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ketones

S

scotts mum

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Good evening
I am Scott's mum. He is now 11 years old and has had diabetes type 1 since he was 4. We have just come out of hospital as he was very ill and vomiting and got ketones (for the first time). We are back home now. but I am in bits with the way he was teated and all the things they did wrong that I need to share with someone.
 
Gosh Scott's mum and welcome to the forum.

We're more than willing to listen and offer advice. Hopefully you'll find our shoulders are a comfortable place to offload your problems.

Regards, Tubs.
 
Thank you. Trying very hard to be strong for him, but finding it difficult. The doctors and nurses in there seemed to know nothing about diabetics, tried doing blood samples from thumb and first finger, took blood from his big toe. squeezed it hard when it wouldnt bleed enough, even tried putting a line in his foot, which didnt work , but which they didnt stop trying until 4 attempts had failed! His foot is now a complete mess with bad openings from needles and bruising! Apart from being a diabetic he is also a child! I am having difficulty coping emotionally with there treatment of him!
 
It does sound awful for both of you and one hell of a shock. The Diabetic Ketoacidosis might have caused problems with Scott's veins which could be why they had problems getting a line in. You'll appreciate that their first priority would be to get that line in and start hydrating Scott before things got any worse.

You're probably aware, by now, of the risks presented by DKA and although the treatment appeared clumsy I'm sure the staff were doing their best to save Scott's life - he's one fortunate lad.

You and Scott are going to have to take extra special care of his foot until it heals.

Regards, Tubs.
 
Hi Scott's Mum,
Sounds like you've had an awful time. Were Scott's diabetes team not involved in any way? We have been told that in the event of an unexpected admission to the Ward, we are entitled to ask for the diabetes nurses and consultant to be paged if we are in any way concerned about the care being received.

There is no excuse for ignorance of diabetes on the ward, though unfortunately it exists - my older daughter was forced into a hypo on diagnosis, when I was too ignorant to realise what was happening. The Consultant later apologised for it and said they 'should have known better on the ward'. Would it be worth raising the issue with Scott's diabetes team now you are home? It sounds to me like there needs to be some education going on for the ward nurses and registrars etc. And you might get an apology and some reassurance that it will not happen to Scott again, in the event that he needs to be admitted again.
Best wishes,
Sue
 
Hi scotts mum

what a shock for you and your son..

I assuming that they were giving saline either via standard IV drip or sliding scale... At times it isn't always possible to insert the drip into what we would percieve to be the usual place the arm, there can be several reasons for this... from the arm viens not being stable enough, and at times the patient being confused and in danger of pulling the drip.. If for any reason that the arm isn't the best choice then the foot area is the next they generaly use, but can be just has difficult to insert the drip... Hence the bruisng and requiring several attempts to achieve.

Because when the body goes into DKA it becomes dehydrated very quick and will need rehydrating very quickly, it is also common practice to use insulin either saline IV and/ora a sliding scale...

I've watched many a medic obtaining a BG from me or another person and it does look very gack handed indeed, and yes they do tend to go for the forefinger or thumbs more so as they find it easier to line up there BG strips with the blood drop... They would have needed to obtain a BG so that they could treat the DKA effectively and quickly... so if they couldn't manage this the toes would be the next place that would stress him the least...

It is frighten when your child is ill, and you have a bunch of strangers doing different things to your child, that perhaps you don't understand fully why, and they are not explaining why they are doing what they are doing to reasure you that it's going to be ok... then disappearing to the next patient, and sending you and your son onto one of the hospital ward... So it's natural to feel upset and confused by it all..

But you've found us lot here, and we are more than happy to listen, support and offer advise along the way...

I hope you and your son are coming to terms with this difficult experience and will be able to put it behind you very soom

Take care

Jo
 
while we were in there I did every one of Scotts blood sugar tests, usung his own equipment as they did not seem to know what they were doing, and their finger prickers are set to the maximum for adults and he is a child.I did ring the diabetic nurse for advice but as it was on Sunday i just got her answer machine and the clinic which we attend was closed, so there was no diabetic advice on hand.
 
