What Happened To Ariel?

This story aired on Dateline (NBC), Sunday January 29, 2006.

Here is a transcript - http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11092139/

This hits close to home since I am a certified diabetes educator. We teach "If your child vomits, doesn't matter what you think the cause, you check for ketones. If moderate to large, you call the doctor".

Doesn't matter how much insulin is in the home, if it isn't used, it doesn't work. And it is only good for 1 month after the bottle is opened. So open bottles around the home doesn't mean that it's being used (they could be "old").

Yes, you can "cheat" (sneaking candy and eating/drinking excessive carbs) enough to keep blood glucose elevated. But if you are checking blood glucose and providing the appropriate coverage, then you can keep out of ketoacidosis. And we teach families how to give extra insulin when blood glucose level is higher than target, or when someone wants to eat extra carbs.

Children with diabetes shouldn't die from diabetic ketoacidosis if their family is monitoring blood glucose and providing insulin.

For more information:

www.diabetes.org

www.childrenwithdiabetes.com

www.jdrf.org

www.diabetesnv.org

http://www.dlife.com/