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14
year old Kanmani, was admitted to a Christian Medical College
Vellore hospital’s Intensive Care Unit with vomiting,
severe rapid breathing due to acidosis and an altered sensorium.
She was diagnosed with DKA, and was barely into her teens
where she could not even tell her friends that she was having
Type
1 Diabetes Mellitus
for the fear that they may desert her. Although she recuperated
from the initial catastrophe, her mother who worked as a house
maid and her load man father could not afford the treatment
that she required as they had two more mouths at home to feed
(her younger siblings).
As a result she
frequently swayed into extremes of glucose fluctuations which
made her giddy and faint. The hostel wardens of her school
became wary of her problems and reacted adversely to the situation.
They were not
trained to aid in her emergencies and were forced to advise
her to leave the hostel and stay at home. The school authorities
decided to bar her for one year due to her dropping attendance
rates and frequent sick leave. With both her health and educational
prospects being bleak the parents began to see the a dark
tunnel with out an end.
More recently
she has been able to get free insulin, a glucometer and strips.
Being a swift learner with regards to the nuances of SMBG
and self adjustment of insulin doses, her fluctuations disappeared
in a matter of months and her glycaemic control smoothened
out. Her frequent fainting became a thing of the past and
the family started to take interest in small pleasures. Now
she is getting ready to prove her mettle in her academics
as her hostel and school have decided to welcome her back
to school. |
