"We always want to be there to support her and be able to have her live her life how she is," said Karina Marquez, Kayla's mother.
Kayla is in kindergarten and enjoys going to school. It's a place where she gets to learn math and play with her friends.
But June 29, 2021, is a day Marquez will never forget.
"When it all happened, it was so crazy," said Marquez. "We were in the ER. We had to go visit her primary the first day, which was on Monday, and I will never forget. Then on Tuesday, we went to Valley Children's and we had no answers there after being there for eight hours. The following day, we went to Community Regional."
It was at CRMC where they found Kayla had Type 1 diabetes. Since then, they continue to navigate her condition. Especially now that she's started school.
"We had to put in the 504," said Marquez. "It's been a lot and a learning experience, I would say. Every day, we learn something new about her diabetes."
The family is raising money so that Kayla can get a service dog that can help manage her diabetes, working in tandem with her glucose monitor.
"She met someone at the park and she fell in love," said Marquez. "Also because that dog was able to smell her and was able to tell that she was running low before the Dexcom had even alerted us."
The owner of that dog also had Type 1 diabetes. Kayla and her family now started a GoFundMe to pay for the service dog. She's also selling chocolates to reach her goal.
"We just feel like a dog will be able to detect her lows and her highs sooner than what her Dexcom does now," said Marquez.
Type 1 diabetes doesn't define Kayla. She's still just like every other kid full of love and life.
By sharing her daughter's journey, Karina hopes it sheds light on Type 1 diabetes, but also sends a message of hope.
"You're not alone," said Marquez. "There's families everywhere, reach out."
For news updates, follow Ana Torrea on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.