If It's Not One Thing, It's Another

Yesterday was my day off and I was all set to run a few errands, get some laundry and cleaning taken care of and then to just relax and enjoy the rest of the day.
That did not happen.............

The day started as usual with me getting her up and then taking her to school. However, Barry called about the time we were leaving and asked if he could take her to school instead of me, as he does sometimes on my days off. I had not gotten far from the house when he called, so I just met him and he took her to school. No big deal, but just a change in our normal routine.

So I came back home, checked some emails, started the laundry and jumped in the shower. I then got myself ready to get my errands done. But then my phone rang, it was Lindsey calling from school. It seems that after one of her classes she was getting up to head to her next class when she got really dizzy and sick to her stomach. She was so dizzy that she nearly fell and the teacher caught her. He asked if she had eaten anything and she told him that she had not. So he made her stay there and he went to get her a banana. She ate part of it, but was still very dizzy. He suggested that she go to the office. A couple of her friends had to help her up there.
The nurse in the sick room thought that her blood sugar was low and gave her some juice and candy. This is when they called me. So I head to the school to pick her up thinking that she has caught some bug going around and after it runs its course, she'd be fine.
When I got there she was in the sick room. Pale as a ghost and very upset. She was still very dizzy and nauseous. I don't think I've ever seen her that pale. She was so dizzy that I had to help her to the car. So off to the emergency room we went.
We got there, got her checked in and saw the triage nurse. The nurse seemed to think that she had an ear infection. I, however knew that it was more than that. Heaven knows that we have been down that road enough to know. Both of my kids have had plenty of experience with ear infections. Lindsey has had tubes put in her ears three times, the last time being in 2006. With the tubes still in place, I knew that she would have drainage from her ears if they were infected. I began to get concerned.
The Dr. came in to examine her. He said that her ears and throat looked fine. Her chest sounded fine and she had no fever. He said that they needed to do some blood and urine test. So we waited for someone from the lab to come. In the meantime, the ER nurse asked Lindsey to give her a urine sample, which she could not do. Nothing........not a drop. Granted she had gone right after we got there, but still not a drop. (I know I can go and five minutes later go at least a little). Then a nurse from the lab came in to draw some blood. She checked her arms and started to try to get the blood. She stuck Lindsey's arm and could not get any blood. She tried moving the needle around to get it, but still nothing. Fearing that this is hurting Lindsey, she says that she will try another vein. She pulls the needle out and believe it or not, it didn't even bleed, not a bit. How on earth can you get stuck in the arm and not bleed. The nurse tried again and finally got the blood that she needed. They had to give her some water to drink before she could give them the urine sample.
It took awhile for them to get the test completed and Lindsey was able to take a little nap while waiting.
Finally, the Dr. came back in and said that her blood was fine. No Anemia, no Diabetes, no Urinary Tract Infection. The only thing that showed up was Ketones.
Ketones are produced when the body burns fat for energy or fuel. They are also produced when you lose weight or there is not enough insulin to help your body use sugar for energy. Without enough insulin, glucose builds up in the blood. Since the body is unable to use glucose for energy, it breaks down fat instead. When this occurs, ketones form in the blood and spill into the urine. These ketones can make you very sick.
The Dr. began asking about Lindsey's routine and if she was trying to loose weight. Which she has. She has lost 20pounds in about 4 months. I knew that she was loosing weight and she seemed to be doing it the right way. She has cut out the junk. No soft drinks or candy and she has cut the portion sizes way down of the things that she does eat. All the things I wish I could do. The problem is, that in the last month she has started volleyball conditioning again. So 3 days a week she is exercising and running alot and although this has helped her to loose weight, it has been hard on her body. She has seen the weight loss and liked it, so she started eating less and less to lose even more. She has been skipping breakfast, eating very little for lunch and then eating dinner (the meal I actually see her eat).
The Dr. says that she should take a multi vitamin and drink lots of fluids. He told her to drink Gatorade when she is in volleyball. And of course, she needs to eat.
That was my day off........................
Please, keep us in your prayers that this incident has shown Lindsey the importance of proper nutrition. I sure hope it has.