Honeymoon Over

this was not a set up prop

I didn't think I was ever gonna type here again. I still clicked back here in the past two months just to look at my pictures. But nothing to say. Too much to say. But maybe day by day is the best way to do this. Blogging and life, both.

Diabetically speaking, Riley is doing pretty well. He's had an Endo appointment during my blog vacation. His A1c is up one whole point to 7. That surprises me. I can't imagine that seeing so many 300's on his glucometer could still produce an A1c of 7. On Memorial Day, I thought the Honeymoon was Over, but it was not. Another great step toward a completely disfunctioning pancreas was taken this past September. Right when Riley was benched for not keeping his grades above passing, his blood glucose numbers skyrocketed. Tricky Diabetes. Perhaps the lack of daily exercise is causing high numbers or maybe it's the stress of not being able to play with the team/pressure to improve his grades PDQ. His carb ratio went from 1:25 to 1:15 to 1:7 in days. So for the last four weeks he has been using two units of insulin for every 15 CHO. His evening insulin, Lantus, is up to 9 units. But as the endo explained, for a kid his size it will probably triple. So indeed, he still has a partially functioning pancreas.

Our own perfect storm is not Hurricane Sandy, but Just Riley. Starving -fourteen -year -old - TD1 -teenager. See it there. All of those converging. 'I'm just so hungry', 'I'll dose for it', 'I'll run around to burn it off', 'No I didn't eat anything', 'I have no idea why it's 321'. These are real quotes happening real (ly) often.

My mom is the other part of the Life of Riley here at our house. She's moved back in with us. We're glad to have her. I don't have to worry about her being alone at her house at the beach in Delware where she would prefer to stay. She's had a recurrence of uterine cancer. It is not really a recurrence. She had it removed last year with a full hysterectomy. But this time, it is a completely different cell, a different type of uterine cancer - which is weird.  She began chemotherapy treatments two weeks ago and will continue a three week cycle here in Pennsylvania next week. I'm specifically praying for no side effects from the therapy and a reduction in the discomfort she has been experiencing in the last month since her diagnosis.

Hurricane Sandy came through slowly Sunday night and is still passing by. The kids' school closed for two days, which meant I didn't work on Monday at the school and the local military installation was also closed (unheard of), so I didn't work today either. Everybody wins, except my paycheck and Tim, because working from home does not have weather related cancellation perks. We experienced no flooding or downed trees or loss of electricity. I'm grateful, but a little disappointed. I really wanted to be warmed by the gas fire place and eat out of cans by candlelight.

I Survived Camp and Riley Did Too

It is Saturday morning! We are leaving to pick up Riley in 25 minutes. His numbers looked great. His activity level got his nightime insulin (Lantus) down to 3 units-that was the only insulin change I needed to make all week.

He called me on Wednesday night from the health aide's phone because his bg was 250. I loved hearing his voice. He asked if he should increase his Lantus because it was around 10:30 pm. That was awesome, he saw a number and had an idea of how to adjust it.  I reminded him that his before breakfast number was 120 that morning, so it was not necessary. Because they had just finished Capture the Flag or such activity, his bg number would drop on it's own.

Also, the pictures the camp posts online during the week look like Riley was having an awesome time.

When I stopped by the camp to drop off some sugar-free drinks/Crystal Light drink packets AND did not talk to him, all the kids had just finished dinner and were heading to the pool for noodle sparing. Two kids from different teams stand atop inner tubes with some mesh across the hole and spar with noodles, basically trying to push the other off their inner tube. I was there standing 30 yards from the pool and was able to see Riley win - on a technicality - but win, nonetheless.  And then eat a few starbursts without testing.

I can't wait to hear all about the week, by asking a million questions in rapid fire style. To which he will put on his headphones and pretend not to hear me.

NOTE: I will not be bringing his headphones.

Just Don't Talk to Me

Dropped night time insulin by two units and
mealtime insulin by two units to compensate for the
heavy activity schedule as well as the heat.

Camp bg numbers so far:

dinner    bg 156
bedtime bg 217
bkfst      bg 145
lunch     bg 158


How did I get these figures from camp, you ask?

The health aide (no nurse or medical personnel on staff) texts them to me! I gave her four pages of information related to managing Riley's diabetes yesterday when I dropped him off.

• Page 1 - their meal schedule for the week with my added carb counts from Calorie King and other sources
• Page 2 - log to keep track of each bg test, carb count per meal and insulin unit amount injected
• Page 3 - list of low symptoms and treatment procedure & list of the supplies and where they can be found in the dining hall. (ie back up insulins in the refrigerator, testing supplies/snacks/ketone strips/glucagon in the plastic bin and ice packs (one for each day) for bg meter in the freezer)
• Page 4 - our contact numbers and MUSTS for Riley: kit in his knapsack on his back with fast acting candy & lists of when to contact me - bg over 200 in the morning, bg over 300 anytime, a low under 65 and any insulin injection error

Also left a 1 cup measuring cup for cereal and pasta and a bottle of lite syprup for the breakfast goodies that will sky-rocket his blood sugar. And an old 33oz water bottle for sharps storage.

