A single mom whose young son had just been diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes got some unexpected help from caregivers at Sevier Valley Hospital Orthopedics. The mom was at the clinic for her post-operative visit. As she sat in the waiting room with her 4-year-old son, he began feeling very fatigued and sleepy.
The mom was still learning how to manage her son’s diabetes and how to use his blood sugar machine. She could tell something was wrong, but she wasn’t sure what was happening or how to respond. It didn’t help that she was recovering from surgery and not feeling well. Caregivers at the front desk asked if everything was OK.
“The mom had tested her son’s blood sugar several times and wasn’t getting a reading,” says Kjersten Lund, patient service rep. “She was starting to get panicky, wondering why the test wasn’t working correctly.”
Veronica Dearden
Kjersten sought out help from Veronica Dearden, a medical assistant who previously worked at Cedar City Hospital in med/surg for 16 years. Veronica went into the waiting room to talk with the mom. She says she could see the child wasn’t acting like himself and was abnormally tired.
“The mom thought maybe something was wrong with the blood sugar machine,” Veronica says. “Instead of giving a reading with a number, the display showed a double arrow high. I recognized this meant the blood sugar level was above 450 and wouldn’t register.”
Veronica says she used some critical thinking and immediately knew how to help.
“I knew if we got him to run around and drink some water, it would break down his sugars and get him feeling better,” she says. “I’ve seen this a lot in adolescents when their sugar is too high and they get tired and grumpy. Moving or exercising helps break down the sugars and then drinking water helps flush it out.”
Even though the boy was a little grumpy, Veronica encouraged him to get up and play tag with her. Within 10 minutes he started to smile and drank some water.
“Fortunately, our waiting room wasn’t busy, because we kept running around for a good 25 minutes,” she says. “The mom gave him half a dose of insulin and then tested him and gave him another half dose before they left.”
While the mom was in a patient room for her appointment, Veronica asked Suzanne Seng, medical assistant, if she’d take the boy to the back of the clinic into a conference room and let him run around with her.
“Thank goodness we were paying attention,” Kjersten says. “We’d seen this mom and her son before her surgery and we knew this wasn’t normal for him. Our patients are like family to us.”
Veronica says she has a lot of compassion and empathy for the single mom.
“She’d been through a lot in the past weeks with her surgery and her son’s diagnosis,” Veronica says. “A diabetes diagnosis is a lot of information for one person to take in. I’ve seen parents get overwhelmed. It’s a major life change.”
Fortunately, both the mom and son are doing better today, she says. “We saw them recently and her son is just a happy little boy,” says Veronica. “The mom has started to get a better handle on his treatment. She’s grateful we were able to help.”
“Veronica is not only an amazing caregiver, but she is an awesome person and friend, says Reagan Fails, physician assistant. “She is so good with people and makes them feel comfortable.”
“I appreciate the special attention and concern our caregivers have for our patients and their families,” says Rosalyn Dalley, practice manager. “This was a great team effort to help a little boy in need while his mother was being cared for by our provider.”
Ben Robinson, MD, an orthopedic surgeon at the clinic, adds, “I’m extremely proud of this team. These caregivers recognized a problem and acted immediately to help this boy and his very concerned mother. Their actions are exemplary.”