How low can you go????

Last night, beginning at around 9 p.m Kalee began experiencing some unusual low blood sugars.  We could not pin point the reason..  There was no over bolusing, and she was doing some swimming and running earlier in the day, but nothing that would drop the blood sugar to 43 and keep it there for five hours.  I am not exaggerating, at all, when I say that we gave Kalee almost half a bottle of sugar tablets, 2 granola bars, crackers with peanut butter and jelly on them, 2 baggies of fruit snacks and 2 cups of orange juice (which my husband ran out at 1 a.m to purchase.) This was over a 4 hour time frame and her blood sugar would not go above 54.  I turned the insulin completely off (which I hate to do) and when she was still dropping, I pulled the pump right off of her, in fear that it had possibly malfunctioned and was still delivering.  It was not until about 2 a.m that she began to rise (only to 87)...  I continued checking her blood sugar throughout the night (or should I say, wee hours of the morning).  When she finally reached 100, I put another pod on her at the lowest basal of .05 and she still woke up in the 100 range??  I have absolutely no explanation for this.  Just when I think that I have experienced pretty much everything there is in the world of Type 1, something else gets thrown our way.  I will keep a close watch on Kalee throughout the day.  I was trying not to show my fear, but my anxiety was increasing with each blood sugar test that was not showing improvement.  I would like to say that I roll with the punches but some days (and nights) I would rather just punch something instead of actually rolling with them. ;)  Hope everyone has a nice weekend and any thoughts on what may have caused Kalee's outrageous lows are always welcome!

Happy Summer :)

Well....  It has been some time since I have posted last.  June was a bit of a whirlwind with final exams and end of the school year activities!  I welcome summer vacation, for sure.  No 5:30 a.m alarm clocks going off or teenage girls banging on the bathroom door to hurry each other up so everyones hair can be perfect...  (It's all about the hair in the morning, with the girls..lol).  Michael went to a Sugar Free Gang Camp (camp for children with diabetes)...  the last week in June.  He loves it and looks forward to going every year.  Kalee had gone for many years, as a matter of fact this was the first year that she opted out....  her explanation was, "I live diabetes every day, so I do not need one extra week in the summer to be reminded of it."  Sounds like a typical fifteen year old attitude to me... but, I do get where she is coming from ;)  Kalee has beeen keeping busy with soccer clinics, which seem to make her the most happy in the summer.  I would love to say that her blood sugars have been leveling off but....  NOT!!  The numbers go up and down like a roller coaster.  Our main problem is the actual omnipod itself.. It does not seem to be a great fit for her, with lots of occlusions or just plain falling off but since it is still the only wireless insulin pump out there, that is what she wants to stick with.  Michael is using it, as well, without many problems for the time being.... you all know how that goes :)  Kalee just got the new Dexcom continuous glucose meter....  it seems much more accurate than the original Dexcom 7 and it comes in funky colors, the shape of the i-pod nano, so it is slim and sleek enough to fit nicely into a pocket.  So far so good with it although Kalee is still not big on having more than one gadget stuck into her....  and I can't say that I blame her. So that currently brings you all up to date as to where we are this summer.  Our plans are to head on down to Disney in August.  I am hesitant about the drive with the issue's that I still have with my back but....  I know for sure, that a vacation is definitley welcome for our family.  This may be the last year that we can do the August Disney Vacation because, our oldest daughter, Macy, will be starting college in 2014.  Senior year in the high school begins for her this coming September, which is just wild to me....  So I hope that everyone is having a safe and happy summer with little to no issue's in the world of Type 1D.  xoxo <3

Michael (blue shirt)- Holding up 1 word puzzle pieces showing how Type1 makes them feel.

A New Normal....

