Kids for a Cure Awarenss Day

WOW!

in less than one week Amy and I will be headed for Ottawa, the capital city of Canada.

Amy was selected as 1 of 40 children from across Canada to participate in JDRF's Kids for a Cure Awareness day on Parliament Hill.

This is a great honor for us. 

We first became involved with JDRF back when Amy was diagnosed in February 2012.  It wasn't a big involvement, but I found them a great source of information.  There are not many children with type 1 diabetes were I live, and I looked to the DOC for comfort, and some sort of feeling that I was doing things "right".  I'd seen the wonderful things people had to say about JDRF and the annual walks, and wished that we could participate in one of the walks, and feel like we were making a difference too.

This past June, our family of four travelled to St. John's, NL and participated in our first walk.  We raised over $1000 and were quite pleased with that amount.

Then in September, we found out we were selected to attend the Kids for a Cure awareness Day.  I'm excited and anxious all at the same time to tell our story.  To show the decision makers of the Canadian Government just how important it is for continued and even expansion of the JDRF Canadian Clinical Trial Network.  That the research done can truly make a difference in the lives of our children.  How it can take away some of the constant worry and hardships.

We often look at our children and think about how diabetes doesn't stop them, and how much they accomplish despite diabetes.....about how diabetes is just something we do, without thinking much about it.  But imagine.  Imagine what their world will be like when there is no diabetes, and how much easier things will be to accomplish without that worry and the constant battle. I know that someday we can make this a reality, and turn Type One into Type None.

On Tuesday, November 25, 2014, my daughter and I, along with 40 other children and their parents, will respectfully tell our stories and HOPE that the Canadian government will do their part to Step up to Cure Type 1 Diabetes.

If you would like to make a donation, you can do so HERE.

Happy Thanksgiving

Wow! It's hard to believe that it's been two months since I've written.

Amy started grade three, her last year at our amazing primary school. Her new teacher has been excellent.

Rylie is now in grade one and in school all day. I'm very grateful that she is just across the hall from Amy.

We've just returned from a wedding in beautiful Punta Cana.  I was worried about the trip and how much diabetes supplies to take; how the hot weather would affect BGs; how having the pump off most of the day would affect sugars....

We took advantage of medtronics travel program, thankfully we had no issues with Amy's pump.

I think our biggest mistake was grossly underestimating the number of carbs in an alcohol free pina colada!

To all my Canadian friends, I want to wish you a Happy Thanksgiving!
Stay tuned, I have some news!

That's a lot of blood

Who knew that the scalp bled so much!

Added to our growing list of ailments for the summer is a split head.

The most frightening thing I've experienced with the girls so far......even scarier than the T1D diagnosis was this past weekend.

I was sitting on the patio with my husband, we were taking a break from putting in fence posts for our new fence. When Rylie came out and asked if she could have a piece of gum.  Amy then ducked her head out and asked if she could have one.  Sure.  Go ahead.

Next things happened pretty quick.  In true horror movie fashion, the door swings open, Amy has her hands cupped in front of her, with a pool of blood, blood streaming down her face, and a very scared "someone help me".

Instincts kicked in and we both jumped to the door, grabbing a cloth and applying pressure.  Rylie took off running because she thought she was in trouble.  The bleeding slowed, I got the trail of blood from the kitchen to the patio cleaned up and we finally determined what had happened.

Rylie was on the counter, and as Amy was jumping up to get the gum, Rylie opened the cupboard door and it the corner caught Amy right in the noggin.

It was a very small cut.  We debated the ER department but husband was satisfied that bleeding had stopped and she hadn't knocked herself unconscious.

I got them settled down to watch a movie, then went back out to help with the fence for an hour before lunch.

It lunchtime I noticed that the cut was starting to wet again as Amy moved around or cried.  I made the decision to take her to the ER.

It took us a grand total of 15 minutes, in and out!  They were excellent.

They used surgical glue and glued the cut.  Amy was happy, I was satisfied and everything was fine.  Blood sugars were even co-operating.

Moral of the story....heads bleed a lot, and gum is now kept on the low cupboard.

