Another New Experience

Well last Saturday night we had another new experience. The Stomach Bug. New, you might ask? Sure, we have had plenty of stomach viruses come through our family..but this is the first since the big "D".

Holy Large Keytones and low blood sugars! A  16 or so hour stay and lots of fluids and Zofran and glucose drips and on the way home we go! That was an experience  I hope we don't have again for a while.

We have an Endo appt in the morning, so hopefully I'll have a good update to give soon!

Our walk is also in 2 weeks and we still havent met our personal goals for fundraising, but we are excited about the experience!

Why Hello Again Blogger Friends!

I've been terribly slack once again!

We have been one busy little bunch. In the process of house hunting, hubby got sent to twelve hour shifts, gearing up for our Diabetes walk in April and all kinds of other stuff!

We have been on a rollercoaster ride with Bryson's numbers. Had some super high ones a week or two ago..even up into the 400's, and so we changed his carb ratios and now he's going low alot. UGH! We were at 25, now we are at 20.

I've also been fighting tooth and nail with the insurance company. They dont want to pay for test strips anymore. This is such a pain in the butt! So we have had to go to a med supply company and wound up having to order a new meter and strips since they dont want to allow us Freestyle at a reasonable pricerange. The others are still super expensive, but a little more feasible.

I also wanted to share a picture of Bryson in the shirts we had designed for the JDRF walk for a cure.

It's been awhile!

We have had so much going on, and I just havent had a chance to blog. We had a week without school, due to snow and its just been crazy! We had our first ever Saturday school & we have to go tomorrow as well.

I just wanted to share a couple of pictures from the past few weeks:

Bryson looks pretty happy with his IPOD touch, but he was more excited over some new flavors of Glucose Tabs! How funny!

Brave Boy Brag

Last night at bedtime check and Lantus time, Bryson decides he wants to give him own shot. He has drew up the insulin before and wanted to, and tried but hasnt quite made it there. I understand completely.It has to be hard to try to give yourself a shot. His endo also said until age 10, they arent developmentally there to do it.

Well last night he proved us all. He gave himself his Lantus in his leg. And was thrilled to death with himself. As were we. He conquered something he wanted to do so badly.

At breakfast this morning, he did it again.


He is so proud of himself, and that makes me so happy for him. I dont expect him to do it, but I'm proud he pushed himself past his fear! Good Job Bryson!

Doctor's Appt.

We went back to the endo today. We just love Dr.Artz! She thought everything looked really good, and that we are still in the honeymoon phase probably. She also told us that come March, when we go back, to be ready to discuss PUMPS!

Yay! We told her we had it narrowed down pretty much. Unless insurance costs change it majorly, we will be picking the Medtronic!

We also had blood drawn and now have new A1C results. Of course, the honeymoon phase could have something to do with this...but I'll take it...we had 11.3 when they admitted Bryson in the hospital in September, but today....


7.2!!!!!  Yes, a 7.2!! That's really good! I wish I was naive enough to think it would stay there, but I'm just glad we were able to get it that good on the first try!

We also added another nighttime check, at midnight and 3 am. Just till we get a better idea of what his numbers are through the night. He is still having frequent bathroom trips during the night and we are pondering what it may be. So, I get another alarm to set for a while.  As much as I love my sleep, I really dont mind the checks. It makes me sleep a little better.

JDRF walks

So I'm looking into getting our walking team ready, and well...I have no clue where to start! I'm trying to come up with a cute team name and all that fun stuff. How do you decide on how much money to raise?

I just have no clue where to start, so if you have any advice please help!!!

Well...

Another Angel got her wings. I posted the other day that I was thankful that Josh's grandmother was able to be here for another Thanksgiving. Well, she passed away Thanksgiving morning. She went peacefully in her sleep and its a blessing to know that she has no more pain and suffering. We will miss her so very much but have comfort knowing she is in a much better place.

We love you and miss you Mamaw!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving All!

I'm working on trying to figure out a few carb counts on some of Brysons favorite things and then I'm headed down to help my grandma cook the big dinner!

I'm so thankful for all our readers :)

So much to be Thankful for.

As rough and crazy as this past year has been, our family has so much to be thankful for.
 I'm so thankful for the fulltime position I was able to take at school, an amazingly awesome teacher I work with, wonderful group of kids that make me excited to go to work each day.  We are thankful that our family has been remotely healthy. That Josh's grandmother is able to be here for another Thanksgiving (as of this summer, we werent sure this was possible).For new friends and rekindled friendships. For good jobs. That Bryson was baptized this summer :) For all the support from friends and family and coworkers through the past few months. Our little house which makes such a cozy home for us 4.