I do not have the exact words to express what our family has been through over the past month.  We lost our young, beautiful, kind hearted, always smiling, cousin Chrissy, after a courageous battle with breast cancer.  She was  a wonderful wife, mother, daughter, "aunt" to my children and "sister" to me.  Chrissy was my first morning phone call and my last "Good Night" text after a busy day of doing the stay-at-home mom things that we stay-at-home moms do.  You know, the cooking, cleaning, taxi-drivers of the world that help with homework, balance the check book, kiss the bruises and wipe the tears.  Our lives have been changed forever and we now have the daunting task of trying to develop a "New Normal." The "Normal" as we knew it has been taken from us and trying to come up with the answers to "Why?" has been unrelenting.  My own faith felt shaken by this tragedy that has devastated my family...  As I stood at Chrissy's graveside today, looking up toward heaven asking God..."Where are you in all of this?" I felt so broken and alone.  I have been searching for comfort in this storm of grief.  A passage in a book that I have been reading spoke to me clear as day: A quote from Choosing to See, by Marybeth Chapman, "As I took a walk on the beach, I cried out to God.  How?"...  Here is what I heard....  How? By remembering that I am God and your trust has to rely completely on Me...  no striving of your own will to fix, heal, cure, help, calm any of what you see as a mess. I allow what I allow for reasons you can't even comprehend... rest.. you won't figure this out."  That passage spoke to me.  Focusing on the why's and the how's is not part of God's plan for us.  There are situations that God allows to happen in our lives that we will never be able to understand.  My family's heart is broken.  It is so easy for us to get washed away in the "Why's" we must instead trust God and hold on to the promise that we will be with Chrissy again some day.  Thus the undaunting task of creating a "New Normal" in our world that will never be the same without her.

Out Of Our Control.... "The Big Picture"

"Out of our control"... What is the "Big Picture?"  This is an issue that has literally slapped me in the face over the past few weeks.  Our family has been struggling with some personal health issues....  attacking not one but a few of us and it forces me to realize that as much as I try....  I cannot control every aspect of life.  My children who are so precious to me are truly in the hands of God, (and there are no better hands than His) but.. as much as I wish that I could "fix" everything for them.....  that is not the way life works.  I can't always fix the health issues or the heart aches and trials that we all seem to go through at some point in our life.  I haven't even been able to fix my own struggles as of lately...  and I am putting it out there friends...  I have truly been struggling myself recently.  I am certain that life has climbed on me and as much as I would like to think that this has happened overnight...  I realize that I have been struggling for months maybe even years....  Could it be that two of my children have been diagnosed with Type 1??   Absolutely..  Could it be that I worry, at times, about my oldest getting it?? Certainly....  Or could it just be that I have been struggling with my own personal issues which have lead to one very anxious woman who realizes.....  that everything is feeling out of control....  I am learning with each day that I really need to turn "Everything" over to God...  Which if you know me you have to know that this is something that "Mrs. Fix It" truly struggles with.  We are all human and as much as I wish I could share that I have it all together all of the time, those of you who know me can attest to the fact that I do not... I feel that I need to share this for others that are going through struggles and fears that are simply "Out of our control." You know the saying/song...  "What doesn't kill us makes us stronger.."  Well...  I am not so certain that those words are absolutely true but  I do feel that the struggles and trials in life happen for a reason..  I wish that I had the answers for so many "Why?" questions but I do believe there is a "Big Picture," that isn't always revealed to us in our timing ... <3  xoxo

Sweets and Treats that the Easter Bunny delivers.. :D

Happy Easter everyone! (Especially to my Type 1 families -out there).  I know that the Easter Bunny delivers candy and treats that can sometimes get a little confusing when it comes to carb. counts and insulin delivery.  The Bunny also delivers some small toys (bubbles, chalk, jump ropes) and gift cards-for the older kids (which can get a bit costly ;).  So, for the most part, in this household...  the candy gets delivered for Easter Morning and if we are lucky...  the Easter Bunny leaves the back of the packaging in a cabinet (which has the nutritional facts listed... including the carb counts!)  If the bunny forgets to leave the packaging- which is easy to do when filling the baskets late at night, (tired and not thinking clearly), we just wing it...  after all, it is a holiday and we all deserve a little celebrating.  Any chocolate the size of a hershey kiss we count as 3 to 4 carbs.  1 normal sized jelly bean, we count as 2 carbs...  the jumbo sized are about 5 carbs. A medium sized chocolate bunny we "guestimate" between 35 and 40 carbs.  A great resource can be the Calorie King carb. count booklet, which I used to carry around, religiously, in my purse along with my wallet and car keys! Hope some of this helps you parents out there who are working hard to make Easter as "Normal" for your Type 1 kiddo's as it is for every child who celebrates the day!  Happy Easter!  P.S..  Jelly Beans are a great way to treat a low!! <3