P.S.  Amy also had another baby tooth pulled this week because it wouldn't let go.  I told you that poor child has been through a lot this past month!

Summer Day Camp

Today was the first day that both girls went to Summer Day Camp.  Although schools been out for several weeks now, we are only just starting a new routine.  First we took a short trip to Dartmouth for Canada Day, then Amy had strept throat, then both girls had the chicken pox.

As I was getting everything gathered up, my husband made an off-hand comment about when I dropped them off. I was completely caught off guard and not prepared to do the dropping off.   You see, I work about a 5 minute drive from our house.  Husband works about 15 minutes from house.  I know, we don't have long distances to go.....but the summer day camp is just down the road from him.  I didn't want to drive all the way up on base, then have to come all the way back down.  I ended up quickly throwing my things together and taking them, because he wanted me to be the one to talk to the camp girls.  In the end, not a big deal.

I had already talked to the organizer and gave some information about managing Amy's diabetes a few weeks before the camp started, but hadn't talked to the young girl in charge.  I told her if she needed anything to just call me.

Lunchtime the phone rang. She told me that Amy's site was falling off.  I remembered that last night before bath her IV 3000 dressing was coming after returning from the beach, so we removed it and planned to put on another.  Guess we didn't put on the other one.  I sent Corey up to change it after his lunch.

At 3pm I get another call, her sugar is 18 and it won't give a correction because of the amount of insulin already on board.  I asked her to put Amy on the phone and had her put on a temp basal.  I also gave her some reasons why her sugar may be high.....including taking it off for a water fight.

In all, the day was good, my only concern now is that Wednesday is a scheduled beach day....all day!

Wait. What?

Has it really been almost two months since I last posted?  Wow, I didn't realize it's been that long.

A lot has happened.  Rylie graduated Kindergarden. Amy finished grade two.  The both did amazing. I couldn't be prouder.  I really need to come up with a great scheme....I mean idea to keep them reading over the summer.

We just returned home from a trip to Nova Scotia.  It took us three days to drive there, a week at our friends then three days to drive home again.  The second day home was in the midst of Tropical Storm Arthur......with a brand new travel trailer in tow.  That was interesting!

My mom has always watched my girls for me, ever since I went back to work when Amy was a year old.  I know how lucky I was that she took on that role for us, especially when Amy was diagnosed in Kindergarden and doing half days.  My mom was there for the other part of the day, and that was comforting.  Well. Since Rylie will be in school all day this September as well, my mom made the difficult decision to return to work.  With this change, came my first year ever having to decide what to do with the girls during the day since school was out.

We signed them up for a summer day camp program on the Air Force base that my husband works. The first week of the camp we were out of town.  Last week was to be their first week and they couldn't have been more excited.....except, our first day home, Amy woke up not feeling very well.  I was home from work for one more day to unpack and settle the house away.  Amy slept most of the day.  Fever, headache, chills, sore throat.  The next day I was convinced she had strept throat, and would take her to the local ER when I got off work.  When my husband called to say she was throwing up and had 0.8 ketones. I asked him to meet me at the hospital (where I work).  He dropped her off to me, then went to bring Rylie to her Nanny's house.

First in the ER they took vitals, asked pertinent questions, then sent us back to the waiting room. I made it clear that she had diabetes, had thrown up and had a small amount of ketones.  And that she had been exposed to chicken pox while on our vacation that we just returned from. (Our friend's youngest daughter broke out in pox the day we arrived).  We waited almost an hour when I tested her again. Her sugar had risen to 12, and ketones were 1.9.  When the door opened to call the next person in for triage, I spoke to the nurse to let her know the new values.  They had us back inside in about 5-10 minutes.  The doctor came in shortly after.  She agreed that Amy appeared to have strept throat.  Also, because of the ketones and the vomiting she wanted to do some blood work and possibly give some fluids.  I tested her again while we waited and blood sugar was up to 13.9 and ketones 2.9.  I managed to convince Amy that she had to do both, and boy was she a trooper!  She had two blood draws (with three attempts) and she had an IV inserted (which didn't work the first time).  The funny thing is, the blood work came back ok.  She didn't have any metabolic disturbances even though our meter was reading the many ketones! I was happy she didn't but wondered about its reliability then.  After  6 hours at the ER we got to go home.

