eat I wouldn't react. I was unconscious therefore I couldn't answer and when my mother tried to shake me awake she noticed that I was sweat a whole lot. I was having a cold sweat and was unconscious which were the symptoms of a severe hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) which is not treated quickly could lead to death. I wasn't sure how to react to the news but I remember trying to look at something on my phone. I tried typing and I couldn't do it because I was shaking quite a bit. After I felt a little better, stopped shaking and started to feel cold after my cold sweat my mom took me to her bed where I slept the rest of the night.

Now your all probably wondering what that red box was or why I this happened to me. Here goes the explanation. That red box is called glucagon. Glucagon is one of the most feared/important words for a type 1 diabetic because it literally saves lives but it is also something used only in emergencies. It a chemical peptide that causes the liver to release glucose (sugar) into the bloodstream as fast as possible. Since my blood sugar was low I needed sugar but it is dangerous to give an unconscious person food or drinks because they can choke which really doesn't help the situation. That's why you use glucagon which is a needle which a chemical liquid and powder which you need to mix together. The needle about 1 inch which it very big. I'm glad that I wasn't wake to see that giant needle, because, trust me, even though I'm a diabetic and I use needles everyday that doesn't mean that I hate needles especially one that is 1 inch long! Well, since I was unconscious my mom had to insert that giant needle into my thigh so that I could wake up and be alright. The needle is big enough that you can even put it through clothing like the Epipen (for people to get an idea of what the glucagon is like and know the Epipen).

I am guessing that this happened because I hadn't eaten for a while since I had to wait at school to play after varsity, I was experiencing a lot emotions because I was nervous for the game, stressed about school, and excited when we won the first set. I had also done a ton of exercise the day before (the tournament, basketball and games). It must have been a lot for my body to take but I never thought I would react that way, never in the world. And it was my absolute first time in more than 6 years since my diagnosis. One of the symptoms of after getting glucagon was to vomit but surprisingly thanks to my mother's steps after the incident I never vomited which is a relief.

The day after I had a high blood sugar after breakfast that got to the 400. Which is the extreme from below 40 to 400. I was scared to correct because even though I knew that it was dangerous to go to high I was scared to go low again, I also simply didn't want to. That day we visited 2-3 year olds in the lower part of school and I simply wanted to have fun with them. I wanted to pretend that I didn't have T1D and that I didn't have to worry about the beeping or my dexcom or what I ate. I wanted to have some freedom even though I knew that it would bring some consequences. That day was crazy, it is what I like to call a "blood sugar roller coaster".

I went to school that day and told my friends about the incident. I remember telling them that I could have died and that I could not be here right now. I knew that I could have died because after unconsciousness would be seizure and then hospital and then who knows what next. But I am very thankful to my parents and I am sorry I gave them such a scare. When I told my friends one of them said stop Amaia your scaring me and that's when I realize that even though my friends might not have said much I knew that I scared them and my family. That moment, this moment and many more are times that I realize how diabetes impact the people around me. I truly wish that I could take it all away from them and myself because I don't like hurting them but I know that I can't do anything. So I will just keep on walking forward and fighting everyday. Hwaiting!!! 

A/N: I want to say thank you and I love you to everyone who read my story...Thank you a lot for reading.