"You need to go to the Children's Hospital in Temple, now. They have a room ready for Jackie and are waiting for you to get there. Jackie's blood sugar is 603. Pack a bag for her and you'll need one too, they will at least keep her overnight." Is what my mom heard from my doctor on Wednesday May 1, 2012. We had gone to the doctor earlier that same day for my ankles and my regular doctor had run some blood tests to check for something to explain why my ankles were swelling so bad. One of those tests was a standard blood sugar test. I am only 17 and still considered a minor so I had to be taken to the closest children's hospital, which was 45 mins away. My mother and I were at the high school, where I go and she teaches Spanish, getting ready for prom that weekend when she got that call. We left right away and picked up my father at home. We got to the hospital and I was admitted within about 8 mins. Let me just say, I have always been extremely afraid of needles and an IV needle is quite big. They wheeled me up to a room in the central hospital where I spent the next 3 days. The first thing my mom told my doctors was "She has her junior prom on Saturday, will she be able to go?" They said they would do everything they could to get me out. Within those 3 days they took like 14 vials of blood from me for different tests. My diabetes nurse was really nice and helpful, he was actually a diabetic too. He taught us how to give me shots and told us all about carbs. On that Friday I was released at about 4 PM and sent home to get ready for my prom. I went to prom with my date Jacob (in my picture) and a couple of my friends and had a great time.

Jackie Horn
Taylor, TX