Our weekend started out uneventful. We decided to sleep in the new camper in the front yard.  When Rylie woke she had a few red bumps on her face. I pushed my nagging feeling aside.  By supper time I couldn't ignore those feels because the proof was in the pox.  Yup, that's right! CHICKEN POX!!!

14 days to the day of being exposed, Rylie broke out.  Now to be fair, we weren't just exposed that one time, we lived with a little girl who had them for a week.  The length of her entire illness.

To answer the next question, yes, they have both been vaccinated, Amy has had one and Rylie two.  They changed the vaccine schedule in 2011 because the one shot wasn't working well.  Now, I don't want to get into a vaccine debate, I 100% support vaccination.  I'm a pharmacist and see the benefits of vaccination daily.  And heard immunity only works when the heard is immunized.  The thing is, the severity is no where near what it was when I had them 15 years ago.

Here's the kicker....looks like Amy has broken out in a few initial spots as well. At least they have them at the same time, right?

What I'm wondering is, do any of you have any experience with diabetes and chicken pox?

D-Blog Week: Day 7

Today is the last day of D-Blog Week.

The topic is to share a few of our favorite things from the week.

I find that kind of hard to narrow down.

It was a very busy week for me with all the ballet recitals and the trip to Lab City that I didn't get to read as many posts as I would have liked.  I will definitely be reading up the next few nights.

I think my favorite thing is to see more people read my blog.

I have a very small readership, but I don't really promote my blog either.  To be honest, I'd say there are very few people in my circle that actually know that I blog.

I feel its my way to connect with other D-parents.  and I need that.

From the bottom of my heart, I thank all of you that have read my thoughts this week, and those who have taken the time to reach out to me and comment as well.  You will never know the impact that you have had.

THANK YOU!

D-Blog Week: Day 6

Today's topic is as follows:

Back for another year, let’s show everyone what life with diabetes looks like!  With a nod to the Diabetes 365 project, let’s grab our cameras again and share some more d-related pictures.  Post as many or as few as you’d like.  Feel free to blog your thoughts on or explanations of your pictures, or leave out the written words and let the pictures speak for themselves.

Feb 25, 2012.  Just 2.5 short weeks after Amy was diagnosed.

She was vomiting profusely, I knew it was a stomach bug.  Her sister and cousin were both sick as well.  She couldn't keep anything down.  She was on NPH twice daily and Rapid twice daily.  I was dealing ok.  She had some ketones.  But I wasn't sure if I should give her bedtime insulin or not.  (2 weeks in remember).

I decided to bring her through our emergency department.  At this point, we had only ever seen a family physician, CDE and dietician, I didn't have any contact numbers for our children's hospital that we now visit every 3 months for diabetes clinic.

We saw a doctor, and he tried to tell me that she had a UTI, that was what was causing the ketones.  I tried to explain that she had diabetes, and I wasn't sure what to do.  He told me not to give her insulin yet.  He hooked her up to some fluids (Normal saline), and let us go when it was run in, and then to give the insulin 4 hours late.

When we got to our car, she started vomiting again.  I called in to the building and they told me to bring her back in.  The doctor told me there was nothing wrong, that she had a UTI and handed me a 27 page document about diabetes. I told him what he could do with his document, and took her home and managed the best that I could by reviewing the papers I was given at diagnosis and looking up as much as I could on the internet (I'm not saying that everyone should do this!)

Luckily we haven't had this happen again, but I keep this picture to remind me that I ALWAYS need to advocate for my child, especially when she is unable to do it herself.

D-Blog Week: Day 5

Hi everyone, I apologize for my lateness, I didn't have internet for most of yesterday.
We took a 550KM ride across the province to go shopping at Walmart and stock up on everyday items like toilet paper, paper towels, dish liquid, personal care products, etc....then turn around this morning and drove back 550km again!  and we took the girls!

