Braeden is OK - Home from PICU

Several of you have heard that Braeden was hospitalized last night.  He is well and at home tonight following his discharge from the Step Down PICU at our hometown hospital.  Braeden was received at the ER last night after we discovered that he may have received a single, unprompted dose via pump of roughly 30 units of insulin, which is 3 to 4 times his daily dose. 

In one sense, insulin offsets carbohydrate in order to keep blood glucose levels normal.  Imagine a lop-sided seesaw with carbs on one side and insulin on the other.  Considering Braeden's specific insulin-to-carb ratio, it would have taken nearly 1000 grams of carbohydrate to balance the dose of insulin we suspect he received.

The ER staff worked very efficiently to stabilize Braeden.  His BG never dropped below 30, and he never lost consciousness.  The ER staff administered glucagon, D50 solution boluses and drip, and carb-rich foods.  Around 1:00 am, he was moved to the intensive care unit, where he finally got some rest.  He continued to receive an 80 mL/hr D50 drip through the night (a meal's worth of carb/sugar each hour!).  Signaling a return to normalcy, the use of insulin therapy was finally resumed this morning, roughly 12 hours after Braeden entered the ER.

Friends (whom we so deeply love and appreciate) sprang into action to help.  Thank you, friends, for staying with Adam and Jill all night so that we could both be at hospital with Braeden.  Braeden's pediatrician was a saint, making calls ahead of Braeden's arrival at the ER to prepare the doctor and hasten treatment.  Each person involved remained so positive and did exactly what needed to be done.

We will spend the coming days working with the pump supplier to determine what may have happened to cause this overdose.  We need to do everything we can to ensure this never happens to anyone again.  The pediatrician made it clear that, if Braeden had not received such good care promptly, this would have been fatal for Braeden.