A Laurencekirk mum has spoken out about her daughter’s anxiety – which turned out to be caused by type 1 diabetes.
Angela Murray couldn’t understand why her youngster Lucy was constantly thirsty, rapidly losing weight and extremely anxious.
She recalled: “Lucy was very emotional, she was very anxious.
“At one point I thought maybe she had some type of mental health issues.
“She couldn’t sleep by herself, she couldn’t eat because she worried about choking, she was worried about fires, she worried about everything and everybody.
“She had really bad headaches, she lost a lot of weight in a short space of time and she was drinking litres upon litres of water.”
Lucy collapsed
In June 2020, Lucy fell ill and they were told she’d contracted appendicitis.
She was prescribed antibiotics ahead of an operation, but Angela’s instincts told her that wasn’t right.
“I’m so grateful now she took the antibiotics because we were home and I could tell something’s wrong,” she explained.
“I’ve had five children, Lucy’s the fourth.
“I just knew that’s not what it was.
“As much as everyone was saying to me ‘you’re worrying too much’ I just knew my own child.”
A few weeks later, on September 15, Lucy collapsed at home and Angela rushed her to hospital where she was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes.
‘Lucy’s test came back, it’s not good’
Now 12, Lucy gets a blood test every few months to check her sugar levels, but recently the results have been alarmingly high.
“It tells the hospital how well your blood has been maintained over the past few months,” Angela explained.
“A diabetic who is on treatment should be about 8%, but Lucy’s last test came back a couple of weeks ago and she’s on 90%, so it’s not good.”
While Lucy can lead a childhood like her friends, Angela says there are some aspects of her condition holding her back.
“She has the life of a normal child, but under the surface, she can’t do what everyone else does.
“She can’t have sleepovers at a friend’s house if the parent doesn’t know how to control the diabetes, every time she eats carbs she has to take insulin.”
Angela’s post made others get diagnosed
Following Lucy’s diagnosis, Angela shared the news online – helping other youngsters find a diagnosis too.
She said: “[Another mum told me] ‘after reading your post about Lucy, I started to worry about my teenage son’.
“She took him to the hospital and it turns out he’s a type 1 diabetic too.
“And she said: ‘I would never have even thought about it if I hadn’t read your post’.”
Lucy’s family are now walking 4,000 miles in 100 days to raise money for charity.
They’re giving back to the Archie Foundation, which supported her through the diagnosis.
On their first day, they raked in more than £700, with the Royal Hotel pub contributing more than half this total.
Angela added: “I can’t thank everybody enough in Laurencekirk, it’s almost like they’ve all become a little family these past few weeks, they all know Lucy as well.”
‘When I was told I had diabetes I was very sad’
Lucy said: “I would like to thank the diabetic team at the children’s hospital for everything they’ve done.
“They have helped me from the beginning and have been very kind.
“When I was told I had diabetes I was very sad and scared but everyone in the diabetic team made me feel safe.
“I’m looking forward to this challenge with my family and I hope we raise lots of money for the ARCHIE foundation to help other children the way they helped me.”
Donations to their fundraiser can be made at gofundme.
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