I was totally expecting Amy's sugars to go through the roof, because every time we take this drive, it happens, but not this time!

Yesterday's topic (Friday) was to share the (non-medical) tips and tricks that help you in the day-to-day management of diabetes.

I don't have a whole lot of them, I just know what works for us.

1) we use a pump pouch.  My mother has made Amy about 7 of them.  She loves them, and they are handy because she doesn't like to wear pants that have pockets.

2) we use a baby monitor.  Although we rarely use the CGM now (due to unreliable/false low predictions while she sleep due to pressure from lying on it), I still like hearing her.  I am a very light sleeper, and I think if she were to have something like I seizure I would hear it.

3) we tuck used strips in the glucometer case pocket and keep a rolled up Kleenex in there to finger blot.  Kinda gross, but it works for us.  At least I have her stopped from licking her finger afterwards!

4) I send her school lunch with an itemized list and corresponding carbs every day.  That was if something breaks or she doesn't want to eat it, she knows all the carb counts, not just the total.  Remember, we have no school nurse, she does this herself with her teacher watching.

5) I carry a glucometer in my purse.  Not only does Amy have her "diabetes bag", a beautiful LUG bag, that we take everywhere, but I also have a back up in my purse.

6) I dose Amy's insulin when I get out of the shower in the morning, before I wake her up.  This gives lots of time for her insulin to start working.  (but we still have breakfast post meal spikes!)

7) we let her be a kid.

I can't wait to see what everyone else has written, I could use some new tips!

D-Blog Week 2014 - Day 4

Today I chose to go with one of the wildcard topics.

Write a short story personifying a diabetes tool you use on a daily basis. A meter, syringe, pump, pill, etc. Give it a personality and a name and let it speak through you. What would it be happy about, upset about, mad about?  (Thank you Heather of Unexpected Blues for this topic.)

I know how to contact mom and dad if either are needed, or to tell people that you have diabetes. My name is DB and I hang around you all day long.

Yup, that's right, I'm a Medical Alert Bracelet.

I get to go everywhere with my owner.  She puts me on in the morning before school.
I tell everyone who needs to know that my owner has diabetes, and how to reach mom and dad. I even know my owner's home phone number.  We go to school, to ballet, and Girl Guides; to friends houses, the grocery store and even the cabin.  I'm very special.

Some days I have a pink sign and some days purple.  Some days I have a pink rope, or pink beads, or two strands all sparkly and colorful.  You see, I'm quite stylish thanks to Lauren's Hope. It seems like every year I get a fun new outfit added to our collection.

It feels great to know that I could save my owners life.  Without me I know that the mom and dad would worry all the time.  I'm something that eases some of that worry.

And at night time, I have my own special place on a hook next to my buddies, the pump pouches, until the next morning, when I wrap myself tightly around my friend, doing my best to keep her safe!

D-Blog Week 2014: Day 3

Today's topic is as follows;

What Brings Me Down.  May is Mental Health Month so now seems like a great time to explore the emotional side of living with, or caring for someone with, diabetes. What things can make dealing with diabetes an emotional issue for you and / or your loved one, and how do you cope? (Thanks go out to Scott of Strangely Diabetic for coordinating this topic.)

I'm going to make this short and sweet since it's been crazy busy this week with ballet recitals.  Tonight I was getting Amy ready for her show.  I was just putting the finishing touches on her hair, an  Elsa coronation bun, she looked beautiful. Then, I see Corey changing her site. And the worry comes back.

Will her young teenaged instructors keep an eye on her backstage, will she go low, be too high, drink too much then have to go to the bathroom right before she performs, will she be uncoordinated?

Sometimes, I wish we didn't have to deal with these things.

What did we do? Tested right before I left her, slightly high from Subway supper; left water and apple  juice with her; told her to have someone come get me if she needed to.

As for the recital, she rocked it!

D-Blog Week 2014: Day 2

Day two of D-blog Week is looking to bring out the poet in bloggers.  I'm not the greatest poet in the world, but would like to share the little poem I originally wrote for this post on Amy's second Diaversary.


It's been two years since you came into our lives
like a permanent, uninvited guest.


