A pregnancy test saved my life

Brad probably put it best when he said that a pregnancy test saved my life.

I thought I had the stomach flu. It seemed to have been holding on too long and I was miserable so my husband convinced me to call the doctor. Luckily, they could fit me in that same morning.

Of course being a newlywed, 22-year-old female, they gave me a routine pregnancy test. Not only did they find out I wasn’t pregnant, they found that I had a life-threatening condition. I had severe diabetic ketoacidosis and dehydration. The glucose in my urine registered at 2,000 and my ketones at 160 (80 is considered high, 0 is normal).

The doctor sent me directly to the hospital where they kept me for three days and pumped me full of fluids, insulin and potassium through an IV.

My pancreas had stopped working and I had been experiencing the symptoms of my type 1 diabetes for weeks, but we attributed my symptoms to other things not even considering that I might be diabetic.

Life has completely changed for me since my hospital stay. My schedule, diet, exercise routine and frame of mind are totally different now. But thankfully, I still have a life that can be changed. It’s very possible that I could have tried to just sleep off my stomach bug and never woken up.

I owe my life to peeing in a cup.