Happy Birthday to Kid #1.... xoxo

Happy Birthday to our oldest!! Macy, will be turning 17 this week and although we parents tend to make our mistakes with our first born children, remarkably, she has turned into an intelligent, beautiful, compassionate young woman, despite her parents "blunders" along the way! Macy has endured her share of "Wait a moment, I am testing your brothers blood sugar." and "Hold on a second, your sister feels low and needs a juice."  It is no wonder, that she is seriously considering going "away" to college...  Who can blame her!? ;)  Although, Macy does not have Type 1... it has affected her life tremendously. Her "Normal," since the age of 9 has been... getting up to get "mom" in the middle of the night if her sister feels low or makes a funny sound. She has been the kid to run and grab a juice box or get the insulin when I am tending to those stubborn, "highs" and "lows." Macy is the, "big sister," who will turn down the brownie at youth group because she knows her sisters blood sugar is high and it would be better to wait. So for your kindness, and patience along the way, I would like to say, "Thank you." I know it hasn't always been easy or fair, for that matter, but despite everything, you have evolved into a wonderful young woman whom, we as parents, are so proud of! We love you Macy. Happy Birthday... <3

Thinking clearly "ALL" of the time... LOL :D

Alright...  so it is pretty much an impossible task to think clearly every moment of the day...  (and night).  Last night was no exception! The kids were experiencing their typical highs and lows which happen from time to time, (more often than not!)  Well at about 3 a.m I could not figure out why on earth Kalee's omnipod would not deliver her a correction bolus.  I was trying to be so careful as to not wake her by my fumbling with the pod.  In trying to move Kalee to a different position for a better signal, I obviously woke her...  She glared at me with such a puzzled look, and said, "What are you trying to do??"  Now in my frustrated mom voice, I replied.. "What does it look like I am trying to do..  I am trying to give you a correction bolus!"  To which Kalee replied, "Then why don't you use my omnipod and put away Michael's.."  LOL !.  I was trying to bolus Kalee with the wrong insulin pump...  I had her brothers instead!!  My brain must have turned off after 2 a.m...  I have to laugh it off other wise I might sit here and turn on the tears ... although, a good cry can be very cleansing every now and then ;)  Oh well.  Today is another day!  Hope my "brain fog" goes away.. :)

School Exams - Not a big deal, right? ;)

Mid-terms and finals..  No big deal, right??  Every one of us, at one time or another, has had to sit in a classroom or gymnasium to take these exams with anticipation and anxiety.  Now throw Type 1 into the mix and things can get interesting.  Kalee has mid-term exams this week...  A post on our district web-site reads...  NYS law effective immediately prohibits, cell phones and any/all electronic devices into a mid-term/final/or state test.  Okay, we have always had the rule of no cell phones to be used during an exam but...  they were allowed into the room and to be turned off then placed under your chair until a proctor came to collect your paper, at which time you would gather your belongings and exit the room.  The cell phone is not my issue (although, both of my children have 504's on file with the district with one accommodation being that they will carry their cell phone at all times to contact a parent regarding health related issues throughout the day.)  My issue is the wireless insulin pump that looks much like a cell phone.  As if my daughter wants any more attention drawn to her, we now have to deal with the most definite possibility of a proctor confronting her as she enters the examination room regarding the little purple device in the small black case which delivers her insulin.  In a perfect world, the district would make all employees aware of these students with health accommodations....  Let's even go out on a limb and assume that they would make the teachers aware of the 504 plans that these students have but...  unfortunately this is NOT a perfect world and it makes the Mama Bear in me want to claw someone!!!  I have sent e-mails to administration and teachers regarding the issue and to give them the benefit of the doubt...  today is a holiday so I am hopeful that within the next day or two I will receive a response... Although I am prepared to take on the issue, it would be so nice if  just once the school district would already have a plan in place without having to seek out administration.  Lets keep our hopes high for a positive outcome to the matter...  I'll keep you posted ;)

Cutting the apron strings.... :)

