Diabetes Blog Week - Day Two "One Great Thing"

Riley goes to a small private school that doesn't have a full time nurse. They have a part time nurse's aid. The district nurse comes in on Thursdays. I didn't know any of this before Wednesday, September 21, 2011. And my kids have gone to this school for 9 years.

The school nurse called me on Thursday morning, two days after Riley was diagnosed and had the two of us come into the health office to do a practice run of how it would go on Friday when Riley was back in school. I hadn't even given him an injection yet. My spouse did them at the Diabetes Clinic/Endo's office while we were there in training all day the day before. That nurse did the pre lunch injection that day (Riley preferred a certified medical person that he had never met over his rookie mom) then she suggested I get practicing. I've done almost every injection in that health room since Friday, September 23.

Riley goes in, tests his bg and I do the injection and write the date, bg number and insulin units given on the clipboard. Until April 2. That was the day Riley got furious about some school work he was missing or forgot to do and had to take care of at the last minute. I have no idea why he was so mad, this happens regularly. But, he went upstairs and did his nighttime bg check and Lantus injection by himself. He's been doing it ever since.

Our CDE had told us that by the time we came to the next 3 month appointment which is this Thursday she wanted Riley wearing his Type 1 diabetes stretchy bracelet thing and him to be doing his own injections at school. I told her that was too much. He would certainly wear his stretchy bracelet thing after I ordered the coolest one we could find, but I would still be going to school everyday and monitoring his insulin injections...do you hear what I am saying, there is no one in that health office to make sure everything is ok? Do you realize he has only been Type 1 for a few months? What's the hurry, he will be doing his own injections for the rest of his life? Have you ever done this before? I believe tears were dripping down my face at this point. I believe this because she handed me a box of tissues.

And here we are three months later and this boy who couldn't even look at the needle when we would draw it up in the glass vial, has his diabetes care under his control. Not my control, but his control. That is one Great thing.

I still wish I could give myself the injections for him. Sort of like we were still connected by the umbilical cord. I wish my pancreas could function for both of us. But I am so proud of him.

Diabetes Blog Week - Day One "Find A Friend"

I have been reading blogs regularly since my son, Riley was diagnosed (8 months ago). I found immediate comfort in finding a great blog then reading all the blogs that that original blogger reads. It all started for me at  Sara's http://momentsofwonderful.com/.

Then I stumbled upon Kerri Sparling's http://www.sixuntilme.com/. I didn't realize that she was some whiz-bang-long-time-maybe-original-diabetes-blogger-professional. It was her Diabetes Dictionary that I found in a google search looking up words diabetes bloggers always use like SWAG and bolus (we're MDI'ers). It had me laughing out loud and reading the entire dictionary to my husband who was trying to work. I just re-read it and still find it hilariously funny see: diabadass, daibetus and diablandic. Now I never miss her blogs thanks to RSS feed or whatever technical thing that sends me her updates as soon as they arrive.

And that all lead me to my ALL TIME FAVORITE, can't stop talking like she blogs, read it in the middle of the night in case I missed it during daylight hours http://bigfootchildhavediabetes.com/. Everyone needs some Katy in their life!

These blogs made a difference in my life. The more I read other people's blogs, I see the same impact they've made on me in other's lives. Specifically, I see hope and find courage. My perspective is so limited, I only know what we were taught in Diabetes Education classes and how it went for Riley's bg numbers last week or that time in October...I'm so grateful for the blogosphere lessons I'm learning and the experience I'm gaining through someone else I have never met.

It would be embarrasing if I saw any of these women in real life...I may be arrested as a too-long-hugger or something creepy like that.

Undefeated and Defeated

Spring soccer will not defeat me!


He hates it when his hair looks like that
-I couldn't resist

It started with me laying in bed this morning. It always starts that way. "Riley don't take any insulin with your breakfast," I say. He says, "Dad told me to do just one unit." (half of his normal dosage) "No, none" I reply.

8:15 am before the game 86 mg/dL
He played the entire first game, 90 minutes. And scored a goal. His team actually won this game, first and only win of the 6 week season.

10 am just before the second game grudgingly tested  253 mg/dL
I turned to my spouse and said something like woo that's high BUT that number is a dropping as we speak.