Trail of Test Strips... :)

I have just finished picking up the house from the morning fury of getting the kids out the door to school and I realized that in every room there is a test strip on the floor.  Now, parents of diabetics, you are going to totally relate to me when I say that we are like Hansel and Grettel in this household with leaving our trail of test strips everywhere we go.  I cannot possibly understand how they get EVERYWHERE!!!  I have joked in the past with my friends that anyone will be able to find us no matter where we are by following the trail of test strips.... They end up outside, in the back yard, the front lawn, the car.....  pretty much anywhere that you can imagine...  I found one floating in the pool last summer....  No one was testing in the pool....  hmmm.  The other morning a test strip was found while making my bed, beneath my pillow.  Must have stuck to me from the the midnight or 3 a.m blood sugar checks....  It is a silly thing, but I guess the trail of test strips is a pretty good indicator that the kids are doing their blood sugar testing and maybe I should take comfort in that instead of getting so frustrated with the vacuum cleaner, which for some reason will not suck any of them up!!!  Oh well I will be going around the house into each room and picking up the strips by hand this morning.  I may need a cup of coffee before I begin that task :) Enjoy your day!

Happy March Everyone :D

Wow...  It is March 1st already!  I feel like I lost the entire month of February.  It has been pretty much a blur since my back surgery, almost 4 weeks ago. Recovery is going (ever so slowly).  Type 1 doesn't care about mom's surgery though!  It feels at times like it has a mind set of its own..  You know what I mean, right?? Like..  the lets kick you when your down mind set..  Not always, but sometimes..  Well, regardless, last night Kalee was feeling a little low before bedtime and her blood sugar was reading 89 so I gave her a juice box since she was going to bed and had finished her indoor soccer practice about an hour prior.  I had a feeling her blood sugar would plummet after all of the running.  Well, twenty minutes later she came to tell me that her blood sugar was 250...  What?? Impossible...  I said, lets do a re-check.  Sure enough Kalee's blood sugar was reading 257.  Oh well, sometimes we just cannot explain these things.  So I gave her a correction bolus and she was off to bed.  I was too, but....  you parents of Type 1 diabetics know about much sound sleep we get each night ;)  I tested Kalee about an hour later and she was now 301. Hmmm...  What's going on here?  I bolused her again and headed to bed.  The entire night was hour re-checks with high blood sugars and correction bolus's.  On any normal given night I would have done two corrections and if Kalee's blood sugar was not dropping, would have changed her site and moved on....  However, recovering from this surgery has "fried" my brain a bit and I was feeling so exhausted that I was sure one of the correction bolus's would have kicked in.  To no avail by 6 a.m Kalee was awake and getting ready for school, still sitting in the 200 range.  I asked her to let me take a look at her site for a quick check. To my dismay there was a patch of pooled blood and insulin sitting just below the insertion site of her omnipod.  TMI...  YUCK! Oh no...  "I'm a fail..."  Was the first thought that entered my mind... If I had done my normal protocol with a site change last night we would have all slept more sound.  Kalee changed the site and moved on with her day as if nothing happened at all.. Thank God for the resilience of teenagers :)  I moved on, as well, there really isn't a choice in the matter and instead of beating myself up over it, which I have done many times throughout this journey of parenting,  I chose, for today anyway, to accept that these things will happen from time to time and maybe "I am not such a fail."  None of you parents  out there dealing with health issues, whether it be you or your children are a fail.  We are all trying to do the best we can and as difficult as it is... We must accept that some things are out of our control.  Forgiving ourselves is a struggle but it is necessary to survive Type 1 parenting!!!  Happy March Everyone..  and please... Think Spring!!!  <3