and went. I would love to say that they came and went without a hitch but... life is not as uneventful as we wish for here in the Waddingham household. Just before Thanksgiving our Kalee had a day of seriously unexplained low blood sugars. By midnight we turned Kalee's insulin pump right off after hours of doing just about anything that we could think of to get her blood sugar to rise above 60.... Unlimited glasses of orange juice... sugar tablets... peanut butter and crackers... These attempts were doing nothing more than contributing to the nausea that poor Kalee was feeling. I went into a "Diabetic Mom" panic... U moms know what I am referring to...the half smile, no worries, consoling words and silly jokes all for the sake of keeping your sweet diabetic (no pun intended) calm.. Holding back the flood of tears that are on the brink of overflowing. After a returned telephone call from the endocrinologist... it was determined that we would have to administer glucagon in hopes of breaking this hypoglycemic cycle. My hands trembling uncontrollably as I pulled the glass vial with powder substance and barbaric needle out of the dreaded red glucagon case. As I mixed the elements together, I said a silent prayer, hoping desperately that this would work. While sticking that ridiculously thick, extremely long, inhumane needle into Kalee's leg, my heart felt as if it would beat right out of my chest. I quickly pulled it out of her thigh and waited... We waited and waited in hopes that Kalees blood sugar would rise quickly. After about ten minutes Kalee's glucose meter read 90... She was rising but it was not exactly the number that I had hoped for.. I was looking for a 150 to 170 and eventually after about an hour she made it to 154. When the Dr.'s office opened I took Kalee right in to be evaluated. The endocrinologist had no explanation as to why this happened. They have seen unexplained lows before but it is quite rare not to be able to get the blood sugar to rise. The theory was delayed reaction to insulin and exercise... The only other explanation would be an adrenal condition and I am not ready to deal with one more diagnosis right now so.... we will go with the delayed reaction theory. After working closely with the endocrinologist for weeks we have made a number of adjustments which seem to be working for now. So we got through Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years with lots and lots of carb. counting and measuring serving sizes. Kalee turned "Sweet Sixteen"... a few days after her return to school from the holiday break. We are now, embarking on an entirely new experience of driving.....! She passed her drivers permit test the day of her birthday and is anxious to get out there behind the wheel. I am certain that there will be lots to blog about when Kalee is actually stepping on the gas, but for now we will take that issue nice and slowly.... So, Happy New Year to all of you wonderful families out there. If life with diabetes has been going smoothly for your family, then you are truly blessed, and I wish for all of you that things continue to work out that way. If life, however, is a bit more topsy turvey and up and down like what we are experiencing in our house, please know that you are not alone and I am walking through it with you. My wish for 2014 is a Healthy Year for all of us, with hopes and prayers for embarking on one year closer to a cure.. xoxoxo!
