My beautiful Alyssa

Alyssa came into the world fighting on June 15, 2003. She was born 5 weeks early and because her lungs were not fully developed, spent 10 days in the NICU. Alyssa is the youngest of 3 and the only girl. From the day should could get around, she has followed her older brothers around, wanting to do everything they do. At age 4, she broke her tibia on a trampoline, age 6 she broke her pinky slamming it in a drawer and most recently broke her arm after falling off of her bike. Countless bumps and bruises over the years.....she is one tough little girl!

In late October of 2010, Alyssa started wetting the bed. I honestly thought it was just a stage she was going through, even though she had never had a problem with it. In all reality, this girl always plays hard and crashes with exhaustion, so I assumed she was just sleeping through it. She also seemed to be getting taller and with that, she seemed to be thinning. She was already petite, but seemed to be losing her 'baby cheeks'. In early December I started to notice Alyssa's appetite had decreased, but she always seemed to be thirsty. By Christmas, Alyssa was drinking anything she could get her hands on.

2 days after Christmas, I took her to her pediatrician. They checked her glucose levels and her urine for keytones and immediately directed us to the emergency room. It all happened so fast! That was the first time I heard the words Juvenile Diabetes.