We've taken some time to get to know you
and still feel like you're a Pest.


The site changes, sensor changes, and finger sticks
still make my baby girl cringe.
But changing to the pump has made it easier
and much better than using the syringe.


3am gluc checks night after night
in range I hope and I pray.
Can't rely on the number seen before bed
it changes depending on the day.


It's a lot of hard work for a little girl,
especially when you damper the fun.
Luckily, our family has learned the ropes 

and know what needs to be done.

I look forward to reading other people's posts today!





(sorry about how the poem looks, it wasn't this way in my draft!)

D-Blog week 2014: Day 1

I'm excited to be participating in D-Blog week again this year.  I was introduced to many new (to me) bloggers last year and continue to read about some wonderful people!

This year, the first topic is as Follows:

Let’s kick off Diabetes Blog Week by talking about the diabetes causes and issues that really get us fired up. Are you passionate about 504 plans and school safety? Do diabetes misconceptions irk you? Do you fight for CGM coverage for Medicare patients, SDP funding, or test strip accuracy? Do you work hard at creating diabetes connections and bringing support? Whether or not you “formally” advocate for any cause, share the issues that are important to you.
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Of course any parent or PWD is concerned about any of the above.  We would all love for our treasured children to be safe during the school day, with minimal worry.  We would love to know that if they are having on off day because their sugars are too high, or too low, such that their performance is affected, that they will not be penalized for something out of their control, that if they did poorly because of blood sugar, then it will not be reflected in their grading.  I certainly don't see this as a scapegoat, that if my child were to do poorly on something I wouldn't automatically assume or "blame" diabetes, but I would ask what the readings were before testing time.  Its well known, that blood sugar levels affect a number of things such as concentration, thinking, and sometimes actually doing an activity.  I would like to know that there are people in the building that can recognize highs and lows; people who know my daughter well enough to see when something just isn't quite right' people who know what to do or where to look when something is wrong; people who genuinely care about the well being of my child.  We're lucky light that!  I have not had any major issues with our school.  Everyone is very accommodating and will go out of their way to ensure Amy is cared for and included.  Just today I received a picture of a muffin and carb count of a recipe for a snack that a teacher brought in from the Kids Eat Smart Program.  She was making sure that Amy was included.  Yesterday a classmate brought in their mini cotton candy maker for show and tell, and I received a call describing the amount of sample each kid would receive and how many carbs in each teaspoon of mixture.  The staff at the school have been amazing.  I'm lucky that this isn't an issue for us.

Although I don't feel I formally advocate for any cause, we are lucky enough to be in town for Amy's Endo appointment that we will be participating in this years TELUS walk to Cure diabetes.  If you would like to make a donation to Team Amy, you can do so here and help make our first fundraiser a success!  I'm also canvassing our neighbourhood for the Canadian Diabetes Association this May, again a first time event for me.

One thing that I do see as essential is that all people with diabetes deserve the same access to care and support.  If you live in Canada and believe the same, please sign the  Diabetes Charter for Canada

Eight Years old

NO, I'm not talking about how long Amy has had diabetes.

I'm talking about Amy.  Last week, she turned eight years old.

Now eight may not seem very old, but this little lady is growing and maturing fast.  I'm not sure if its just the responsibility that goes along with having diabetes, or if it's just her personality.

My 8 year old! Diabetes don't stop us from having cake!

The knock off DQ ice cream cake I made.  Swaging here!

Amy's friends that attended her PJ party.  Thanks to my mom for the owls

Amy has had a great year.  She's reading above grade level and doing excellent in all other areas of school.  She needs to work on getting along with her sister, and I'm hoping the back talking is just a phase.

She has decided that she doesn't really like wearing the CGM, I've written about that in the past here.  We've decided not to push the issue.  She usually feels her lows just under 4.0.  We also have a pretty good handle on her basal rates.  I have told her that if she gets sick, we WILL be slapping one on pretty quick!

Her teacher this year has been wonderful.  She texts me pictures of holiday parties so I can give her a carb value to enter.  She informs me of events before they happen, when she knows about them, and when she doesn't she has learned to read how many carbs, but will still call to confirm that it's okay for Amy to eat.

