Exhausted mom hit her breaking point — so she did the unthinkable and called the cops on herself
Taking care of one's own well-being can be really important while looking after other people. However, many such people might find it difficult to seek help until they reach their breaking point. A mom of four young children found herself in a predicament like that after caring for her two diabetic young children and getting very little sleep for months. One day, she reached her breaking point when her baby swallowed soil and she had to call poison control. At the end of it all, the mom, Kylie Grimes, called 911 for herself, per TODAY.com.
"I just needed relief. I needed the phones to stop beeping. I needed the kids to stop fighting. I needed the fear of trying to keep this baby alive to just subside for just a minute. I needed to just have a minute and come back in and collect myself," Kylie explained. Her husband was still at work at that time and she had just checked on her 11-month-old baby, who had swallowed soil from a house plant. The mom was really tired because her six-year-old daughter, Goldie and her baby, Noble, had been diagnosed with diabetes just a few months ago. She had to wake up multiple times at night to check on them. The mom was barely sleeping for two hours at a stretch because of worry and the monitor alerts she received for her kids' blood sugar levels.
Noble's situation was also really unique, as a diabetes diagnosis was really rare for a baby his age. The nursing staff at the hospital he was admitted to after being sick also had to learn how to care for him because of the rarity of the situation. Goldie's diagnosis was accidental, as all the children were jokingly checking their blood sugar after their baby brother's diagnosis. She had no symptoms as her diabetes was in the second stage. "Kylie's the only one that I'm scared for. It's so much harder on her," the dad, Kyle, pointed out. "The kids are going to be OK because there's a medical plan and an outline of what to do, but Kylie's the one who's going through the hardest of anyone because she has to be there when no one else is available to keep the kids alive."
The mom who goes by @doubledoseofdiabetes on TikTok shared the moment of vulnerability with the platform. The exhausted mom had told the paramedics that the call was actually for her. "I just wanted an out. I just wanted one single night when I didn't have to keep these kids alive. I wanted to sleep through the night. I wanted to run away." The paramedics couldn't do much about the situation, but they let her cry and vent. Her husband arrived home as well. But as much else couldn't be done, the first responders deemed her "safe" and left. The woman shed light on "caregiver burnout" and on her specific situation through the post.
"Caregiver burnout...whatever you want to call it...is real. But there are so many people who have done this before me and longer than me, who deserve all the cookies and hugs. I see you." Calling 911 might not have helped the family directly, but it made them realize that they needed to reach out for help, per the outlet. Kyle's mom was learning to take care of Noble to help the couple out. "It's understandably overwhelming to say, 'Hey Mom, can you come watch your infant grandson and keep him alive so we can go handle something we've been putting off?' The easiest thing to do when you find out someone's struggling is to go help them. And the hardest thing to do when you're struggling is ask for help," Kyle expressed.