The Terry family lives in my neighborhood, and I remember the day that Kycie was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes like it was yesterday. I went to Reagan’s {Jamie’s best friend} to pick up my little boy and she mentioned that Kycie was really really sick. I asked her what was going on, and Reagan told me that her whole family had been sick. A little while later I saw Reagan again and she told me that Kycie had been diagnosed with Type 1 Diabeties. She was freaked out {and honestly I can’t remember if she told me that Kycie was being flown to primaries yet}. I had a few friends with kids with diabetes so I specifically remember saying, “Oh, I’m sure she is going to be fine. They just need to get her to primary children’s to do all of the training on diabetes.”
That night, we found out that my knowledge on type 1 Diabetes was EXTREMELY wrong. Here is Kycie’s story.
On January 30 2015 Kycie was very very sick. Her family had been to the doctor several times because she wasn’t the only one that was sick. Kycie is the only girl of six kids at the Terry house. After being on an antibiotic, her brothers were getting better, but Kycie was getting worse. She had a headache and her stomach was upset. She sipped on sprite for a few days, but was definitely getting sicker and sicker.
Her dad says it best: Feb 1: “A week ago today Kycie started complaining of a headache. On Monday she said her tummy hurt and a little later she threw up. We figured she was coming down with the flu. She slept all day Monday. We gave her sprite and water to help her tummy. She did not want any food. Tuesday was no change and our other boys started to complain of stomach ache and sore throat. Jamie took Daxton and Kycie to the doctor Wed. Given antibiotic for strep throat. I left Wed morning for Caliente. When I got home Thursday night she was worse. ER Friday at 1:00, by 5:00 she was life flighted to PCH with blood sugar of 1148.
I mistakenly thought that once she was diagnosed, they could quickly give her insulin to fix her blood sugar, and she would soon be fine. I had no idea the dangers it can have. Diagnosing diabetes is often overlooked by doctors, and it is even more tricky if more of the family are sick at the same time. Kycie’s dad Josh is an eye doctor and had been trained in optometry school about diabetes and it didn’t occur to him that she could have diabetes either. The symptoms are something that all families need to be aware of so that we can look for the signs. {I’ll list them at the end}.
Kycie’s blood sugar was so high {1148}, and her body went into a very dangerous and serious side effect called DKA. She experienced two seizures the night of January 30, one on the life flight to PCH and one after they landed. Kycie’s brain herniated into her brain stem which caused brain damage to the perfect little 5-year old.
The neighborhood was devastated for the Terrys. The next day was Sunday and we couldn’t even concentrate on the messages. The ladies stood in the hallway and cried for Jamie. All we could do was pray, pray, and pray some more.
I knew I needed to share their story. In fact, I was prompted to. I’m LDS, and I believe in direct revelation from God. I know God told me to share Kycie’s story. I knew she was meant to be shown to the world.
So many people started praying for Kycie. Soooo many people shared her story, and sooo many people felt the devastation that the Terrys were experiencing. She wasn’t expected to ever breath on her own again. She wasn’t expected to ever open her beautiful blue eyes again. But, because of the power of prayer, she was able to do both of those and more.
Dan and I were able to visit Kycie at the hospital in February. She knew we were there. I could tell. Dan was her primary song leader at church, and I could tell that she knew him.
Josh and Jamie shared their testimonies of Christ and God throughout their entire journey. I strongly suggest that you read their posts on the Kisses4Kycie’s Instagram page from that time period. They were being comforted, guided, and reassured that their little Kycie had a bigger plan in this life. So many spiritual experiences happened during her fight here on Earth.
Kycie spent 111 long, grueling days full of rehab in the hospital, and then was able to return home to St. George on May 14.
When Kycie got home, it was a very special time for the family and our entire neighborhood. It had been raining and cloudy all day, but as soon as they pulled into the neighborhood, the clouds parted and the sun shined bright on their house. It was the first time we had seen the sun all day. It was a miracle. It was God’s way of telling us that He knew she was home. I stood their and cried while I felt His love for her. In fact, I felt His love for all of us.
On July 11, Kycie passed away.
Kycie’s story is amazing, and I know that “amazing” is a weird way to describe a tragedy, but because of this one darling 5 year old, dozens and dozens of parents noticed that their children were showing signs of diabetes too. Jamie has lost count of all the kids that have been diagnosed because of their story.
I wanted to help spread awareness in Kycie’s honor. So I designed a t-shirt for her, and entered a contest to keep the t-shirts on the market for a year. I won. Watch the video below to see where the t-shirt design came from:
The phrase “Love you Mostest Infinity” was Kycie’s signature saying:
Join us in our quest for Type 1 Diabetes awareness and buy a shirt to support the cause. Head over to Cents of Style to buy one. It’s my favorite shirt in my closet for sure. I wear mine all the time. In fact, I bought two because I didn’t want to do laundry as often! 🙂
In fact, the shirts are on sale today for Memorial Day! To get $13 off each shirt, use code MOSTESTMEMORIAL to get the discount. This is the lowest price we’ve ever seen them!
So far we have raised $7109.74 for Type 1 Diabetes awareness and research. Help us raise as much as possible by buying from the Love you Mostest collection.
Help us spread awareness!
xoxo,
Brooke
My heart breaks for this sweet family. I , too, have a child with Type 1, and appreciate you pointing out the symptoms aasociated with it. Most people have no idea! We were in the same boat. We just thought our son was ‘under the weather’. We thank the Lord every day that we got him to the doctor fairly quickly, and they caught it before going into DKA. I will be praying for this family. May the Lord bless them during this difficult time.
Thank you so much for sharing this. My niece was just diagnosed January 1. It is a struggle everyday and such a hard thing for families to go through. Not enough people understand this disease and assume it is much like type 2 and can be treated with diet and be cured. So important to raise awareness. Thank you again for sharing. We will be getting some shirts!
Such a heartbreaking story. I knew as soon as I saw her initial glucose reading that she was in very dangerous territory. My husband was diagnosed as a type I diabetic at the age of 34…very unusual to go that long. Our son was 5 yrs old then. Most type I diabeticss are diagnosed as children. He actually self-diagnosed & had to convince the drs. He had lived his entire life among type I diabetics & knew the symptoms well. Both his mother & his little brother are type I.
He borrowed a glucometer from a friend to self-test because he had lost a lot of weight fast after changing from a physically demanding job to a desk job, he could not quench his thirst & he couldn’t go more than 15 to 20 minutes without needing to urinate.
Type I is very dangerous but it is controllable if caught in time. He’s been living with this disease for 20 yrs & his drs say that he will not die from diabetic complications because he has maintained the disease so well. It’s hard work & there are crummy days but we are very grateful for each moment we have together.
i love kycie and her story and umm i cant stop watching her i watch her every day umm and i wish i was to see her bfore she died and umm i keep in contact with her parents but not no more i know sad i was so mad but umm if you get this email me plz pls thank you from a true friend and fan kycie jai terry krystle
Hi I’m 5 and my mom named me kycie too and when I heard about that story my heart was broken I cried for weeks and I still didn’t get over it I just can’t stop thinking about it and I’m so sorry for her my sister and I have type 1 diabetes I wish I could have saved her even though there was no way to save her but if it was I would have.
Kycie was my guardian angel too I love her.
Kycie is still guarding over us here on earth.
Prayers for her I wish I could have met her before her death