Help Us Change Madelyn’s Odds

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Madelyn was 27 months old when she was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes. She was just a baby. Still in diapers down to one bottle of milk before bed and now getting 4-5 shots a day of insulin. She hated shots (still does). We would have to chase her around the house as she was screaming and crying. We tried everything we could think of minus the typical candy bribery. Then we started singing “Sugar, Sugar” by the Archies. It got a little better. It was cute we would sing and dance while getting the insulin shot ready.

By 29 months, Madelyn was on an insulin pump. What a relief!!! Now we only had to chase her around once every 3 days. (*Sarcasm)We felt like monsters. We felt like we were so mean holding our baby down tightly like in a papoose inserting the infusion set. Because if she moved the slightest bit we would miss injecting the site properly and the cannula wouldn’t go in her body correctly and then have to start all over again. This was so stressful for all of us. I remember I couldn’t do a site change alone. How could I hold her down and insert the infusion set on my own. I used to pray it wouldn’t go bad before my husband got home from work. I would panic. Many times I had to have my parents come over to hold her down. All she would do is scream and move. We wanted to give up on the insulin pump but we knew the alternative wasn’t ideal…shots. The first year on the pump we tried many different types of infusion sets because I had to figure it out and change a site alone. After many visits with the endocrinologist, retraining and her maturity it got better. The practice’s child life specialist taught Madelyn that she could scream and cry but she had to stay still. With practice Madelyn would say those words. She was more afraid than in pain for the site change. Her anxiety levels were so high. Her blood sugars would rise when she knew it was site change day. Looking back now those were tough times.

Now she’s almost 6 years old and a champ. My superhero!!! Wears a cgm and a pump and barely cries or complains. But still hates shots. She knows if she doesn’t have her pump then she has to go back to shots so she’s pretty compliant with all changes.  As she gets older she takes more responsibility in her own diabetes management. She participates in taking her pump sites off and assist in checking her blood sugars. We survived the early years and there is more challenges to come but I have my mind set that I will not let diabetes win. We are surviving some days better than others. We have a completed family of 3, one post diagnosis. Everyday is a challenge with or without diabetes. It a our new normal.

We live our life that Maddie is a kid first and diabetes second.

Please consider making a Fund A Cure donation in honor of Madelyn and others living with T1D by clicking here.

Polizzi, Madelyn