Milton teen lobbies for diabetes treatment, research

Sadie Davis learned she had diabetes because of the sharp-smelling nose of her mother.

“I was in fourth grade and my mom, she’s a nurse, kissed me goodbye before the school bus took me to school, and asked me if I brushed my teeth,” said Sadie, now a 16-year-old junior at Sussex Tech. “I said of course I did!”

Mother Sharon Davis knew right away something was wrong. “When your sugar is high, your breath smells like acetone,” she said.

Sharon quickly arranged a visit to Sadie’s doctor. At the time, Sadie hoped the day off from school would include a lunch date with her mother. Instead, she was sent immediately to Nemours Children’s Health System in Wilmington for three days of treatment and education.

“My doctor said my sugar was so high, I would’ve been in a coma in a couple days,” Sadie said. “The meter couldn’t read it. My sugar was over 600.”

At Nemours, Sadie learned she had Type 1 diabetes, also called T1D, an autoimmune disease in which the pancreas produces little to no insulin. She has no family history of the disease.

“It was totally out of the blue,” she said. “I was feeling fine, but looking back, I realize I was drinking a ton of water.”

By day two in the hospital, Sadie was giving her own injections. “I have great support, but I like to be independent,” she said.

That strength has helped her tackle the challenges presented by a lifelong disease. 

Going out to eat could kill her. Many times, she is given a regular soda when she orders a diet; friends and family taste the beverage before she drinks. Always a healthy eater, she has to more closely monitor her carb intake.

“I struggled with sports,” she said. “I played field hockey. Running lowers blood sugar, so I had to explain to my teammates why I was sitting while they were doing sprints.”

While jewelry is not permitted on the field, Sadie said most referees allowed her to wear her medical alert bracelet.

“One referee said you need to take it off or you can’t play,” she said. “So I didn’t play.”

Sadie conquered that problem by designing her own tattoo on her inner right forearm with input from Beebe Healthcare’s ER staff. She asked clinicians what symbols and wording would alert them to her disease in case she was unable to speak.

“Normally I wouldn’t allow my then-14-year-old to get a tattoo, but this could save her life,” Sharon said. “Clinicians who see an unconscious teen might give Narcan. Narcan wouldn’t help an unconscious diabetic. Glucagon [injectable medication to treat low blood sugar] is the only thing that can help.”

Little did she know at the time, Sadie’s disease has given her a purpose and a career goal.

“Having diabetes is not all bad because I started working with Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation,” she said. “The second day I was in the hospital, I got a care package from JDRF. I’ve been a youth ambassador for six years, doing fundraising walks and galas, and meeting people just like me.”

Sadie even represented Delaware as a JDRF Children’s Congress ambassador, going to Washington, D.C., to successfully lobby for a change in legislation regarding the administration of Glucagon. 

“Now it doesn’t require a trained nurse to administer,” she said. “Before, young children with diabetes would have to go to a medical daycare.”

For three years, Sadie has volunteered at Beebe Healthcare, first as a patient guide, and then for the past two years in the cardiac cath lab.

“It’s my dream come true,” she said. “I’m in my element there. I want to be a nurse anesthetist, but lobbying will always be a part of me.”

Sadie said the people she has met through JDRF have become like a second family. 

“I get to work with the younger kids now,” she said. “I remember looking up to the older kids when I was 10. Hopefully I can be a role model to them.”

Sadie is excited about the next opportunity to support JDRF, a fundraising walk to support type 1 diabetes research at Killens Pond Sept. 29. Donate to Team Sadie or sign up to participate at walk.jdrf.org.