As I said goodbye, leaving him in the hands of a 19 yr old health aid, I tested the water by saying I would see him Wednesday just to check his numbers and make any insulin changes on my way to a job in a nearby town. I had to say it twice to really get his attention to which he replied, "OK, but just don't talk to me."

How We Did Kings Dominion Amusement Park

This is how I remember Kings Dominion 25 years
ago as a middle-schooler

Our youth group does an annual 3-day trip to Kings Dominion for Kings Fest. I am a youth leader so fortunately I was able to go and hang out with lots of teens and my own with T1D.

How we did it: Dropped Lantus by 1-2 units and Novolog by 2 units starting on the first night at the park for the Lantus and dinner time for the Novolog since we arrived at 3 pm.

There was at least one meal that Riley didn't use any Novolog.

His days were spent walking to/from the hotel to the park, in 100 degree heat, walking the park, riding rollercoasters, cooling off in the wave pool.

His bg never went above 150, the only low was on the bus ride down right before lunch.

Big relief knowing Amusement-Parking is totally in the realm of possibility. Will use these lessons learned for Camp next week.

Camp Checklist

• worry
• contacted camp via email outlining diabetes procedures-attempting to overwhelm without success
• contacted CDE to outline procedure for lowering evening Lantus, before meal Novolog, review the camp schedule for hot spots for lows
• worry
• purchased single serving snacks of 15 g carbs
• checked schedule for best time to covertly visit camp
• worry
• watched video of daughter's visit to camp and studied games intensely, very sure of low possibility

Summer is here and ...

Everything is different now. Makes me not want to blog at all. I don't even want to read D-blogs except for Bigfoot Child Have Diabetes  I can't get enough of Katy.

I finally upped the evening (long acting insulin) Lantus last night, so the numbers look fantastic today. Which doesn't make me feel better, it worries me that tonight or tomorrow his bg will be too low.

Summer has been tons of fun while trying to get bg numbers under control-or at least under 200. That's a good goal, right?

We already went to visit Gramma at the beach. We were joined there by my neice and nephew, ages 2 and 3 1/2, and their parents. I tried to make it like a real summer vacation - we went to the beach, we went to the pool, we miniature golfed and had a huge Kohr Bros custard cone for $7. a piece at the boardwalk.  And because it is a tradition - Reid and I rode my dad's scooter to the grocery store. We do this every single time we go to my parent's house. My parents both got scooters shortly after retiring and moving to the beach. My dad's is a Vespa.

Vespa - So Cool!

I don't have a motorcycle license so I rarely rode it. Dad would limit my joy rides on his faster-than- mom's-scooter to just in the neighborhood. I ride my mom's Honda scooter all over Bethany Beach, Ocean View and even to Ocean City on occasion. No license necessary since it doesn't even go 30 mph. The scooter is absolutely one my favorite things. I ride it every time I go to the beach -when my dad was alive. Now three years after his death, I have only been to their house a handful of times but I ride the scooter. It takes me back to the fun times of all of piling onto the two scooters and going into town for the July 4th parade or to the beach. My dad would ride the Vespa with Reid in front of him and my mom on the back of him and I would have Riley with me on the yellow (Honda) scooter. Good times.

We also picked strawberries the morning before we headed home. The four of us, my mom, Reid and Riley and I picked almost 18 pounds-I have no idea what that means in the proper strawberry quart measurement. But it was a lot and they were delicious. I froze our bounty so I can learn how to follow a recipe and make jelly with them. That is my goal for one day this summer...eventually.

Old Insulin

They say you can only keep the Novolog and Lantus pens a month.

We meticulously write dates on each pen as Riley goes through them. We regularly throw away 15-20 units because the four weeks is over but the insulin isn't. But last week, we just kept using the Lantus before bed time even though it was a week past due. His morning blood glucose number was a little low 86. I knew "they" were just trying to get us to buy more insulin, this stuff doesn't really get old. Then lunch rolled around, bg 168. Hmmm, that's odd. Maybe Riley had a pretzel rod in Math class for getting a 100 on your assignment. It is the last class before lunch and Mrs. Math Teacher really does give pretzel rod treats. At dinner, his bg was 172. I'm gonna have to think about that one. Then bedtime again, bg 251. Well, I guess the honeymoon is over...

Next day, we do it all over again. Before breakfast bg 113, lunch 202, dinner 122 and bedtime 234.

Then it hits me! It's the old Lantus.

Proceed with new Lantus.

Before breakfast bg119, lunch 97, dinner 88, bedtime 128.

Why would I think I knew more than "they"?