Melbourne mum Kimmie will never forget the terrifying moment she found her daughter Priya laying unresponsive on the playroom floor.
“It was like her soul was leaving her body … she was lifeless,” Kimmie told 7NEWS.com.au.
The three-year-old had recently had her tonsils and adenoids (a patch of lymphoid tissue that sits at the back of the nasal passage) removed, but not long after, mum knew something wasn’t quite right.
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“She was not bouncing back the way she was meant to,” Kimmie said.
Priya began wetting through her nappies, vomiting frequently, stopped talking and was very lethargic.
“When we talked to her, she would look at us. It was like she was looking through us,” Kimmie said.
“It was awful.”
The playroom was the tipping point. Kimmie rushed Priya to hospital on October 22, 2023, with doctors initially suspecting the toddler must have picked up a virus while recovering from surgery (from her tonsils and adenoids).
Kimmie had “absolutely no idea” what was coming next.
“It was when they finger pricked her and the nurse’s demeanour just completely changed,” Kimmie said.
“Her (nurse) body got really rigid, and she just looked at me and said, ‘Has she had a lot of sweets today?’ and I was like, ‘I told you, she hasn’t eaten anything’ and she’s like, ‘You need to grab her, grab her stuff and go’.”
Within minutes, they were rushed into the ICU, where Kimmie was told Priya was in diabetic ketoacidosis — a life-threatening side effect of Type 1 diabetes.
The serious condition occurs when a lack of insulin causes the body to break down fat as fuel, which produces a build up of acids in the bloodstream called ketones.
If left untreated, diabetic ketoacidosis can lead to loss of consciousness and death.
“To go from thinking, ‘Yeah, she’s just picked something up from your surgery to she might die and here’s this lifelong diagnosis you’re going to have to deal with if she survives’ it wasn’t easy to take in,” Kimmie said.
“It felt very surreal, like it was happening outside my body.”
Priya spent about 15 hours in ICU and went on to spend five days in hospital as she recovered.
“We’re just also so grateful that the doctors did what they did, and we’re really lucky and grateful that Priya bounced back as soon as insulin started doing its thing,” Kimmie said.
Priya’s diagnosis reshaped Kimmie and dad Chet’s worlds completely, as the family underwent an intensive crash course in diabetes management.
A strict diet, carb counting, regular finger pricks and daily injections are part of their ‘new normal’.
It was a lot to take in, Kimmie said.
“On top of the trauma of almost losing her,” she added.
During Priya’s stay in hospital, the Starlight Foundation provided support for the family.
“Once she was well enough, and we were on the ward, we were able to go to the Starlight Room every day,” Kimmie said.
“It was just such a breath of fresh air for Priya and for ourselves to not worry about what had just happened and what we were going through.
“It was just such a wonderful experience because on the inside, we were in pain, and we were breaking apart and to see her happy for a few moments like that was great.”
Signs and symptoms
The Melbourne family wants others to be aware of the signs and symptoms of Type 1 diabetes.
“Signs and symptoms of Type 1 just aren’t highly publicised among the community,” Kimmie said.
“Not once, when we saw a doctor, did they ever say, ‘Hey, let’s finger prick her just to be sure what her blood glucose levels are.’
“We were never told that information.”
Type 1 diabetes symptoms can appear suddenly and often include being thirstier and hungrier than usual, urinating more often, unexplained weight loss and feeling unusually tired, according to Health Direct.
Kimmie turned to social media to help manage the stress, creating an Instagram page (@priya_roses_t1d_journey) to share the family’s journey.
“The first six months were really rough,” she said.
“It was almost like learning how to live a new life, and we learned how to run on very little sleep.”
But shouldering the stress is worth it to keep Priya living a normal life, she said.
“She’s amazing. The rest of us are exhausted all the time, but she’s back to being a normal, healthy kid,” Kimmie said.
“No two days are the same, and it’s all very tricky and complex, but that’s on us as parents to wear the brunt of that toughness and let her be a kid.”
Priya’s family are sharing their story in support of Starlight’s Super Swim Challenge, powered by Speedo which kicks off in February and aims to raise $7 million to help brighten the lives of 180,000 sick kids. Register at superswim.org.au.