11:30 am - tested before eating lunch  149 mg/dL 
The second 90 minute game dropped his blood glucose by more than 100. He had a salad and two large slices of pizza with one unit of insulin.  BTW, his team lost that game in similar fashion to every other Saturday morning these past six weeks, except Riley had another goal.

1 pm - heading to the shower, laughing and yelling and possibly dancing around ridiculously. Spouse and I looked at each other and then I ran down to get his kit. Riley said NOOOOOO! and jumped in the shower. I set up the lancet poker thingy (and while cleaning out the kit, poked my finger with a stray lancet, but can't complain right...once every 4 months I injure myself with a lancet or sharp somehow, not eight times a day minimum like he has to)
When he got out of the shower  68 mg/dL 

Diabetes Blog Week

May 14 -20 is Diabetes Blog Week
Join in the fun this week. Come on, everybody's doin it!

Karen at Bitter Sweet is hosting her 3rd Annual D-Blog Week. Everyone participating will blog each day about a set diabetes related topic. Everyday for a week (thus the title). Her blog shows the list of everyone in the DOC - Diabetes Online Community who is signed up to participate. So readers can gain all kinds of insight and great stories from a whole slew of people blogging their experiences having diabetes or caring for a child with diabetes, etc...

Sibling

Riley's sibling, Reid was in the car with four other girls her age heading to a special choir practice about 30 minutes away from home. She was looking through the camoflauge bag I keep in the car with snacks, glucose tabs and juice boxes (just in case). I heard her say, "I wish I could taste a glucose tab." This caught my attention. I watched her in the rear view mirror answer all the questions that were aroused by her comment. She explained that her brother's blood sugar might or could go low (another child interrupted asking "Is it supposed to be high?") She continued saying that if it went to a number like 67, he would need to eat something sweet like the glucose tabs and added that no, your blood glucose isn't supposed to be high either. I added that I bet those glucose tabs probably taste like Smarties. 

I was proud of her. The way she described what she sees of her brother's diabetes care and control was matter of fact. She knew the answers. It took me back to that first week after diagnosis. None of us thought we would emotionally make it through. Now look at us!

We interrupt your regularly sceduled programming...

Last night, when Riley was doing his slow-acting insulin (Lantus) injection before bed, he realized at the too-late moment that he injected his fast-acting insulin (Novolog) instead. He was distraught! We assured him everything would be just fine. We went straight to the notebook we compiled from 20 hours of Diabetes Education. I remember the lesson about insulin mistakes, ie forgettting to inject insulin, injecting low-acting instead of slow-acting, injecting the wrong amount. I said out-loud in class after hearing a description of one of the errors, "That's impossible." "No it's not!" our educator replied. Sho-nuf.

The notes say to eat enough carbs to cover the insulin. How bad can that be? Riley had a little cup of ice cream (15 g), a cookie (I assume 15g-threw away the packaging too soon) and we added a tablespoon of chocolate syrup (15 g) for good measure. We made him promise not to make this mistake on purpose next time!

The question remained. Do we give the regularly scheduled Lantus after this? The notes didn't cover this question. Spouse says he read somewhere not to mix insulins-we figure that an injection of Novolog followed by an injection of Lantus an hour later constituted a mixing of insulins. I thought wait until morning to give the Lantus injection. But today is the beginning of the 30 Hour Famine!

So, we skipped it all together. He woke up with a blood glucose of 104 mg/dL. He totally carb loaded for breakfast this morning. The four us went out breakfast before school to use a Denny's gift card Riley got as a joke for Christmas. What's the joke? We were in California last year and while my spouse was working, I wanted to take the kids to LegoLand. Denny's in CA had a coupon for getting a kid in free for every adult pass purchased. So we drove to San Diego one morning for breakfast. Riley ordered himself the Make Your Own Grand Slam with turkey bacon (two orders of it). It might have been the highlight of the week's vacation.

 



Disaster avoided. We think. We'll see how high his numbers are today with the long-acting insulin on board. Then to further muddy the water (or blood), the fasting. It should be interesting. Tune in next time...

30 Hour Famine fundraiser

This weekend is the 30 hour Famine fundraiser I mentioned last month. Riley waffled about actually doing it. As of today, he is in.

Starting after lunch today, he will be on a juice (how does a diabetic drink juice?) diet for the next, you guessed it, 30 hours.

I'll let you know next week how it goes.