I'm also thankful for this blog, which has allowed me to reach out to others and to find other D-Moms.

We are truly so blessed!

We hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving!

WootWoot It's Party Time!!

Guess who is having a birthday today??

BRYSON!!!

Happy 8th birthday to one very awesome little boy. I'm so excited to be his mom and love him to the moon and back!

Self Portrait

Bryson wrote me a little and added this little self portrait at the end. I thought it was too cute not to share!

All the cool kids are doing it...

Listing 6 things they want everyone to know about Type1 Diabetes. So I'm jumping on the bandwagon too!

1. There is nothing Bryson, Josh, Me or anyone else could have done to cause Bryson to have Diabetes.He didn't eat too much sugar, not take him vitamins, drink baby formula, he doesn't weigh too much or too little. There is nothing we could have done to prevent it.

2. Insulin keeps him alive. If he went without insulin, he would DIE. Point blank. I'm not going to sugarcoat it. Insulin was created in 1920something, before that people literally died of starvation. That is just awful.

3.He can eat whatever he wants..We try to not deprive him of anything. Everything is okay in moderation, like it should be for everyone. Can he gorge himself on a dozen doughnuts? NO! But neither should I! We just have to cover whatever he eats with insulin.

4.Insulin helps, but is not a CURE! There is no cure for diabetes right now. Hopefully with more fundraising to benefit research..and more research there will one day be a cure. Finding a cure for cancer is at the top of many many kids (and parents) Christmas lists.

5. People do die from diabetes. It is a very serious invisible illness. A few teens have died already this year from Dead in the Bed syndrome. Basically there blood sugar dropped during the night. This is one reason we do at least one check a night, and where the CGM will be a huge help. Living with diabetes can also cause blindness, chrohns disease, kidney failure, and lots of others.

6.This is forever. Bryson will live with diabetes forever (unless a miracle cure is found). He will prick his finger at least 6 times a day, give himself shots or be dependent on a pump, having major medical costs, count carbs and deal with high/low blood sugars for the rest of his life.  His kids will be at a higher risk to have diabetes as well.

These are just a few things I want people to know. There are thousands of other things, but there is no point overwhelming people like that..we d-parents and grandparents and friends are overwhelmed enough..

So much for that..

So much for our posting everyday! I have had writers block or something the past few days. We had a super busy weekend and week too it seems.

We had our school Variety Show and it was a blast, this is my last year serving on the PTO..I've served for 3 years now and its time to let someone else take over the presidental reins. Bryson and Carson both loved seeing their teachers get up on stage and act out skits and songs..we all make a fool out of our selfs and its alot of fun. Absolutely worth the $5.00!  I spent most of the day decorating and popping popcorn before it all started and Bryson ran around with his friends all day. It was so good for him!

Oh what a day..

What a Friday!

Had lots of stuff going on at school and It had already been a super long day. My phone rings, its Bryson. "Mom, I'm uh out of test strips and our class is getting ready to go to P.E". Crap! I look in my extra supply bag in my purse. Oh no, I had exchanged his strip container for mine while out of town for Halloween (which I still need to post about..doh!). Oh no! What to do?  Hubby is at work over a hour away.  Get hold of a good friend, they have a key and can get in my house to get strips. They bring them to us at school. Hmm...this box looks different though? CVS messed up our test strip order. SO after all that trouble, I still cant check him.  Clock out and check him out of school knowing I had to be back in 15 minutes. Run to the closest store that sale them & paid FULL PRICE! Oh just lovely!

SO today, Saturday, I'm off to argue with CVS about the ole..500...wrong strips I was given. No little butterflies on these :(  Hoping they will easily swap them out for us.

I need to look into a mail order company where I can get 3 months supply..our insurance company doesn't have any preference and will approve anywhere.

Does it ever go away??

Or does your skin just get thicker??


We have a wild busy weekend ahead of us, so we decided to go out to dinner tonight. I had Bryson's dinner all planned out and we were ready to order. He ordered Diet Coke. (We try to limit the caffeine, but out to dinner is a special treat...so hey..whatever he wants :) ) First weird look from the waitress. Yes, he's 8 and ordered Diet coke..whatever! Then he wants a steak and salad. He also wants two rolls. (We went to the home of the yummy poppyseed rolls and honey butter!Good choice, Bry!) She gave us this very strange look when he ordered a salad as his only side dish. His steak came with two, but he declined since they were potatoes, potatoes, potatoes.. Again another weird look.

