Wendy and Her Mother Gain Peace in Chronic Illness

At 9 years old, Wendy skipped everywhere she went. She skipped down the dusty streets of her neighborhood in Bolivia, her dog Bobby following her dancing heels. She skipped around her yard and picked the avocados growing there. Her favorite class at school was physical education — another place to skip!

Wendy’s mom, Aidee, was the first to notice that her daughter wasn’t skipping anymore.

“She wasn’t feeling good,” says Aidee. “She had headaches, and she was always thirsty and had to go to the bathroom a lot. Sometimes she would cry because of the pain.”

Aidee felt a deep dread as she noted her daughter’s symptoms because they were the very symptoms she experienced herself just before being diagnosed with diabetes.

Bad News with No Cure

Dr. Juan is part of a network of doctors who conduct medical checkups for children registered in Compassion centers. He and the other doctors look carefully for early signs of illness, especially those that can be life-threatening if left untreated.

When Aidee brought Wendy in for her annual checkup with Compassion, she mentioned Wendy’s symptoms. Dr. Juan saw enough to raise his own concerns, so he sent her bloodwork to the city for testing.

The results moved Dr. Juan to immediate action.

“Wendy’s results were very shocking, very alarming,” says Dr. Juan. “She had practically no insulin in her body […] This told me she had type 1 diabetes. At that time, we decided to send her to a pediatric endocrinologist.”

As a diabetic herself, Aidee was devastated. She knew the lifelong struggle of living with diabetes and the long list of complications that her daughter could face.

“I felt very bad,” says Aidee, reflecting on those first stressful days in the hospital. “She’s so little, and now she’s going to live her whole life with this. There is no cure.”

Dr. Juan wanted to reassure Aidee that her daughter could learn to live with her illness. But he also knew that Wendy’s path to health would now be long and expensive.

Adjustment to Long-Term Care

Unlike type 2 diabetes, which is easier to manage with pills, Wendy’s type 1 case meant that she would need to take insulin. The treatment would cost hundreds of dollars every month. She would have to endure finger pricks and shots into her stomach multiple times every day, and missing even one day could cause dangerous health problems.

“Without treatment, patients can die very fast, in a couple of hours,” says Dr. Juan. “We also have the chronic complications. They can become blind. They can have kidney damage and need dialysis. And this is much worse with type 1 — this can all happen in 10 or 15 years.”

Aidee absorbed all this information while trying to calm her little girl. Wendy begged to go home from the hospital and be free from the daily shots. How could Aidee tell her that the shots would not go away? And how would Aidee ever be able to afford the astronomical cost of the insulin that was vital for Wendy’s health?

Thankfully, Aidee soon had the answers to these worries.

Once Wendy was finally stable enough to come home, Aidee told their Compassion center about her daughter’s diagnosis. The staff quickly explained that they would reimburse her for Wendy’s medication and cover the cost of a nutritionist. They would also help pay for the fresh fruits, vegetables and whole grains that Wendy now required to maintain her insulin levels.

“A lot of the time, we diagnose a patient, but they can’t afford the treatment, and it’s very sad,” says Dr. Juan. “If we can only give a diagnosis but not help them treat it, I feel that we are not helping. But [with Wendy] she is receiving the treatment, the insulin.”

The weight of caring for her daughter caused great fear and stress for Aidee. She worried that Wendy would face the terrifying complications she heard about at the hospital. Aidee needed to work to help her family survive, but she couldn’t leave for work and monitor Wendy’s health at the same time.

Just when the questions began to overwhelm her, Aidee would remind herself of Compassion’s support. The care of the Compassion staff eased Aidee’s worries, preventing the stress from making her own health issues worse.

“Compassion has helped me to be calm, which is good,” says Aidee. “When I am not calm, my own diabetes gets bad.”

Even watching Wendy pray over a meal reminded Aidee that she and her little girl were not alone. God provided what they needed. He gave them the food on their table and the loving tutor who visited Wendy when she was too ill to go to school or to the Compassion center.

A Foundation of Independence & Hope

Wendy’s health slowly improved with each passing week. Now, her headaches have lessened, and her constant thirst has eased. Her mother watches her closely and carefully prepares the fruits and vegetables she receives from the Compassion center.

Wendy’s medical care still costs a lot of money. Since Aidee had to quit her job as a cleaner so she could help care for Wendy, she sometimes struggles to collect the funds. But with support from Compassion, Aidee has been able to care for her daughter. She can keep her healthy and safe from the complications of diabetes.

“I’m willing to do anything for my daughter,” says Aidee. “I love her so much. But since Compassion is helping us, we are happier. Without their support, I don’t know what we would do. I would probably have to work more and leave Wendy at home. Maybe I would have to sell my little house, or even go to work abroad.”

Instead, Aidee is teaching her daughter how to care for herself. Wendy has learned to test her own blood sugar. She even gives herself insulin shots in her stomach without flinching.

And, perhaps most encouraging of all, Wendy skips again.

“When you have a healthy body, you can play, have fun with your friends and sing hymns at the church. You’re happy,” says Wendy. “And when my mom [leaves the house], I am not scared. I can take care of myself. I’m not crying anymore.”

For Wendy, healing is about so much more than blood sugar and insulin levels. Instead of worrying about what she will eat, Wendy prays over the food she receives. And without the constant pain that used to limit her, she can freely sing praises to the One who cares for her body and soul.

Wendy and her mother have been healed from the fear that came with illness, and they are moving forward with restored hope for the future.