The littlest things in life become very big deals in the world of Type 1...  My son, age 11 came to me and said "Mom, I'd like to try out for the play at school."  Now, in a perfect world any mother would be thrilled to have their child involved in extracurricular activities but...  in "My world" the world of Type 1 parenting...  my heart drops into my stomach with the though of, "After school, without mommy."  Now you would think that by now I would be used to this since my daughter, Kalee, also Type 1, has been playing soccer and running track since she were in middle school..  but ,even now that she is in the high school...  I find myself staring at the clock, after school, wondering when she is going to call for a ride home... If she is a minute past when practice is supposed to be over my heart starts racing.  Now, Michael has played on rec. soccer/even baseball teams since he were in pre-school.  The difference being....  myself or my husband has always been there watching him!!!  I don't worry so much while he is in school because the day is very structured with him checking in at the health office at least three times a day... but after school is a different story.  There are no nurses on staff and Michael always comes home to a snack waiting for him...  Now I will have to rely on a cell phone call and a granola bar to hold him over which may or may not do the trick.  I know that I have to do this but, in my heart I want Michael home safe and sound, with me, by 3:00, testing his blood sugar and eating his afternoon treat.  So tomorrow, I will be taking a BIG step in my world of cutting one maybe two at most of the apron strings...  which I have tried so hard for as long as I possibly could to keep attached.

Couldn't this get, "Just a little easier?" ;)

Well, today is A1C day...  and to be honest, I never actually look forward to this.  First of all, watching my children have their bloods drawn is not pleasant for me at all.  It especially used to break my heart when they were much younger and would put on those brave..  "Aren't you proud of me mommy," faces.  Secondly, I cannot imagine that Kalee's a1c is going to be too fabulous with all of the fluctuations that have been occurring with her blood sugar lately.  Michael will be in a good range...  He, thankfully, seems to be much more controlled right now than Kalee has been.  The kids never look forward to this appointment so it puts me on the "Bad Guy" list :(  Some how every dislike and bad thing that happens seem be the moms fault in our house.   I can't help wondering if  this will ever get easier :(  I go through the same conversation with my 15 year old, which eventually evolves into an argument over and over again hoping that one of these times she will understand that what I am trying to instill in her are healthy choices and good decisions to keep her well.  Instead in Kalee's mind, I am just mean....:(  I fear that Michael is slowly creeping down the path of ... "Testing my blood sugar is getting old now." I have watched him go from jumping up in the morning, testing and rushing to find me to convey his blood sugar reading to... handing me the meter and his finger and saying, "Here mom, I need to test."  I understand that Type 1 gets old very quickly but.....  couldn't it just get a little easier??  It is so constant and around the clock that it can consume a person if you allow it to.  I try not to do this but in all honesty I have to say it is a very difficult task.  I am off to pick the kids up early from school now for our Dr.'s appointment so..  please say a little prayer for the a1c's to be good and for this to some how, some way, "Get a little easier" <3

Teenagers and Type 1.. Can get complicated ;)

