波色单双

Lexi: Diabetes

鈥淭he kids with diabetes at 波色单双 are lucky. My mom knows so much and they get the education they need.鈥

鈥 Lexi, Patient

Lexi, a Nemours patient with diabetes

鈥淲hen I saw my three-year-old daughter literally hugging the water fountain at her preschool and gulping down water, I knew there was something very wrong,鈥 says Kim Rossi. She and her husband Tony took Lexi to their pediatrician right away. A urine test showed that her blood sugar was 200 鈥 not off the charts, but still worrisome. The doctor sent them to聽Nemours Children鈥檚 Specialty Care, Orlando.

鈥淭hey confirmed that she was diabetic and gave her the first insulin injection,鈥 remembers Kim. 鈥淚 cried and cried because I was so afraid for her. The diabetes team helped us learn survival skills to get through the next few days: what she should eat, how to test her blood sugar, how to give injections, what to do in case of a seizure. They also asked us to page them with her blood sugars every few hours over the weekend.鈥

The following Monday, Kim and Tony met with the entire diabetes team: an endocrinologist, diabetes educator and dietician. They learned how to manage their daughter鈥檚 disease. 鈥淕etting this education was incredibly important for us 鈥 it helped us to feel more in control. Diabetes really involves your whole family,鈥 says Kim. 鈥淚f we hadn鈥檛 gotten the care we received from Nemours, we would have been lost.鈥

The family moved to Las Vegas, where Tony had taken a job as a nightclub manager. Kim, a trained dancer who had worked for Disney, opened a dance studio. 鈥淎fter a few years, I began to realize that I wanted to do something different with my life,鈥 says Kim. 鈥淚 enrolled at the School of Nursing of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, earned a Bachelor of Science in Nursing and worked for the county hospital.鈥

Lexi began using an insulin pump when she was five years old. During the next few years, she had two hypoglycemic seizures caused by her blood sugar dropping extremely low. 鈥淲hen she had the first one at age six, it was frightening,鈥 remembers Kim. 鈥淪he gave out a high-pitched 鈥榮iren鈥 scream. Lexi鈥檚 face was drooping on one side and her body was slack. She was hospitalized and not able to speak for three days.鈥

After living in Las Vegas for seven years, Kim and her family made the decision to move back to the Orlando area, where she became a Certified Diabetes Educator. 鈥淭here was an opening for a diabetes educator at Nemours Children鈥檚 Specialty Care. It is one of the few places I know where clinical care and education are so successfully combined 鈥 and the only place I would have moved because of a job,鈥 she says.

At age 13, Lexi does an excellent job of managing her diabetes. She wears an insulin pump and a continuous glucose monitor and checks her blood sugar at least eight times a day. Lexi never goes anywhere without carrying insulin, a blood sugar meter, glucogon, juice and food. 鈥淚t鈥檚 pretty easy to manage,鈥 says Lexi. 鈥淚 have a friend at school who is diabetic and I always remind her to check her sugar and get it treated right away when it is high.鈥

鈥淢y daughter really doesn鈥檛 know anything different,鈥 says Kim. 鈥淎s a parent, you can鈥檛 stop all the bad things that might happen or protect your child all the time. That鈥檚 why education is so important.鈥

鈥淏ecause of my personal experience with my daughter, I am able to tell parents that it will not always be like it is when their child is first diagnosed,鈥 says Kim. 鈥淚 love what I do 鈥 I guess it鈥檚 my calling 鈥 and enjoy working with the kids. Our family got so much benefit from Nemours and now I am in a position to help others.鈥

鈥淭he kids with diabetes at Nemours Children鈥檚 Specialty Care are lucky,鈥 says Lexi. 鈥淢y mom knows so much and they get the education they need.鈥