Ivey Childress

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Mandy (mom) tells Ivey’s Story….

My daughter Ivey Childress has always been defined by her giant personality. Whether it was climbing out of crib, before she could even walk to play with all my decor or singing the full lyrics to Alicia Keys' songs while she was still in diapers. She lives to put smiles on people’s faces whether it by cracking a poorly timed joke or giving random strangers hugs everywhere we go just because they were nice enough to talk to her. 

In March of 2018, I started noticing differences in Ivey's behaviors and her overall appearance. I took her to the pediatrician because she was acting sluggish and her skin tone was very pale at times. They thought it was probably just the fact that we were coming out of a long winter and she had been inactive and cooped up indoors. A couple of weeks went by and Ivey started having accidents at night. She had never done this before. Potty training, like most things for Ivey, came easy to her. She had never had an accident throughout the whole process. I took her back to the pediatrician again on March 19 2018. This is when my life and especially Ivey's life would change forever. They checked her blood glucose by pricking her finger and checked her urine for ketones, which I had never heard of before. Shortly after that we were rushing to Norton's Children's Hospital, in what was seemingly a blur. I continuously doubted that the tests were right. Ivey couldn't have Type 1 diabetes. Nobody in our family had ever had it. This all had to be some big mistake. What could I have done to cause this?

Our arrival at Norton’s marked the beginning of our journey with Type 1 diabetes. We were quickly flooded with information which compounded our fear even more. Type 1 is not caused by anything Ivey did wrong or that I did wrong. It's an auto-immune disorder that could strike anybody any time. It’s not like she was unhealthy eater or an inactive child. Her Type 1 was most likely caused by her catching a virus and through the process of her body fighting off that virus, her own body turned on the cells on her pancreas that produce insulin. We quickly learned how important blood glucose was and everything there was to know about ketones. Most importantly we learned that Type 1 will not just go away some day. She won't just grow out of it someday. She will take insulin for the rest of her life. She will have to monitor her diet and her blood sugar 24 hours a day every day for the rest of her life. 

Throughout the whole trip to Norton's Ivey never lost her smile. She was scared I could tell but she didn't let it phase her. She was more worried about visiting different parts of the hospital, telling jokes, and what all snacks she would still be able to eat. Her bravery for that first three days has set the tone for the rest of her journey with Type 1. Once we were home, I was a constant wreck about whether I was doing things correctly or calling doctors and educators in the middle of the night. What do I do when I give her insulin and her sugar doesn't go down? What do I do when she's low and I need to give her a shot for food? What do I do when its bed time and her sugar isn't high enough? Why does her sugar drop on car rides? Through my many sleepless nights of worry and reading about Type 1, Ivey just kept being Ivey. She constantly showed her amazing creativity and continued to sing and joke her way through life all while trying her best to drive her big sister crazy. Getting shots became something that was just part of life for her. If she had friends or family over, she would try to comfort them as she was getting a shot. She would say, "It’s okay it’s just my shot. It doesn't even hurt." Nobody would have ever known that after that first year, she had taken nearly 2000 shots and even more finger pricks. I'll never forget the sense of pride and pure sadness I experienced the first time one of her cousins offered her a piece of chewing gum and Ivey's response was, "Is it sugar free." I was so proud that she was being that observant but torn apart at the same time that she even had to ask. 

Life has gotten a little easier since Ivey got her CGM (continuous glucose monitor) and recently got her insulin pump. It has helped me to know that her sugar is always monitored and the pump has greatly reduced the number of needle sticks she gets. Ivey is quickly learning to dose herself with the pump and has gotten really good at identifying symptoms of highs and lows. Every day is and always will be a constant battle with this terrible disease, but she is prepared and willing to fight.

With everything Ivey goes through on a daily basis with Type 1, it is still not what you notice about her. People will notice that she still works just as hard to make people laugh. She still sings those Alicia Keys' songs except now we can add Adele, Miley Cyrus, Taylor Swift and pretty much everyone else on the radio to the list. She still loves to pester her sister. She still has one of the most creative minds of any child anywhere and she still plays just as hard now as she ever has. Now, I can add bravery to the list. She is taking on this disease without batting an eye. She hasn't let it slow her down one bit. People ask her what the thing on her arm is and she responds with a simple, "oh it's just my Dexcom. What do you want to play?". These are the things that will define Ivey. She will never be defined by diabetes. She will help define how to live life with diabetes.