I'm debating activating my old iphone 4 for her, but still have reservations that 8 is a little young.  Does anyone have any experience with this?  I think it a whole other post!

First Crush

Amy turns 8 this month.  For some reason this seems like a big deal for me this year.  Eight seems so much older then seven, so much more mature.  We've already been talking about the summer months (since we're still buried in snow), and have come to the conclusion that Amy is old enough to ride her bike to the playground.  It's on,y down the road and around the corner, but we can't see it from our house.  I think she's old enough to go herself, but not old enough to watch her sister while there.  To be honest, I think I'm more worried that sister wouldn't listen to her, than her ability to keep sister out of trouble.

Another reason I know my baby is growing up, is she has her first crush!

He's an adorable little boy in her class.  They play well together, he comes to our cabin to play in the snow, sliding and snowmobiling,

And here's the interesting thing. There are not many children in our town with diabetes.  Amy is the only child in the 300+, grades Kindergarden to three school.  The little boy's older brother has diabetes.  He was diagnosed only a few short months after Amy.  Us moms spent a lot of time talking on the phone in the beginning and have remained friends,

I'm excited because I know I wouldn't worry (as much) if Amy wanted to play at their house.  The mom is actually going to coach their soccer team this spring. She knows what to do.  The little boy knows what to look for in Amy if something isn't quite right,

I love that her first little crush doesn't see the diabetes, but sees her, because it's something he's used to.

Team Amy

Yup, it's true!

We've joined the ranks.  We are participating in this years TELUS walk to Cure Diabetes in St. John's, NL.

I've always wanted to participate.  I've tried to think of ways to bring a walk to my hometown.  Things have just never panned out.

This year, our diabetes clinic day strategically falls two days after our province's walk.  So, we can fly down to the appointments a few days early to attend the walk, have the appointment, then head on home.

I've started a few fundraisers. 

1) a Scentsy book party.

 

2) a Mabel's Labels online fundraiser.  They have free shipping anywhere in Canada and the US.

 

 

 

I'm not quite sure what else to do.  if anyone has any great ideas for fundraising that they may do in their community, I'm all ears.

 

If you'd like to donate directly to our team, you can do so at my walk page.

 

Thank you :)

 

And Sometimes she forgets!

It's about 7:15 when I'm getting the girls bedtime snacks ready.  They're unwinding in the couch watching Sofia the First.  I go over to Amy and test her sugar intending to bolus for her snack.

The countdown is on........21.8!

Say what...double take.....can't be.

Next coherent thought.."um. Did you bolus for your supper?"

Turns out, dad told her how many carbs but she was so eager to get back to reading that she just ran off into her room.....and sometimes, she forgets.

I gave the correction, still bolused for her snack, and am waiting to retest to ensure it's coming down.

100th Post! (and latest Endo Visit)

WOW!

I've made it to 100 hundred posts!

That may not seem a lot to some people, but I never thought I would post that much.  To be honest, I only started this blog because I was learning so much about other bloggers and their experience with T1D, that I thought it only fair to give them the opportunity to get to know me too.

And if I only have a few people reading but make a difference to one person, then that's ok, I've served my purpose.

Thank you to everyone who reads my ramblings!

*************************************************
On another note, Amy and I flew to the city for her diabetes clinic last week.
It's more than a two hour flight to get there, and we always have to over night for at least one night, but I enjoy the shopping!

Sunset from the air

We arrive for our appointment around 8:30.  Its usually a long appointment as we see the CDE, the Endo, the dietitian and a school liaison officer.  Because Amy is still only 7 and the appointments are so long, I need to come up with some good ideas to keep her entertained between seeing people.  Amy from Naturally Sweet Sisters talks about how she used to keep a bag of fun here, but how that changes as your children age.  Our last clinic visit was around Halloween.  The dental offices within the children's hospital was giving out loot bags to all the kids with clinic that day.  Within the loot bag was a small tub of Play-doh.  That has been our "thing" since then.  Check out a few of our creations that day.

