Need Prayers & Vibes for SIL, Please

My sil was rushed to the er Monday night. She's been diagnosed with diabetic ketoacidosis and septicemia. I don't think anyone (except for my brother and myself) realize that this is a life-threatening situation.
Any good thoughts or prayers you could send Karen's way would be deeply appreciated.

Wow!!! yes, very serious!!!! for your SIL!!

Oh, no! for Karen.

Lots of for her.

Thank you so much for the good wishes.
I'm scared that Karen isn't going to make it. I went to the hospital a couple of hours ago; since last night she's been restrained, put on a ventilator, and sedated. Her blood sugar is down to 118 (when she was taken to the er it was so high---over 500---it didn't even register on the glucometer, which goes to 500); her temp is down, as well. She's now on 4 different kinds of iv antibiotics, as well as iv insulin.
I'm also mad as hell at her. Apparently, for some reason known only to her, she stopped taking the meds for her diabetes over a year ago. Karen is extremely bull-headed, and is the kind of person who doesn't even want to take an aspirin for a headache. She couldn't possibly have thought her diabetes (type 1) was simply a case of mind over matter! I can't begin to figure out what she thought would happen when she stopped her meds. I told her last night, while she was still semi-coherent, that I was going to kick her in the *ss when she got out of the hospital. She tried to smile and said "ok". She's like a sister to me, and it's tearing me up that she's brought this on herself for some unknown reason.
To top it off her sons, ages 20 & 23, haven't even gone to the hospital to see her! Seems they told their Dad they didn't like going to the hospital. I'm absolutely furious at those selfish little brats. At least their sister has an excuse; she lives 2 1/2 hours away.
Sorry I went off on a tangent like that; I"m just so worried.

Your SIL is in my prayers - of course.

I really hope she makes it through, and will send my whole groups good-diabetes vibes for her. If she does pull through, I really hope you and your brother can work hard to ensure she is compliant with her treatment - I too would be very angry were I you. Given that she is Type 1 diabetic (compliance issues are bigger with type 2 diabetics who develop their illness over time) and has grown children, it is hard for me to see that she didnt know 100% what this would do to her. Thank goodness she still has her eyesight with a crisis this extreme. I hope she is evaluated for depression, and appropriately treated if this contributed to her lack of self-care. The patients I know who end up in similar states (again, all type 2 diabetics) have all said that they knew for months that something was really wrong, but were either too afraid, or didnt care enough about themselves to have it checked/fixed. If her sons have considered this a deliberate action of Mom at all, perhaps it is why they are refusing to visit her - I had a hard time visiting someone close who nearly died of a drug overdose and was comotose for awhile, it was hard for me to come to terms with the idea that visiting and supporting was NOT the same as condoning the actions that put him there in the first place...
Diabetes is a killer that has no business killing. I wear my blue circle all the time.

If her sons have considered this a deliberate action of Mom at all, perhaps it is why they are refusing to visit her

Click to expand...

No, they are actually 2 of the laziest, most self-absorbed kids I've ever known. That is, unfortunately, the way their parents raised them.

I've wondered about the depression aspect of this whole situation. A couple of years ago, my brother made some incredibly stupid mistakes involving drugs. Karen filed for divorce, with the full blessing of my family. She obviously changed her mind. While my brother has made huge strides in recovering from his addiction, I know how hard the whole situation was for Karen. I was her confidant during that period and, unfortunately, she didn't hold anything back.

Thank goodness she still has her eyesight with a crisis this extreme.

Click to expand...

This puzzles me, too. Karen is half blind, and has been for several years. When she was given the "diabetes lecture" by the nurse in charge of her case, Karen told her that her eyes were fine---that she'd had lasik and cateract surgery and everything turned out good. She's never had lasik and failed the eye test when she tried to renew her driver's license 2 years ago. She's still driving, and I suspect that she doesn't have a license at all. When I told my brother he was as confused as I was.

I'm at a loss; both of Karen's parents were diabetic--she knows the ramifications of this disease. I guess all I can do is hope she's strong enough to beat this.

Your SIL will be added to my prayers. Many coming to all of you.

For Karen I have a friend in the same situation. that they both pull thru

I will pray for Karen and everyone involved.

For Karen I have a friend in the same situation. that they both pull thru

Click to expand...

I'm so sorry about your friend!

Libby - Karen is in my thoughts. I'm sending many

Thanks so much for all the .

I've been to the hospital everyday since Karen was admitted. She's still in ICU, but the ventilation and feeding tubes were removed yesterday . The dr. feels they have her diabetes under control for now, and have switched from iv insulin to shots a couple of times a day.
Unfortunately, the septicemia is still a major concern; Karen still has 4 different iv antibiotics going. Jim (her husband, my brother) keeps talking about how soon she's going to be out of ICU and coming home. I've tried telling him this is going to be something that will probably take weeks, not days, to resolve. I talked to Karen's nurse yesterday and she agrees that this is a long way from being over. She's come a long way, tho, and I'm hopeful that everything will be ok. If you had asked me what I thought on Tuesday night, I would have told you she wasn't going to make it; Jim told me that's what he thought, too.

On top of eveything else, Karen was let go from her job several months ago and she was carrying the health insurance for her family. It seems she and Jim had been shopping around for insurance and had made plans to sign for a policy on Tuesday; she went to the hospital Monday night. *sigh*