My Brave Girl

"Mommy, I'm thirsty!" called Macy for the third time that night.

"Didn't you just take her a glass of water a couple of hours ago?" Henry asked his wife.

"Yes." Christie couldn't keep the alarm out of her voice. "I sure hope nothing's wrong!"

She took another glass of water to Macy, and the little girl gulped it down, just like she had the other two.

The next morning, Lacy was cheerful and energetic as usual, but Macy could hardly keep her eyes open. She had to go to the bathroom twice while she was eating breakfast.

"You're not going to child care today," Christie told her. "I'm taking you to Dr. Jenkins. Something must be wrong if you have to keep drinking water and going to the bathroom so much."

Macy primped up as if she were about to start crying. "But I don't wanna go!" she whined. "What if I get a shot?"

Christie sighed. "I know you don't like shots, but seeing Dr. Jenkins is the only way to find out if something's wrong with you. If we don't go see him, you'll only get sicker."

"But I'm not sick, Mommy!" Macy protested.

"You need to see Dr. Jenkins so you won't get sick," her mother told her. "We'll stop at the store and buy you something nice when it's over."

Macy sighed. "All right."

At the doctor's, Macy was weighed, her temperature was taken, and her finger was stuck.

"What a brave girl!" said Christie. "You didn't cry at all!"

Several minutes later, Dr. Jenkins entered the exam room with a grave expression on his face.

"Macy's blood sugar level is over 500 milligrams per deciliter," he told Christie. "I'm admitting her to the hospital right away. She'll have to stay there for a few days until it's under control."

Macy started crying.

"Are you saying she's diabetic?" asked Christie.

"That's exactly what I'm saying."

"Oh, no!" Christie groaned. "So she'll have to have finger sticks, insulin shots, a special diet..."

"There's no need to panic," said Dr. Jenkins. "While she's in the hospital, you'll learn how to take care of her."

"I still can't help feeling overwhelmed!" Christie gasped.

"That's perfectly understandable," Dr. Jenkins said in a soothing voice. "Most parents are when their child is first diagnosed, but after the shock wears off and you learn how to take care of Macy's needs, you'll soon be an expert."

Christie rolled her eyes. "I doubt that!"

As soon as Macy was admitted to the hospital and taken to her room, Christie called Henry.

"I have bad news," she told him. "Our little girl has diabetes. We're at the hospital now. She has to stay here until they can get her blood sugar level down. Right now it's dangerously high."

"Oh, no!" Henry gasped. "I'll be right over as soon as I can!"

Several hours later, he arrived to find Macy napping in bed while Christie sat in a chair beside her. When she saw her husband enter the room, she went to him and embraced him.

"Oh, Henry, I'm so glad you're here!"

Henry held her tight as he murmured comforting words into her ear.

Macy awakened and beamed. "Hi, Daddy!"

"Hi, sweetheart." Henry lifted his daughter and held her. "I'm so sorry you're sick!"

Macy frowned. "But I'm not sick, Daddy. Nothing hurts."

"That's good," said Henry. "You won't have to stay here very long. In a few days, you can come back home. Lacy says she misses you."

"Where is Lacy?" asked Christie.

"Sasha's taking care of her," Henry replied.

Macy was in the hospital for a week. During that time, Christie learned to stick her finger to test her blood sugar in the mornings and throughout the day and how to give her insulin shots. Macy cried at first, but she quickly got used to the finger sticks and shots. By the time she went home, she was fine.