A mum has shared a heartbreaking warning to all parents, after her daughter died due to undiagnosed diabetes.
Taking to social media, Sierra Greenlee described how she lost her two-year-old daughter Arya, back in March.
Writing on Facebook, Sierra said: 'I have avoided this post for awhile, it is long but hang in there I promise it is important. I would like to share with you the worst night of my life. Not because I want your pity, but because I would like to inform you on an issue that is very important and no one really thinks about.'
She continued to explain that when she went to pick up her child from the babysitter, her daughter was carried outside and was completely knocked out.
'In an offhanded way I asked if she was breathing, joking. Until I put my hand on her little chest and I felt no movement', she wrote.
'In that moment I completely freaked out. I couldn't finish a thought. I knew I needed to get her back inside and start CPR. I was so mad and terrified. I was yelling at everyone who got in my way or tried to say something.'
https://www.facebook.com/sierra.bangs/posts/10156764165633169
After taking her child back inside, she started doing CPR until the emergency services arrived and carried on for another hour. Watching that unfold is described by the mum as 'the most surreal moments in my life'.
Paramedics eventually out the little girl in an ambulance and took her to the hospital, which Sierra took as being good news at first - but sadly, her little girl didn't make it.
'As we drove to the hospital the worst thoughts flooded into my head. I thought of the fact that the last time I had seen my baby awake she was begging me not to go to work and I went anyway. I was thinking about what it would mean for me if she was gone. I thought of what it would be like to plan my child funeral and all the things I would miss out on.
'When we got to the hospital they lead me to the small room off of the waiting room and started asking me all of the questions they ask when you go to the hospital. I foolishly thought this is a good sign. They want to admit her. I was there for maybe 10 minutes before a doctor came in say down beside me and said the words that would forever change my world, he said "we did everything we could but unfortunately we were unable to revive her and she did not survive."
'That one little sentence devastated my entire being. Everything I was was in that little girl. She was my absolute pride and joy. If you asked me how I was doing it would usually go something like I'm good, my daughter.... But in that moment I couldn't feel anything it was like my heart had stopped too. I was an empty shell. The shock was overwhelming.'
After receiving the most terrible news a parent can get, Sierra says she lay beside her daughter and sang her her favourite song, until doctors came in to tell her Arya's blood sugar level was over 500, when a normal person's should not be above 100.
Her little girl had diabetes, but it went undiagnosed because she was never tested. As she was never treated and her blood sugar was too high, she went into a coma and did not survive.
After finding out the reason she lost her baby, the mum is now urging parents to get their children tested for diabetes, as symptoms can easily go unnoticed and young children only usually get tested if the condition runs in the family - which was not the case in Arya's family.
'The signs for Diabetes in toddlers are they drink a lot and pee a lot and are tired. These signs are easily missed and overlooked because most toddlers do these things. The test is a simple blood sugar test that you have to request at their wellness check up.
'So I beg you to ask your child's doctor to test for it. I beg you to become aware of the signs and symptoms of childhood Diabetes. I beg you to share this post and story with everyone because no parent should ever have to hear the words "I'm sorry but unfortunately she did not survive"'.
