Something was wrong. As Maggie Pope watched her 7-year-old daughter Abby grow increasingly fatigued, her parental intuition told her that this wasn’t a minor illness. Abby already had a pediatrician’s appointment scheduled for two days later, but Maggie became concerned that this could be related to blood sugar. Maggie explained the situation to Atrium Health Primary Care Davidson Clinic, and pediatrician Dr. Nancy Tarte skipped her lunch break to see Abby as soon as possible.
“The doctor’s office could have said that Abby already had an appointment, so we’ll just see her Wednesday,” Maggie says. “But they didn’t. They listened to my intuition, and they had compassion.”
Abby wasn’t just tired. Tests revealed something far more serious: Abby’s blood glucose levels were so high that it was a clear-cut case of type 1 diabetes. Maggie was right.
“Dr. Tarte was very gentle,” Maggie says. “She looked Abby in the eyes and said, ‘Abby, you have a disease, and it’s called diabetes. It’s going to feel scary for the next few days, but you’re going to get through this, and you’re going to be in good care.’”
Tarte called Atrium Health Levine Children’s Hospital to prepare them for Abby’s arrival. By the time the Popes arrived at the hospital later that day, Abby’s room was ready, pediatric endocrinologist Lisa Houchin, MD was expecting her and a plan was in place. This quick action was a result of a mom who listened to her gut and a pediatrician who listened to a mom.
“Parents know when something isn’t right,” Tarte says. “They have that radar with their kids.”
‘Diabetes College’ at the Hospital
About 1.45 million people in the United States have type 1 diabetes, and it’s becoming increasingly common. With this condition, the pancreas doesn’t make enough – or any – insulin, causing sugar to build up in the blood. It’s an autoimmune condition, and it has no connection to diet or activity. Early symptoms can include fatigue, thirst, frequent urination and unexpected weight loss. Without treatment, type 1 diabetes can become life-threatening.
“Type 1 diabetes can seem to happen out of the blue,” Tarte says. “When it does, it causes a dramatic change.”
Abby stayed in Levine Children’s Hospital for three days. The second day, a nurse educator spent the day with her and her mom teaching them about type 1 diabetes and how to manage it. Maggie called it their “diabetes college.”
“The nurse sat with us and talked us through everything, every situation that I could come up with in my mom brain,” Maggie says. “What I appreciated was that the nurse wasn’t just educating me; she was educating Abby, too. This is a lifelong chronic disease, and while I’m Abby’s caregiver now, I want to make sure she’s successful at managing this as an adult.”
Maggie says that the hospital stay has become a “sweet memory” for Abby, largely due to the staff who were so kind to her, bringing her whatever would make her smile: a Nintendo Switch, sand art projects, coloring books and stuffed animals. Her family would come to snuggle in bed with her and watch movies together. Soon, those moments became a powerful kind of medicine, and they left more of an impression on Abby than the finger pricks did.
The Trust Between a Family and their Doctors
The close relationship between the Popes and Tarte began years ago. Abby is the third of four children, and all of the Pope kids are Tarte’s patients. But the relationship extends back even further: When Maggie grew up, she went to Atrium Health Primary Care Davidson Clinic, too. The mutual trust between her family and the practice has become a multi-generational relationship.
“We’re fortunate to have them,” Maggie says. “I truly feel that when I bring my kiddos to the doctor that they’re going to give me the best advice that my kids need in that moment.”
That trust was especially important when Maggie and her husband reconsidered a beach trip that was scheduled to begin shortly after Abby’s hospital stay. Abby’s doctors encouraged the family to keep their lives as normal as possible, that they had the tools to manage her diabetes. The Popes went on vacation, where – for the first time – Abby had to apply what she learned about managing diabetes, even when it meant she had to make different food decisions than her cousins and siblings.
Now the family-doctor relationship includes Houchin, too. At Atrium Health Levine Children’s Endocrinology & Diabetes, they’re in the process of fitting Abby for a pump that can deliver a steady dose of insulin and make diabetes management easier for her.
“Abby’s so excited that she just got her pump in time for the holidays,” Maggie says. “Even though she will still have to carb count, she will now be able to discreetly administer insulin with a simple click of a few buttons, rather than through needles.”
As the season of gratitude and giving grows near, one of the things that Tarte is grateful for is Maggie’s quick thinking and advocacy for her daughter.
“Parents need to listen to their gut. The worst thing that can happen is that you bring a child in for a doctor’s appointment and everything’s fine,” Tarte says. “It’s worth it to respond to the intuition that you have about your own child.”
Learn more about pediatric endocrinology care for children with type 1 diabetes.
