HARRISON, Maine — Every year, 1.4 million Americans are diagnosed with diabetes. Type 1 diabetes, a lifelong disease with no cure, affects about 1 in 400 children.
For some children, a diagnosis comes only after they experience a potentially life-threatening condition, known as diabetic ketoacidosis, or DKA. That's what happened recently to a 15-month-old girl from Harrison. Now, the community is rallying around the family of Maci Knox, who are providing around-the-clock care for a lifelong disease that has no cure.
Steve and Sam Knox will never forget watching their daughter Maci fade away before their very eyes.
"She was working so hard to breathe. She really couldn't wake up anymore. She had started going out of it," Sam, Maci's mother, said.
Last month, after Maci woke up with breathing problems, her parents took her to a local hospital. Doctors initially thought it was a lung infection. The next day, the toddler was worse. She was becoming unresponsive, and her lips were turning blue as her parents rushed her back to the hospital.
"As a parent you know, sorry, just looking at her, is she going to die?" Maci's mom recalled, fighting back tears.
Tests revealed Maci had diabetic ketoacidosis, or DKA, a serious, life-threatening condition that can lead to diabetic coma or even death.
DKA can happen to anyone with diabetes, and it is most common among patients with type 1 diabetes. DKA is caused by an overload of ketones, created when fat is broken down for energy in the blood. Maci's parents say there is no family history of diabetes, so the diagnosis took them by surprise.
According to the American Diabetes Association, more than half of the time when a child is first diagnosed with diabetes, it's because they are experiencing DKA.
"Her uncontrolled sugars had been brewing for so long and we didn't know about it her body started fighting itself, as a last resort the brain kind of shuts down, to preserve what it can," Sam explained.
The little girl was comatose when she was rushed by ambulance to Barbara Bush Children's Hospital, where she spent five days in the pediatric intensive care unit.
"Somebody that young, you can't imagine they'd have to go through something like that," Steve, Maci's dad, said.
Maci's parents say there is no family history of diabetes, so Maci's diagnosis of type 1 diabetes took them by surprise. The disease can be treated with insulin, and Maci responded well and regained consciousness.
Meanwhile, her parents are doing everything they can to keep Maci safe at home while also caring for two boys, 7-year-old Kroy and 4-year-old Arlo. Sam, who is a nurse, said that requires checking and monitoring Maci's sugars 24 hours a day.
Maci also receives injections throughout the day before big meals, and she's also been fitted with a pump that delivers insulin throughout the day via a small tube just under the skin.
Sam had previously cut back her work schedule to make sure Arlo, who has autism, gets to a special needs preschool and therapy treatments.
A GoFundMe has been set up to help the family deal with a mountain of hospital and medical bills.
"The response has been incredible and we are super grateful for any help anybody can give us," Steve said.
Generosity from friends to strangers is easing the financial burden on this family, ensuring their little girl is on the right path to managing a lifelong disease.
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