The Pasadena Story: Near-Death Experience with Diabetic Ketoacidosis #28

Through a profound personal narrative, the podcast encapsulates an extraordinary tale of survival against the odds, as recounted by Deborah, who shares her harrowing experience with diabetic ketoacidosis during a period of balancing whether to listen to her mentor and pastoral care team or that which she knew, as far as diabetes care. Thinking she had it handled, by checking her blood sugars constantly, she found out that diabetic ketoacidosis does not play games. This episode, aptly termed the 'Pasadena story,' delves into the intricate dynamics between personal belief systems and the harsh realities of medical conditions. The story begins with Deborah reflecting on her youthful conviction, spurred by a minister's declaration of her healing, which led her to abandon her insulin regimen. The repercussions of this decision manifest tragically as she descends into a life-threatening episode of diabetic ketoacidosis, a condition that she navigates with a mix of denial and ignorance, unaware of the grave danger she is courting.

“After this experience, I'll tell you, I definitely started understanding diabetic ketoacidosis intimately.”  

Deborah, 06:39

As the narrative unfolds, listeners are drawn into a vivid depiction of the escalating symptoms that accompany diabetic ketoacidosis, including severe dehydration, vomiting, and ultimately, loss of consciousness. Deborah's storytelling is imbued with emotion, revealing her vulnerability and the sense of isolation she felt during her ordeal. The indifference of the friend she was staying with during this crisis further underscores the precariousness of her situation, as she grapples with both her deteriorating health and the lack of support from those around her. This account becomes a critical examination of the need for vigilance and responsibility in managing one's health, particularly for individuals living with chronic illnesses. It is also an awareness that not only does one have to be concerned about they listen to but also who they choose as their support team, as is the case of this friend who opted to dispose of Deborah’s “lifeless” body (a case for which the Los Angeles County Attorney encouraged Deborah to press charges and testify - which she did not) rather than calling for help.

• Diabetic ketoacidosis is a critical condition that requires immediate medical attention; delay can be fatal.
• The narrative emphasizes personal responsibility in managing diabetes, including the importance of insulin usage.
• The podcast serves as a cautionary tale for diabetics and their loved ones about the seriousness of their condition.
• Deborah’s experience highlights the role of support systems in health crises and the need for vigilance.

The climax of the episode reaches its peak as first responders arrive to find Deborah unconscious, prompting urgent medical intervention. Her miraculous survival, despite the grim circumstances and the multiple resuscitations she required, serves as a testament to the fragility of life and the intricate interplay between faith, science, and personal responsibility. The conclusion of the episode is not merely a reflection on her personal experience but a clarion call for diabetics and their loved ones to take diabetic ketoacidosis seriously. Deborah’s message is clear: adherence to medical advice is paramount, and belief in healing should never supersede the necessity of proper medical treatment. This episode serves as both a cautionary tale and a source of empowerment for listeners, highlighting the importance of informed health decisions and the value of life.

Chapters

• 01:57 The Pasadena Story: A Life-Changing Experience
• 05:20 Beliefs and Health: A Personal Journey
• 08:35 The Onset of Diabetic Ketoacidosis
• 11:47 A

Episode Transcript

(04:26):
I promised that I would tellyou the Pasadena story, and that
is the story of when I almostdied from diabetic ketoacidosis.
And since we have specificallybeen talking about diabetic ketoacidosis
over the past few. Weeks, itseems like it's time to cover that

(04:49):
one. And I've been telling youI would get you that. So, yes, this
is Deborah of Diabetic. Real,and welcome to the podcast. Many
of these episodes are storiesin. My own life and covering these
stories, hopefully to helpyou, my listeners and. Also those

(05:15):
who love diabetics and thoseof you who are struggling with other.
Issues so that you have sometips. And feedback to help you in
life. So that you can workthrough the challenges in life and
not get tripped up by any ofthose things. So anyway, happy to
be past the tax season. Had toget those taxes out of. The way and

(05:41):
filed on time. Really glad tobe able to do. That and be able to
say that, yes, I filed on timeon tax day. So anyway, glad to be
back in. The swing of thingsand doing the podcast. So with that,
let's get back to that story.As I said, I call it the Pasadena
story because I was living inPasadena at the time. You know, thinking

(06:06):
about this story. I think,wow, this is a quick one. 30 seconds.
I went into diabeticketoacidosis, almost died, didn't
die, all done. But there aremany factors to the story and telling
it. I can get kind ofemotional. So sometimes it's easier
to laugh about. It and tell itquickly and go on with life than

(06:34):
it is to really focus on thedetails. But I will admit I was young
and in a silly state. Ibelieved a minister that said, I.
Have prayed over you and youare. Healed and you no longer have