I'm sure the fact little brother ordered a grilled cheese and fries didn't help either.

Anyways, I guess I will start getting thicker skin soon..Just give it time, right?

Support

As lucky as I have been to find great online resources such as www.childrenwithdiabetes.com , juvenation, and tons of great blogs..I still have this alone feeling at times. I tell people my struggles, like Monday night and this glazed over look comes over their faces. They just don't get it.  The struggle to be the perfect pancreas. When our numbers take a roller coaster ride it consumes our brain. I constantly think of numbers, insulin, carbs..  sometimes I wish our area had a local support group. I have yet to find one. This is something I've been praying about for us. Just to have people who understand. I really try to not bore my friends and coworkers with all the details of "D"and how it affects us..but I cant help it. It is constantly in my brain.

Thank goodness that as much of a part of Bryson's life it is, it never seems to bother his interaction with other kids. He doesn't mention it and neither do they.  They discuss Diary of a Wimpy Kid books, Fineas and Ferb, SillyBandz, etc..but diabetes rarely creeps in his conversations. Isn't the simplicity of friendships in kids awesome??

2nd day and I've already missed a day..oops

Well yesterday was kind of a wild day. We had a teacher workday and the boys stayed with my Sister in law. This was the first time she had given him a shot. We were both a nervous wreck, but we made it through...and hopefully I made it off the bad list at work, lol. I have missed so many days with doctor appointments and things..so I really needed to work this workday. The teacher I work with and I got alot accomplished so that was nice. Plus mom got to grab lunch out with the girls..woot!!

Monday night when I did our usual 3:00am check...Bryson was low..not terribly but 66. Drank one of those handy little 15 carb liquid sugar boxes..Thanks JuicyJuice! 15 minutes later..74...hmm.. drink another..he's too sleepy to chew starburst or tablets...wait another 15 minutes... 90! Yay! Finally about 80!  I let him go back to sleep, and I lay and toss and turn and worry till the clock goes off at 5:00 for Josh to get up and go to work. I tell him to check Bryson and I nod off for another 45 minutes of sleep.   I cant wait to get a CGM!  I'm so scared he is going to go too low at night and I'm not going to catch it. This is one of my biggest fears. And from reading other blogs, I'm not alone in this fear...which makes me sad too. 

A lil bout us... Day One of November Blogging!

1. What kind on insulin management mode do you use?MDI, for right now.
2. How often do you inject/change pump sites?Bryson gets injections at every meal, and bedtime.
3. What type (s) of insulin do you use?We use Humalog for mealtimes and Lantus for nighttime
4. What are your basal settings ?  7 units at night.5. What are your correction factors ?For every 50 about 300 is .5 except bedtime.
6. What are your meal ratios ?1:25 for all meals but bedtime snack then its 1:50
7. What do you do for activity and/or PE?I monitor like crazy and have been giving him a larger than 15 carb snack beforehand. Not too large..but about 20 carbs..usually peanut butter crackers.
8. How do you manage Pizza, Macaroni and Cheese, or any other "difficult to manage" foods?We find if we limit the amount of "difficult" foods, it doesn't make his BG go crazy.
 9. How do you prefer to manage your logs/data?We write everything in a log that we got from the hospital. It's has a frog on it and fits perfectly in his bag.
10. What's your A1c?Dx (Sept '10) - 11.3

November!!

November 14th is World Diabetes Day. This month I am participating in the NaBloPoMo...National blog posting month. My goal is to blog everyday in November. Because November is Diabetes month, most everything will deal with D in some way.

The fact many people dont know about National Diabetes month is really sad. We have everything under the sun painted PINK for October, breast cancer month and nothing light blue or grey for Diabetes. I hate that so many people are affected by Breast Cancer, and I'm not making light of the situation at all..it just that so many people are focused on just one cause and the others are forgotten. I found this and wanted to share it:

I know at the end it mentions Type 2. I hate the fact that "Diabetes" is type one and two lumped together. The two can not be compared fairly . I get so tired of hearing why cant Bryson just take a pill (type 2 can), does he have diabetes because he ate too much junk food or overweight?(Not the only cause of Type 2..but more directed at type 2). The two do share some of the same complications.. kidney failure, blindness, stroke, amputation and even death..but they are not always treated the same..


(I dont mean anything negative by comparing this to cancer. I have family members with cancer, have lost family with cancer..I dont mean to take away from the seriousness of it at all.)

The Diabetes Rap