I would raise it now with the Diabetes clinic, and find out if, like us, you are entitled to ask for the Scott's diabetes consultant to be contacted if you are concerned and you cannot get hold of the diabetes nurse because it is after hours. At least then you will know where you stand if he needs to be admitted again.

Even when the staff know what they are doing it can be very traumatic. On two occasions my younger daughter has had such a bad time having IV's inserted (for operations) that the registrars have been left shaken and traumatised too. It is horrible, I really sympathise.
Sue
 
Thanks Sue, I think I just needed to talk. Scott seems fine about it, but it keeps going round in my head and I cant stop crying. I feel so helpless.
 
Not what one would expect indeed...

I would ring the hospital PALS team and express your concerns, as they can help in many ways... And if as you say that there wasn't a diabetic trained medical person that could attend out of office hours (rather than someone didn't use there nogging and call them) then you might be able to get this implemented..

The PALS office are very good, don't worry they are not baised at all, they are separate from the hospital, and will act as your acvocate in the capacity that you are happy with...

I have used this service myself and found it very good indeed...

As I think that you really need the answers to the whys and the why nots...
 
It even came down to silly things like the nurses put sugar on his rice krispies in the morning for breakfast! I just felt so alone! Thanks for the replies I really appreciate someone is out there! X
 
Hello Scotts Mum.

It's just the most awful thing to be so helpless when it come to the ones we love, especially our children. I'm a terrible mother to deal with when my son is ill, and he's a strapping 23 year old six footer! That feeling of helplessness and crying when actually everything turned out ok is hard to deal with. I know, I've been there. We nearly lost our Dad in a prolonged and traumatic way, but he survived and is alive and kicking. I, however, am still struggling to cope with it. During the height of his illness, I broke down and howled like he had died. My GP has referred me for a bit of in-house counselling. It was comforting to know that this sort of reaction is more common than previously thought.

I have started to help myself by writing the whole story down, bit by bit. I also go over and over the situation with anyone who will listen (poor b*ggers) and the rest of the family. I recognise that I still feel this way and that it won't always be like this. I also have a good old laugh and joke with Dad, but try to avoid crying with laughter as this can often leave me howling again!

I hope just a bit of this may be helpful to you. Keep telling us everything you want to. Get it out there if it helps. Don't fret that we may want to hear it over and over, not one person on this forum is forced to stay here or read one single post. I've never met or spoken to any of the cracking contributers here, but they often come up in conversation and they motivate me in my journey.

with much love and as many virtual hugs as you can bear....

wiflib
 
Thank you for the hugs, im still embracing them! I feel such anomosity towards the 2 doctors who messed up the lines and couldnt do them properly,and put my child through pain, I want to tell them they need to go back to med school and practice and that my son is a child and not a piece of meat! I know I shouldnt be thinking this but this is how I feel! I dont want to feel this way but I cant help it.
 
Hi Scott's mum
Some of those healhcare professionals are plain useless. luckily, there are some good ones about.
I understnd your problem . I have a t1 husband, who has just had an inpatient session and I've just finished writing to the hospital with my grumbles about his care.
It must be so much worse with a child who doesn't understand when they hurt him.
Hug him loads and help him to keep the best possible control. at his age, he knows nothing else and is old enough to be taking quite a lot of responsibility ( with your support of course).Empowering him is probably the best plan.
 
Hi, thank you for the replies, I do feel better today,still a bit weepy but not as bad!I think it helped just letting it out and writing it down. Scott seems fine today, it doesnt seem possible a few days ago he was so ill with drips in. At home he does all his own blood tests and injections, he just couldnt in hospital because of the drips he couldnt bend his arms.
Thank you all from the bottom of my heart for your support and love and hugs that have come through! X
 
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