Hope for Halo

COEUR d'ALENE — It's been just over a year since 9-year-old Hailie Velasco was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes.

She'll never forget when it was discovered, and neither will her mom, Lyndsey Osborn. They were on their way to Olympia where Hailie was to compete in the Washington State Governor's Cup Taekwondo Championship.

“We were in the car for seven hours and she was constantly drinking water and going to the bathroom and that’s when I picked up on the signs," Osborn said last Wednesday evening, cozy on her couch next to her daughter in their Coeur d'Alene home. "She wasn’t herself. She had red circles under her eyes and had that giving-up mentality. I thought she was giving up … but she just didn’t feel good.”

Hailie placed third in her division, but passed out in the car right after the competition.

“I finally woke her up and got her to eat something and she came back to life, but that’s how I knew something was wrong,” Osborn said.

She made a doctor appointment for Hailie, who was swiftly admitted to the hospital and diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes Oct. 22, 2014.

"That’s where our journey began,” Osborn said.

Osborn, a single mom, already shouldered the weight of being her household's sole provider. Hailie's diagnosis has made for many a sleepless night.

“It’s a constant worry. It never leaves you," Osborn said. "When I wake up in the morning, we hope that her sugars are good and it kind of sets the point for the whole day. If her sugars are high you know, ‘OK, something’s going wrong’ and it’s going to be a big day. All day long she’s poking her finger and figuring out her carbs and having to see how she feels before she goes to recess or does gym. It’s a constant not only for me, but for her. She has to make sure she’s responsible. Even before and after taekwondo, and especially before bed.

“You pray and just make sure, you have to know the numbers are good,” she continued. “If they’re bad then you’re up all night long. And I’m usually up all night long. It’s tiring. It’s forced her to grow up fast.”

Osborn's good friend and coworker, Monica Oliver of Post Falls, sees how tired Osborn is and knows she is struggling. Type 1 diabetes is a demanding as well as expensive condition — supplies for Hailie's continuous glucose monitor, or CGM, cost $400 a month that insurance won't cover. This life-saving device gives a reading every five minutes and alerts Osborn if Hailie's blood sugar is too low or high.

Add that cost to raising a child alone and it becomes overwhelming.

That's why Oliver and her kids, Carter Douglas, 7, and Emmy Douglas, 6, have launched the "Hope for Halo" fundraising campaign, "Halo" being Hailie's nickname. They ordered baby blue "Hope 4 Halo" bracelets and are accepting donations to help pay for CGM supplies. Donors receive bracelets as well as handwritten thank-you letters from the kids.

“My hope is for Hailie, first of all, to be healthy,” Oliver said.

“And happy,” Emmy added.

“And of course I want a cure so I can see my friend well rested at night," Oliver continued. "I want Hailie to keep doing what she’s already doing, which is not letting this disease define her. She is one strong girl ... she is an inspiration to everyone that I know who meets her. Diabetes is something that is a silent killer. We don’t often think about that ... we don’t think about this deadly disease that’s killing our children and adults all around us. If you don’t know the signs, you could end up in a coma or have seizures or even something scarier.”

And Hailie dreams of having a diabetic alert dog — she already has the name and breed picked out — but dogs trained to detect spikes and drops in blood sugar can cost thousands.

“First they do a stress yawn, and when it starts going really low or really high, they nudge you or bark at you,” Osborn said. “These dogs are amazing and they save a lot of children’s lives."

Hailie has learned a lot about diabetes since her diagnosis; she helps educate her peers about it and recently went before City Council to ask Mayor Steve Widmyer to proclaim Nov. 16-22 as Coeur d'Alene's Diabetes Awareness Week, which fittingly falls in the month of November, Diabetes Awareness Month.

In coping with this lifelong challenge, Hailie keeps her chin up. She won gold and bronze medals at the 2015 Governor's Cup and will be a black belt before her 10th birthday. She's taking everything in stride.

“It might be scary at first, but when you get used to it, it’s not that scary," Hailie said. "The easiest thing is if you just take care of yourself and exercise, but especially watch your blood sugars.”

To donate, purchase a bracelet or learn more, visit www.facebook.com/hope4halo or email Hopeforhailie@gmail.com.