Put your books away, it's quiz time... can anybody tell me what this is a picture of?
If you said a picture of a Dexcom, you'd be right.
If you said a nice BG, you'd also be right.
If you said a pretty sweet 3 hour graph, that would be correct too.
But the picture doesn't tell the whole story. In that 3 hour time period that is displayed on the dex, Elise received NO insulin. None. In fact, when she dipped into the red, she got 6g of carbs.
Today was Elise's first field trip, and she was just a wee bit excited. The nurse went along and just after noon, she called; pod alarm. Basal stopped. Crap.
I had just come home after picking up Mattias from school. He was starved and exhausted. I also had a very hungry and tired baby. I knew Elise would HATE it if I had to come and change out her pod in the middle of her field trip (the nurse doesn't do pod changes per our request).
Thankfully, Elise was on the low side... hovering around 100. I told Nurse K to watch the dex, and let me know if she started to rise and we'd figure something out then.
It turned out, nothing needed to be done. Elise made it all the way until she got home. Her BG was 113 and a ketone check (just in case) showed 0.2.
The knife through the heart was Elise's thought on the whole experience, "Mama, it was like being a normal kid again! I was just like everybody else!"
Cue big, sad sigh. Followed by tears when she wasn't looking.
Damn you, diabetes. Damn you to hell.
***this is NOT medical advice, and I am not a doctor, although I watched a heck of a lot of ER when it was on TV. What? I thought Dr. Carter was cute. Anyway, you should never follow my example and not give our child insulin for 3 hours. Seriously... DON'T DO THIS. This was a special circumstance and a unique experience.
Fake Pancreas, out.
These days I can't seem to hide my tears! Had to be very scary for you but as Elise said so freeing for her. Hugs to you all and a big sucker punch to the D! xoxo
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ReplyDeleteGlad everything worked out.
There will be a cure or a therapy in Elise's lifetime. Because she is so young, I'm hoping there will be something more when she is in her teens. Walking or exercising nonstop, such as swimming.... not at all surprising that she needed no basal. That was a beautiful graph. I'm curious if you had to deal with low blood sugars all night later on. You didn't mention it, but I'm guessing you were up all night.
ReplyDeleteI have to admit I cried at the end of this. Sweet girl. I'm so happy that she was able to enjoy her field trip though. Hugs to you both. Take care.
ReplyDeleteWow!! This brought home to me that, always with diabetes in general, the picture doesn't tell the story. We never know what is going on behind the scenes, which is why it's so important we keep sharing.
ReplyDeleteAnd, most of all, the end brought tears to my eyes. Because I do understand feeling like this, and I hate that Elise felt it for even a second.
Just found this blog! I have a almost 3 year old daughter with type 1 and reading this I was in tears. I am glad she had a great field trip. I get so scared the thought of my daughter going to school.
ReplyDelete:(((
ReplyDelete(dr carter was the bomb diggity)
Being diagnosed as an adult with Type1, my parents never had to deal with the "worry" of me and my illness growing up. But now, as a parent, I can only imagine if my daughter had Type 1 diabetes, and knowing how much I worry about me.....I don't know how I would function on a day-to-day basis worrying and wondering about her when she was not within my realm of control. I have a HUGE appreciation and admiration for you parents of T1 kids!!!
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