Fries, Burger & Shake

Ice cream sundae

snowmobile and komatik

Rapunzel

While we were busy creating, we were told to keep up the good work, that her numbers look pretty good.  They did her A1C, we don't get that back right away, but our CDE usually emails it to me.  She's gone down 0.3% again, so I'm happy with that.  Still not where I want her to be, but slowly getting there.  They also told us that she needed blood work done, as she hasn't had any since being diagnosed 2 years ago.

This is a big thing for Amy, even though she does site changes every 3 days, and was on needles for a year.  Well, she's scared of needles with long shafts.  There is a difference between a 4mm pen tip needle and a blood draw needle.  She cried a bit when she knew that she had to get it done through the arm, but was then a real trooper when it went in, even told the lab tech that it didn't even hurt.

When I got the A1C back, I also got her TSH (thyroid stimulating hormone) back.  It was over the normal range.  The endo said not to worry, that she doesn't have a Hypothyroid, but we will have to check again in 6 months.

Over all, her appointment was good!
now on my own accord, I need to come up with some good ideas so that A1C can go down again next time.

Pumpin for a year

Amy has a whole year under her belt now....or around her waist if you want to be specific!
She's been pumping for a year.

We all love the convenience, it's made quite the difference in our life.

She's had a slow but steady decline in her A1C.  The only issue we have is still with the sensitivity of the CGM sensor.  If we calibrate overnight at all there becomes such a difference in the BG and the SG that it eventually craps out on us with terrible isig numbers.  Not sure what we are doing wrong, it worked wonderful for the first few months.

We are travelling to the city for clinic day on Tuesday.  Amy's looking forward to the water slide, and me, I'm looking forward to some shopping!

Second Diaversary

Another year has come and gone and it's hard to believe its been two years already.
In that time, my little girl has changed before my eyes, evolving into a bright, responsible child.

In honor of her second diaversary, we did what anyone would do, we celebrated with cake and presents!

Amy received a gift certificate from Maplelea, a Canadian version of American Girl and some handmade doll clothes.

I've also written this little thing:


It's been two years since you came into our lives
like a permanent, uninvited guest.
We've taken some time to get to know you
and still feel like you're a Pest.

The site changes, sensor changes, and finger sticks
still make my baby girl cringe.
But changing to the pump has made it easier
and much better than using the syringe.

3am gluc checks night after night
in range I hope and I pray.
Can't rely on the number seen before bed
it changes depending on the day.

It's a lot of hard work for a little girl,
especially when you damper the fun.
Luckily, our family has learned the ropes 
and know what needs to be done.

Who knows how much longer you'll be around
How much more my baby will endure
Until that much hoped for day
When we're told there is a CURE!

Feeding my child

Girl Guides of Canada is a wonderful organization, ran by dedicated volunteers.

For ages 7-8 the program is called Brownies, they meet once a week for an hour and a a half.  The focus is to encourage the girls to develop their own identity and positive relationships with others.  The program covers safety, healthy choices, science & technology, the arts, Eco-awareness and camping.

They can earn badges for activities performed as the group or as self learning as well.

As I said earlier, it's a wonderful organization.

When Amy was a spark, ages 5-6, I was one of the leaders.  I was there if anything came up regarding her diabetes care. This year, I'm not a leader.  

I gave my usual diabetes talk at the beginning of the year, and have had no issues until yesterday.

The girls were going outside to play.  No big deal.  Check sugar before hand, carry some rockets (canadian equivalent of Smarties) in coat pocket if needed.

When Amy got home, she told me that they had hot chocolate.  What?  Wait!  You had what?

They had not chocolate, and she looked at the nutritional information and entered 23g CHO.

I asked what was the serving size, how did they measure, how much did she have, was it made with milk or water?

And you know what......she burst into tears!

I had a mix of emotions then.  Proud of her for knowing where to look, disappointed with the guiders/leaders for not contacting me, angry at myself for bombarding her with questions, and just plain sad that something as simple as having hot chocolate after sliding has to be so difficult!