(06:55):
diabetes. I know it's reallyeasy now later in life to say, what
were you thinking? I'm notgoing to make a comment. On believing
in healing or any other. Youknow, hey, not going to judge. If
you are listening to this and.You believe in healing, more power
to you. I think that's great.Personally, I believe in healing

(07:19):
in the. Sense that I believethat God has given me the tools to
be live. So and I am stillalive and. I should not have lived
through this particularscenario that I'm telling you about.
So I'm looking at it that way.However you look at it, that is.
Your life and your beliefsystem. I'm not going to judge. And
that's not what we're talkingabout here. But in my particular

(07:42):
situation, I believed that Iwas healed and I stopped. Taking
insulin because the ministertold me to stop taking insulin, was
I a fool to listen? Yeah,probably because I should have been.
More responsible about mydisease and actually still taking

(08:02):
insulin. I actually had thathappen another time. Oh, I don't
know, like, five years later,another minister said that he believed.
That I had been healed. Butthat minister responsibly said, hey,
it is between you and Godwhether you stop taking insulin.

(08:25):
I am not going to direct you.To stop taking insulin. That also
has a little bit more wisdomin the legal department, too, as
far as liability. But thefirst minister was like, hey. Deb,
you can stop taking insulin.You're healed. So I did anyway. I
thought again, not thinkingmaybe or. Too young to be thinking,

(08:49):
I don't. Know what, that Iwould try it. And if I felt sick
and I. Was checking bloodsugars, and actually my blood sugars
were fine. And this issometimes the mystery of diabetic
ketoacidosis, especially forthose who do not understand it. After
this experience, I'll tellyou, I definitely started understanding

(09:12):
diabetic ketoacidosisintimately. Anyway, my blood sugars
were fine. At first, I thoughtthat I was okay. And that is an illusion.
It's kind of like when peopledie of hypothermia, where they get
really warm. Really hot first,and they start taking. Clothes off

(09:34):
because they're like, oh, I'mnot cold. I'm not cold. I'm not cold.
And that's actually a signthat before. They die from hypothermia,
well, in this. Situation, myblood sugar was not going too high.
I thought I was okay, and I.Kept checking my blood sugar. I was
doing okay. I thought, well,if my blood sugar goes too high,
then I'll take insulin. Butwhat I didn't realize is you. Get

(09:58):
to a certain point of no.Return and you hit diabetic ketoacidosis
and. You can't help yourself.So I got to that point and. I was
staying with someone. We'lljust say I was staying with a friend.
It's easier. I'm not going toname names. So I was staying with
a friend. Now, again, notgoing to lay blame. As my husband

(10:20):
taught me on our. First date,in any situation, even with a person
being present, there's alwaysan. Ability to lay a certain percentage
of. Blame with everybody inthe room just for being there. So
I had blame. Obviously, I'mthe one that stopped taking. The
insulin, but also the friendthat was there should have. And Actually,

(10:45):
the police department and theLos Angeles attorney wanted to actually
put. This person in jail. Butthis friend should have taken me
to the hospital. But I'llcontinue with the story. So I became

(11:06):
sicker and sicker with thediabetic ketoacidosis. I started
vomiting. I'd never been thatsick, so I didn't understand that
this was the sign of diabeticketoacidosis. I was obviously so
thirsty that I kept drinkingwater. This friend refused to let
me have water because thisfriend did not. I was at the friend's

(11:29):
house because. I was scaredthat I was so sick. I thought, well,
I should have somebodywatching over me. The friend wasn't
really watching over me. Butanyway, I got to a point. Where I
was blind. So I had to feel myway. To the bathroom to go to the
bathroom. I wasn't reallygoing because I was so dehydrated.
There was no liquid in me. Iwould be so thirsty that I would

(11:52):
be taking. I had a. That's abowl made by Tupperware. A huge bowl.
Like what you would make, youknow. Huge amounts of dough if you're
going. To make buns orsomething. I mean, it's a huge bowl,
right? I would fill that withwater because. She wouldn't let me
have water because. She didn'twant me to vomit in her house. Even

(12:13):
though I didn't vomit, like,on. Her furniture floor or anything.
I was being very careful, butshe didn't like the idea that I was.
Vomiting in the presence ofher home. So I would wait till she
wasn't looking because I wasso thirsty. And I would fill that.
That's a bowl. And then Iwould just drink it. All because

(12:33):
I was so thirsty. And then, ofcourse, within minutes, I. Was vomiting
it back up. I mean, it wasjust basically coming back out as
water because I wasn'tdigesting it at all. And this went
on all night. I mean, it wasjust in, then out and in because
I could not take in water. Myelectrolytes were out of whack. I
was blind by that point. So asI said, I was feeling my way around

