Daughter becomes mother's cause for juvenile diabetes

INDIAN RIVER COUNTY - Sandie Kelly learned about juvenile diabetes the hard way.

Her 12-year-old daughter Shannon died suddenly on June 13 from the disease, and now Kelly is on a mission to make sure it doesn't happen to someone else's child.

"She had none of the usual symptoms," she said. "When my husband called me from the emergency room and said Shannon was in a diabetic coma, I just couldn't believe it."

Type 1 diabetes, which affects almost 3 million people in the U.S., occurs when the body's immune system attacks and destroys the pancreas' insulin producing cells. Without enough of the hormone, the body can't convert the sugars and starches in food to energy. Treatment usually involves daily shots of insulin throughout life.

Carol Lehoullier, a registered nurse at the Sebastian River Medical Center's Diabetes and Cardiac/Pulmonary Rehabilitation program, said Type 1 diabetes can strike without warning.

"Unfortunately, that's how a lot of people find out they have diabetes," said Lehoullier. "It comes on very suddenly and they become completely insulin dependent. They get very sick, very quickly and, many times, the symptoms are so vague they don't recognize them."

Kelly said her daughter had been complaining for several days about fatigue and back pain.

"When we called her doctor, they said probably picked up virus and we should make sure she had lots of fluids so she didn't dehydrate," Kelly said.

But when the family noticed a change in the child's breathing on June 13, they called 911 and paramedics on the way to Indian River Medical Center noticed a sweet smell on the child's breath, often a telltale sign. Despite heroic efforts and a helicopter flight to St. Mary's Hospital in West Palm Beach, Shannon died.

"The doctors at St. Mary's said that they see about 200 cases like this each year," said Kelly. "And only one child doesn't make it."

Symptoms of Type 1 diabetes include fatigue, thirst, extreme hunger, weight loss, weakness, nausea and vomiting and there is often a family history of the disease. In Shannon's case, a second cousin had it but there are no other close relatives who suffered from it.

The awareness of the disease hasn't made it any easier for Kelly, her husband Terry and daughter Melissa and son Teke to accept the idea that Shannon is gone. "Shannon was such an awesome girl," said Kelly. "She loved writing stories and drawing pictures. I know she would have gone far in the world."