The result of it all........too much insulin for the amount of hot chocolate paired with all the evening activity........being up all night trying to keep the lows away, and a miscalibration of the CGM (which is still wrong at school now)

I've written to the leaders, and have asked that Amy not be given anything to eat or drink, other than water and low treatments, without first consulting with me or her father.  That we are teaching Amy what to do, but she's still 7, she still needs guidance and supervision for these activities.

Does the Worry about Two ever End?

I'm wondering if the worry that your other children will be diagnosed with T1D will ever end.

I look for things.  I don't think I'm trying to spot them, but I'm trying not to ignore them.  Am I making something out of nothing? Is there really something there?  Am I just psyching myself out?

Lately, Rylie has been drinking more.  A lot more.  I'm worried.

Lately, Rylie has been very uncooperative and grumpy.  Not like her.  I'm worried.

Lately, Rylie has been eating more.  Looks skinnier.  I'm worried.

A tummy ache, a headache, anything not normal makes me wonder.
She's almost the same age as Amy was.

So what does the worried parent do?  Check their non-diabetic child's blood sugar when they sleep.

So far everything looks good.  She's had two readings at 6.1 and 6.2, but the rest have all been in the 4s.  I'm keeping an eye on it.  She knows it, and she knows why.

As she took a big chug out of her water bottle while doing homework, she casually says. "I think I'm getting diabetes, that would make both of us, Mom".

My heart sank.  Tears sprung to the corner of my eyes.
 I don't know if I could do two.  I don't know how she would cope. 

I HOPE it never comes to that.

Does the worry every end?

As the Holiday Season comes to an End

What a month December was!

I've been pretty absent around here, I hope I was missed :)

December was pretty busy with work Christmas parties, kids Christmas parties, ballet open house, birthday parties, Sparks & Brownie season end activities.....and the list goes on.

We had a great holiday, school is still out for us and doesn't reopen until Monday.

Diabetes was well behaved most of the time.  Christmas Eve and day was an endless rollercoaster.  I was amazed by the up and down swings, but we dealt with it. We let her be a kid first, then considered the diabetes. 

The girls hanging their stockings on Christmas Eve

 

 

I thought I was going to have to break open the glucagon for the first time.  After the girls were all nestled and snug in their beds, we were waiting for Santa to come.  I went to check Amy and she was 3.3 mmol/L with about 1.5 units still on board.  Since we do have some issues with false low readings with the Enlite sensor due to pressure on it when lying down, I tested to verify the reading.  I went to get a strawberry Nesquick drinking box, which is usually good to bump her up 6-8 mmols.  After waiting 20 mins I went to retest and she was actually lower at 2.2 mmol/L.  I went and got 1/3c egg nog (low treatment of choice over Christmas).  After another 15mins she was only back up to 3.6 mmol/L.  I was tempted to treat again, but decided that Santa needed to come.  Instead, I let the low suspend keep the pump suspend while Santa was busy in the living room.  When it was time for me to go to bed, she was up to 6.5.

At my regular nightly 3am check, I was amazed to see 15mmol/L peering back at me.  With a quick little correction it was back to bed until morning.

The girls got up sometime after 6am and the rest of the morning is a blur of squeals and laughter!

It was nice to have the pump this year and not have to worry about the timing of everything, or when we had to eat, or having to stop opening presents to eat.  We could pretty much do any of that whenever we wanted.

We spent a lot of time with family and just relaxed and enjoyed each other.

Unfortunately, the weather hasn't been cooperating.  It has been excruciatingly cold!  Like more than -50 C with the windchill.  For my American friends, that's -58F.  That's cold!
One of our vehicles has been having trouble going, even when the block heater has been plugged in, water pipes have been freezing in town, and the power has gone a few times.  The worst for us is that it has been to cold to get out and enjoy our cabin.  From a diabetes perspective, its been difficult to get some exercise for Amy.

I'm hoping the cold spell is coming to an end, I think its only suppose to be -20C this weekend.  That will feel like a tropical vacation in comparison. 

On another note, we are going to see the movie Frozen tomorrow night....title is very appropriate!!

Enjoy your January and stay warm!

Christmas Eve Family Picture