All photos taken by Dr. Bruce Finklea
By: Jayden Presley, Vallo Vision News
MONTEVALLO, ALA. – Dr. Bruce Finklea learned his daughter had Type 1 diabetes on the first Friday of the fall 2020 semester.
Finklea is an associate professor and coordinator of Mass Communication at the University of Montevallo. He received a phone call in the middle of class from his wife, Jackie Finklea, telling him their daughter Harper needed to go to Children’s Hospital in Birmingham.
Harper (middle) and
Jackie Finklea (right)
“I knew they had an appointment. Jackie called when she knew I was in the middle of class, so when the phone rang, I knew right away it was Type 1,” he said.
Jackie began seeing early warning signs of Harper’s condition while their family was home together during the pandemic.
“Her (Jackie’s) father had been a Type 1 diabetic, and so she started noticing,” said Dr. Finklea. “I saw it, too, but I thought Harper was just going through a growth spurt. She was always hungry, even after eating a meal. Ten minutes later, she’d say ‘I’m starving’. She was always thirsty.”
Finklea said their pediatrician did not think it was Type 1 diabetes but would check Harper for the condition. After the Friday appointment, their family spent the weekend at Children’s Hospital.
He came back to work the next week, “trying to adjust to life” with the knowledge of his daughter’s autoimmune disorder.
“We start doing all of this research into not only what life is like with Type 1 diabetes, but what could COVID do to a Type 1 diabetic,” said Finklea. “It took us a couple of weeks to learn and talk to doctors and get a game plan.”
Finklea said he needed to protect Harper due to the pandemic spreading quickly at the time. With the risks of COVID in mind, Harper’s parents spoke with doctors for advice on whether it would be safe for her to continue school in person.
“She is doing fine after all of that constant worry. I felt guilty because there are other people that have caught it (COVID) and either had a terrible time recovering or have passed away. Here I am going, ‘Oh, thank goodness, it’s finally over.’”
Dr. Bruce Finklea
“We were really worried about her social and emotional development,” said Finklea. “She couldn’t be around her friends, especially in those early days when we were wiping down groceries, because they thought you could get it from touching stuff.”
Finklea said their doctor advised to keep her in school for her mental health. He explained that limiting Harper’s exposure was the reason why he decided teach classes on Zoom for the rest of the fall 2020 semester.
“My wife already works from home, which kind of drove her up the wall,” Finklea laughs. “She was like, ‘You’re here all the time!’ Luckily, I have my own office at home, so I just set up my own Zoom broadcast studio. It was hard trying to make that shift because it’s not the same being on Zoom versus being in the classroom.”
Finklea said there were times students would not have their cameras on, or no one would talk. He felt like he was talking to himself.
“I kept thinking of what I would have done in that situation. Everybody was doing the best they could,” said Finklea. “There were plenty of days where I thought, ‘If I could do this lecture without having to turn my camera on, I would have done it, too.’”
insulin pump
Despite the situation, he said his students showed him that they can persevere through the toughest semester of their careers. His students still “rose to the occasion”, and he said it kept him motivated.
Harper’s adjustment involved using an insulin pump to regulate her blood sugar levels. She went to school, and her parents worried she would either contract the COVID virus, or her blood sugar would get too low.
“We were so fortunate that Harper had an amazing teacher that had a Type 1 student before,” said Finklea, “so she knew what to do if there was low blood sugar. That gave both me and my wife peace of mind.”
Now seven years old, Harper stays in good spirits with her diabetes. Finklea described his daughter to be “super sassy” and “very sarcastic.”
“I don’t know where she gets that from,” he joked, “but she really is an awesome kid. In relation to her diabetes, everyone has told us she’s grown up so much. We noticed the change in her after her diagnosis.”
Finklea explained that over the last year, her body is no longer struggling to grow. He said after she started getting insulin, it was “amazing what the body can do, and how it can grow when it’s not fighting to survive.”
Harper came down with a mild case of COVID at the beginning of the fall 2021 semester. Shelby County school systems did not require masks, and Finklea said the virus spread like “wildfire.”
“It was scary when that positive test came back,” he said. “We tried for so long to protect her, and then she ends up getting it.”
holding plaque for 2021
UMNAA Outstanding
Commitment
to Teaching Award
Finklea said he felt a “weird” sense of relief after he realized Harper’s COVID case was mild.
“I almost felt guilty saying it out loud. I went to my wife and told her I feel a sense of relief that Harper finally got it,” said Finklea. “She is doing fine after all of that constant worry. I felt guilty because there are other people that have caught it and either had a terrible time recovering or have passed away. Here I am going, ‘Oh, thank goodness, it’s finally over.’”
Finklea and Jackie are both fully vaccinated, and he said their pediatrician advised them to vaccinate Harper once children can get the COVID vaccine.
Finklea came back in person for the fall 2021 semester, feeling “super rusty” as a teacher. He received the 2021 UMNAA Outstanding Commitment to Teaching Award, which he said was “ironic” since he did not “remember how to teach” after 11 months away from a classroom.
“I love being able to foster the relationship with students, see them start out on their career and finding success,” said Finklea. “At the end of the day you could have an amazing career, you could be a rock star reporter or whatever. But, if you’re a terrible person, I think I’ve failed as a teacher. Yes, I need to teach you skills, but I also need to teach you how to be a good person in life.”
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