Nothing can hold him back

Not even Type 1 diabetes can stop Holden.

Panda Express® associates met kids like Kutter Shed (and his little sister) who benefited from the physical and occupational therapy suite.

Though he was already potty trained, 18-month-old Holden began having nighttime accidents. Then, his thirst became excessive.

“He would be at the fridge every hour or so, asking for a drink,” Holden’s mother Brittney said. “We tended to give him juice or milk, which would raise his blood sugar and make him even thirstier. But we just had no idea what was going on.”

After a few days of this pattern, Holden became very tired and irritable. “I called the patient advisory nurse, and she asked me to smell his breath. When I said it smelled fruity, she told me to take him to the emergency room,” Brittney said.

After discovering that Holden’s blood sugar level was over 700 ml/dL, doctors diagnosed him with Type 1 diabetes.

“It was a very scary thing,” Brittney said. “We didn’t really know much about diabetes and thought maybe we had caused it somehow. But his doctors reassured us that Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disorder. It’s in his genetics, and there was nothing we could do to prevent it.”

For the first two years after his diagnosis, Holden’s family managed his blood sugar with manual insulin shots before he began using an insulin pump. Curious and independent, Holden even helped administer the shots and now helps move his pump every three days.

“I think Holden was so sick that he realized those injections were helping him feel better,” Brittney said. “He’s very involved in his own care, and we let him help as much as he wants. He knows the difference between highs and lows, how they make him feel and what he needs at that moment.”

Holden’s entire family is involved in managing his diabetes, including his twin brother, Tarek. “This disease doesn’t just affect the person who has it—it affects the whole family,” Brittney said. “Tarek knows the different alerts on Holden’s pump and will let us know if his brother needs something. He has even said he wants to be a diabetes doctor when he grows up so he can help people like his brother.”

Holden, on the other hand, has big dreams of being a monster truck driver. Now, at age 4, he plays T-ball, swims and generally does everything other little boys his age do.

“He’s our little warrior,” Brittney said. “Holden knows no stranger, and most people don’t even realize he’s diabetic unless they see his pump or his monitor. He’s just your typical wild 4-year-old, but he is the strongest person I know.”

Like Holden, many of the providers on his care team at Baylor Scott & White McLane Children’s have Type 1 diabetes themselves or have a loved one with the condition.

“I just couldn’t be more grateful for his team at McLane Children’s,” Brittney said. “A big part of managing this disease is trial and error, so it means a lot that the advice they’re giving  is not just from a textbook; it’s their real-life experience. I don’t know where we would be without the support we’ve received at McLane Children’s. It takes a village to manage this disease, and we’re so thankful to have this hospital and the donors that support it as part of our village.”

To learn how you can support care for kids like Holden, please contact Jordan Castillo, JD, CFRE, at 254.899.3776 or Jordan.Castillo@BSWHealth.org.