As the flu season approaches Mississippi advocates for children with diabetes are concerned about misdiagnoses. It can lead to serious complications and even death.
Robyn Curtis of Hattiesburg, says her daughter nearly went into a diabetic coma three years ago. She says the 14-year old lost 10 pounds, had a sore throat, drank lots of water, was tired and breathing heavily. Curtis says the doctor thought it might be a viral bug, gave them prescriptions and didn't test for diabetes.
"We took her home with her medicine and tried to see if she would feel a little better and really by a day, a full day after she had saw the doctor she was deteriorating so much so I finally took her to the emergency room," said Curtis.
Curtis' daughter was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes and flown to Batson Children's Hospital in Jackson. Dr. Jessica Lilley, is a Pediatric Endocrinologist in Tupelo. She says with Type 1 Diabetes, the pancreas doesn't produce insulin. Lilley says sometimes children are misdiagnosed with the flu or a stomach virus. She says it's important to check blood glucose levels and urine.
"For now there's no cure but there's a very effective treatment that's insulin injections with every meal and then one that lasts all day to just cover the basic bodily functions. And so there's nothing a person can do to prevent it and there's nothing a person can do to cause it," said Lilley.
Lilley says some children die without proper treatment. Robyn Curtis says her daughter is doing fine now. She has a small insulin pump to control her blood sugar.