(12:56):
the house because I couldn'tsee. And kind of in and out of semiconsciousness.
Anyway, by morning, this wenton all weekend. By morning, it was
Monday morning and I wasunconscious. She left me unconscious
and went to work. And Isomehow. I don't know. I think it's

(13:22):
an act of God, something.That's the miracle. I somehow came
out of this unconsciousnessenough to think, oh, No, I have.
To call into work. You know, Ihave to call in sick. I mean, I can't
just. No show for work. But Iwas so groggy that I could barely
talk. So I called into work. Iwasn't making any sense. I wasn't

(13:46):
one to drink. Everyone Iworked with knew that I didn't drink.
So the person, the secretarythat answered the phone was like,
deb doesn't make any sense.She sounds drunk. Of course, that's
because I'm so sick. So shehanded the phone, she transferred
me to another gal, anothersecretary in. Another department

(14:09):
who happened to be married toa diabetic. Now, this story is actually.
All this is. I was working atCountrywide. This whole story is
actually written up. In theannals of Countrywide. He was bought
out by bank of. America, and Ithink 2008. But somewhere, this whole
story that I'm telling you iswritten there because it's written

(14:30):
about the other secretary. Hername is Karen, who ended up rescuing
me. So Karen comes on thephone and she hears me, and she's
like, oh, no. Deb is not onlyin diabetic ketoacidosis, she is
dying. She's like, we have tofind her. And I passed out and went

(14:51):
unconscious. Again while I wason the phone with her. And at that
point, I didn't come to again.And she called and left a message.
With this friend while thisfriend was. At work and thought,
well, I'm just going to checkmessages. She checked the messages,
and she heard. The message ofKaren saying, hey, Deb is dying somewhere.

(15:19):
Well, this friend is like, oh,no. Oh, no. Deb is dying at my home.
I got to go do something. Soshe went home. And what the police
reports say this. Friend wenthome and asked the neighbor. To try
to help remove my lifelessbody from her house. The neighbor

(15:43):
was like, no. The neighborcalled 911. This was a small street
fire truck, couple of firetrucks, a couple. I was not conscious,
but a couple police cars, anambulance, they got me. I actually
died twice. It was a shortdrive from that house to the hospital,

(16:04):
but I died. In the ambulancetwice. My body temperature was down
to 93 or 94. They had toresuscitate me, the whole thing.
They helicoptered adiabeteologist. So not just an endocrinologist,
but someone who. I mean,serious expert in Los Angeles. She

(16:24):
had to shut down her practice.She was on the other side. She was
in Santa Monica. I was inPasadena. They helicopter helicoptered
her across Los Angeles. Tocome try to save me. Of course, I
was in ICU unconscious. Theyworked on me. They brought me back,
you know, at. The end of allthis. A couple days later, I was.

(16:47):
After I got out of icu, I wasin the medical department because,
of course, you don't go fromICU just to being let out of the
hospital. The first responderscame to see me, and they're like,
we heard down in ER that youhad lived, and we didn't believe
that. We were sure that youdied. There's no way that you lived

(17:09):
through that. We just had tosee for ourselves. And they came
up to visit me. And I said,nope, I'm alive. I guess it just
wasn't my time. No, I mean,you know, I'm bouncing. Around saying,
hey, I'm sitting. No, Ididn't. You know, I thank them profusely.
But that really hit me. I was.Let's see, I was about 23, 24, but

(17:29):
it really stuck with me just.How precious life is, how, you know,
thin veil that is. And I knewthat if that happened, you know,
30 years later, the body justcan't take that harsh of a. Beating

(17:51):
and keep going. And I do thinkthat was a miracle that I lived through
that. I also think that therewere a. Lot of people rooting for
me and really working hard tokeep me alive. And I am so thankful
because I wouldn't be heretoday if it weren't for them. Now,

(18:12):
there is a particular personthat. I referenced as a friend that
was not particularly helpful,and I would not. Recommend anyone
listening to this podcast todo what she did, as in leave. Somebody
unconscious and go to work. Iwas asked to report her and. Testify

(18:34):
against her, and I was beingfriendly. I thought the nice thing
to do. Was to not put her injail, and so I didn't. Now I'm wondering
if, in hindsight, I shouldhave. But, hey, time passes and you
make your choices. But she didnot do the right thing by trying
to remove my quote, unquotelifeless body. But, hey, she can

(18:58):
answer to God someday. I'mhappy to be here and to be able to
warn other diabetics to takediabetic ketoacidosis seriously and
to also. Warn those who lovediabetics and those. Who even care

(19:20):
about other people to pleasetake diabetic ketoacidosis seriously.
And by the way, don't. Pleasedon't stop taking insulin just because.
Someone tells you to. Allright, guys. Love you all. Take care.
And this is Debra signing offon Diabetic Reality.