No one ever said that raising teenagers is an easy task.  Throw diabetes into the mix and things can get complicated.  Well last night my daughter Kalee...  turning 15 this week, went to a girlfriends for a sleepover.  Now let me just say that sleepovers are few and far between for my children because we have some wacky nights with blood sugars ranging from very high to extremely low..  Everything always seems worse at night in our household...  She texted me her blood sugar at 7p.m.. She was 145.  Then texted me a blood sugar at 10 p.m...  Her blood sugar increased to 210.  I  received another text at midnight..,  blood sugar was 245 (Oh no, here we go!!), .... We did one more correction and I was hopeful that she would come down.  I fell asleep and didn't waken until 6 a.m where I stared at the clock wondering if Kalee was sleeping, or dropping or feeling sick from a high blood sugar night.  A mom can really make themselves crazy with worry.. (well this mom can, anyway ;).  At 9 a.m I got a text " I feel sick and I am 405."  My reaction was none-the-less, over the top!  "What do you mean you are 405???"  "Do you purposely choose not to pay any attention to your glucose meter when it beeps and signals that you are rising??"  Okay, so maybe I over reacted a little, but I didn't need the beautiful response ..."U R being dramatic Mom! "  That is what my 15 year old texted back at me.  She changed her pod and blood sugar was dropping by the time she was picked up at about 10:30 a.m., but really!  Kalee knows all that we have done over the years to keep her healthy yet there are days where she chooses to ignore the possibility that by not taking care of her blood sugars she can become seriously ill.  It is such a fine line as a parent because...  I don't want to instill fear/and anxiety in Kalee by reminding her of the seriousness of her condition but...  at the same time she is getting older and should definitely be more aware of what needs to be done to keep herself safe and well.  I remember being a teenager (although the memory is getting more and more vague the older I get).. and I know that carefree feeling, sometimes I wish I still had it but....  in Kalee's case it can be detrimental.  She was perfectly fine for the rest of the day (except for having to listen to her mother rant a bit and go on and on about the importance of taking care of her blood sugars!)  It's what we mom's do, right??  Well, not all of us but I definitely do!  When Kalee was a little girl, I used to hear of these stories and be like...  "Not my daughter."  "Kalee would never be so irresponsible"..  Well, guess what parents.  I realize now that no one should ever be over confident of how you or your child will react in a situation unless we are walking through it ourselves.  Lesson learned ;).  I have a lot of lessons to go, I'm sure, but I certainly wish this teenage thing could be a little less stressful for all of us!

Sweet Dreams..... ;)

Well...  it is almost 1 a.m and although I had every intention of staying awake until 11 p.m to re-test the kids blood sugars, I closed my heavy eyes for just one second at around 9:45 and didn't wake up until now!  Since tomorrow (technically today) is the first day back to school after the holiday break I had wanted to make sure that their blood sugars were fairly close to target range at bed time in hopes that throughout the night and into the morning they would wake feeling good for the school day.  At around 9:30 p.m everyone seemed fine with Michael at 101 and Kalee testing at 89 (she had a juice box) and I told her I would re-test her at around 11.  Well here it is one in the morning and when I went to re-check both of the kids Kalee was testing at 347 and Michael was sitting at 239...  Yikes!!  What had happened???  Honestly..  sometimes I feel like the kids are dreaming about cookies and ice creme or something fabulously sweet and full of carbs...  to drastically increase their blood sugars during the night!  I corrected both Kalee and Michael and after an hour I re-checked...  Kalee was now pushing the 400 mark so there was no doubt for me...  time for a shot and a change in pod (although we had changed it at dinner time)..  When I went to take hers off I could see that the tubing/cannula was completely removed and sitting on top of her skin...  UGH!!!   Alright...  at least that would explain her high blood sugars...  Now it will only take the rest of the night to get her to come down and feeling good for school tomorrow.  Michael, on the other hand had a slower increase...  he went from 239 to 248.  I, of course, looked closely at his pod.  It looked like it was inserted properly, so I gave him another correction via the omnipod, increased his basal for about an hour and will sit and wait to see if he comes down.  I am happy to have this blog, other wise I would be scanning the television channels most likely ending up watching CNN,  trying everything possible to stay awake ;).  That first day sending the kids back to school always give me a nervous feeling in my stomach.  Now add these high blood sugars to that!!  Time for a deep breath (and maybe a cup of coffee:) The kids are due for a re-check so I will say goodnight for now... I know that I am not alone, as many of you type 1 parents have experienced these long nights from time to time.   Stay tuned for a continuation..  Although I am sure that this will turn out like the nights that many of you know so well: with small increment's of correction bolus's each hour and half ...  Kids will wake up not knowing a thing  happened and I will walk around looking as if I had been hit by a truck all day.  This certainly is not easy but as you mom's (and dads) out there know...  No one is more worth  all of this than our kids <3
Sweet (or maybe a little less sweet) dreams everyone ;)


Continued...  Well this morning was just what I had thought it would be.  The kids woke up with very close to target blood sugars...  (Kalee, believe it or not was actually a little on the low end with a b/s of exactly 70).  Michael was a lovely 130 and as you can imagine,  I am ready for bed... But unfortuntaly the day has just begun!  :)