A normal kid with type 1 diabetes

Learning to test your blood sugar, give yourself an insulin shot, or count carbohydrates isn’t average curriculum for a first grader. But it’s been standard protocol for 17-year-old La Cañada High School senior Remy De Brauwere since she and her family learned the then-6-year-old had type 1 diabetes.

Remy credits her supportive family, helpful physician and the knowledgeable staff at Childrens Hospital of Los Angeles with keeping her on track for a healthy life, despite the autoimmune disease that destroyed insulin producing beta cells in her pancreas.

“The diabetes changed my life, but I’m glad it happened at the age it did, because I wouldn’t want to have to change my whole lifestyle and begin this regime at my age,” she said. “Most kids my age drink sugared soda and do things that you’d hate to have to give up. It’s pretty natural for me to live this way now.”

Type 1 diabetes is the disease formerly known as childhood or juvenile diabetes. It can affect adults; however, many adults have been misdiagnosed as having Type 2 diabetes because there was a misconception that Type 1 diabetes only was contracted by children.

The primary difference in the two is that Type 1 diabetes destroys insulin producing cells, while many Type 2 diabetics are able to produce insulin internally and have some degree of insulin resistance. That’s why diet and exercise help reverse or prevent Type 2 diabetes; whereas, there is no preventive measure that can be taken against Type 1 diabetes, according to the National Institutes of Health website.

The disease affects people who are otherwise healthy and of average weight when the onset occurs, but weight loss can occur rapidly if not diagnosed in a relatively short amount of time, according to the American Diabetes Assn. website.

That’s what happened with Remy. She began losing weight, feeling thirsty all the time, tired, and sick, she said.

She also developed breath that her mom, Cindy DeBrauwere described as “like the smell of sugary fingernail polish.”

The symptoms escalated when the then-6-year-old attended a friend’s birthday party. “I was really thirsty, so I kept drinking juice. I didn’t realize the sugar in the juice was making it worse. So, I got really sick and started throwing up. I was so embarrassed and I didn’t have any fun at that party,” Remy said.

Cindy De Brauwere is familiar with Type 1 diabetes. Her dad and his twin brother both had it, as did his mother, a cousin and other relatives. “I always knew my dad had diabetes, but I never really thought about why we all ate so healthy. Then I thought when [the disease] skipped my generation I didn’t need to worry about it. I wasn’t expecting it,” she said.

When Remy was diagnosed, her parents, Cindy and Dan De Brauwere, began learning everything they could about Type 1 diabetes. Fortunately, neither of Remy’s siblings, Vivian, now-21, and Davis, now-19, have the disease, Cindy De Brauwere said, adding that she’s relied on her husband’s support throughout dealing with Remy’s diabetes. “I don’t know how a single parent would get through it all.”

Knowledge and support from Childrens Hospital also has been instrumental.

“When you’re first diagnosed you’re at the whim of your doctor. You don’t really know what you’re dealing with, and you just hope they do,” Cindy De Brauwere said.

Getting sent to Childrens Hospital for treatment was a godsend, she added. “Going from a practitioner to someone who specializes is like light and day. One of the nice thing about Childrens is that it’s a research hospital so they are constantly trying to find ways to deal with [diseases]. To lengthen the phases, or delay the onset. It’s exciting being part of not just a clinic, but also the research side.”

Childrens Hospital physician Lynda Fisher also has been helpful and supportive of her patient, Cindy De Brauwere said. “It’s so nice because Dr. Fisher lives right here in our area and that has been wonderful for us because she has been there several times when we needed her.”

Once, when Remy had problems with a pump for her insulin — the instrument that is programmed to deliver small amounts of insulin every couple of minutes to her body — Fisher happened to have a spare one in her car and was able to quickly provide it to the youth, without the expected 24-hour wait to order one. It’s also been comforting to have her doctor nearby in case of any problems associated with the disease, Remy said.

Childrens Hospital has helped Remy feel OK about herself, through a camp the youth attended during the first several summers of her treatment. Remy said attending the hospital’s Camp Conrad-Chinook, in the San Bernardino Mountains helped her associate with other campers and counseling staff that also had diabetes. “It was great to see that the other kids and counselors also had it and were able to have fun and live with it just fine,” she said.

Although it has been difficult at times, Remy said, she’s able to live a fairly normal life. She plays soccer, enjoys writing and history and is planning to attend college next year.

“All I ever wanted was to be normal, and Childrens Hospital has allowed me to do that,” she said.