Feature Friday: Gabriela and Family!

Feature Friday: Gabriela and Family!

Welcome to Feature Friday: Gabriela and Family! Gabriela is the daughter of Victoria and Juan and she has been diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. They currently live in Texas! They are a faith-filled, girl family (3 daughters), they love to dance, swim, and cook together as a family. Also, the family really enjoy movie nights together and trying new things all together.

Gabriela is a spunky Kindergartener with a vivacious personality. She is a strong self advocate for her diabetes and overall health. They strongly believe in the importance of her knowing as much as she can about her diagnosis and being aware of carbs/insulin dosages and how to take care of herself.

Diagnosis Story

Gabriela has been a type 1 diabetic for 11 months.

I started noticing symptoms over the span of about a month such as increased thirst, weight loss, fatigue, and when the bed wetting started, I had an inclination that it was type 1. As an occupational therapist, I have some medical knowledge so thankfully, I was able to piece the symptoms together. We went to see the pediatrician who confirmed my suspicion, and then went to meet our endocrinologist. It was the hardest day of my life, but I was thankful that we caught it before she ended up in DKA.

Initial Thoughts

Fear was the biggest emotion. I was scared of missing a sign of a low or not dosing correctly. I was also thankful that God has equipped us (my husband and me) with the right tools to take care of Gabriela and the strength to push through day by day.

Explanation of Diabetes

We told Gabriela that sugar is what gives all of our body parts energy and for some reason, her “sugar controllers” stopped working. We made sure that she knew this wasn’t anyone’s fault. Also, we told her that the sugar controllers are what make the insulin and so without them, we needed to inject it into her body. We told her that without it, she could get very sick. In addition, we wanted to try our best to keep her as healthy as possible and avoid that. So we needed her help to do so by always telling us how she feels and when she’s hungry. We explained to her that diabetes is something that she will always have to live with. However, if she tries hard to learn everything she can about it, so that she can take good care of herself, then she will be strong and healthy, despite diabetes.

Favorite Diabetic Device

Dexcom has been a lifesaver!

 Share what the word thrive means to you!

To me, “thrive” means to live your best life that God gifted you. So, if that means you were given a disability, or a mental health issue, or in Gaby’s case -diabetes, living your life to the fullest capacity and doing so while maintaining your attitude of gratitude.

 What helps you as the caregiver and your child thrive with diabetes?

Our faith is what keeps us moving forward. I know who holds my tomorrow and Gaby’s so I know that I will be equipped with the tools and strength that I need to take care of her.

 What do you wish someone told you earlier as a caregiver for someone with diabetes?

Don’t be so hard on yourself!! Perfection is an illusion and there is no perfect diabetic! lol

Words of Encouragement

I would tell them that no matter how hard it seems, they will get through it and survive it. Diabetes is a daily roller coaster ride and though hard, never impossible.

Final Thoughts

Come follow Gaby! @gabychasingunicorns and say hi!

Victoria

 

PS! If you liked this story, please check out the family from last Friday and read the post about my new T1D book for children! Hope you are as excited as me! 🙂