Dr. Shelley Smith Tickett, MD

My 6 year old daughter was complaining of chest pain and she was very pale and her lips were a little blue (she is very fair as it is). She hardly ever complains and rarely gets sick, so I was very concerned and took her to the emergency room. They ran a battery of tests (x-ray, blood, ekg, etc.) and found nothing wrong. I was relieved but I felt like there was still something amiss. Dr. Stevens was very condescending to me and made it out like I was overreacting. It was such a horrible experience, but I didn't know what to do, so I took my daughter home, as the doctor recommended. Well, she ended up in the emergency room again a few days later and was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. Her blood glucose was almost 800! Fortunately she did not go into diabetic ketoacidosis and made a full recovery. She is now healthy and has adjusted well to having to take insulin injections. My concern is that Dr. Stevens could have spent more time with us and could have taken my concerns more… seriously. There was a girl in Utah that just died that went undiagnosed by her family doctor and ended up at the emergency room with a blood glucose over 1000! Unfortunately she had 3 seizures from DKA and have severe brain damage! I feel so badly for her family, but it is a reminder of how grateful I am that my daughter did not suffer from DKA. It is such a simple test, just one drop of blood! They drew my daughter's blood, so whey can't this be a standard test? So please be forewarned that this doctor can be very rude and condescending!