"But I want diabetes too!"

How do you explain to a 6 year old that diabetes really does suck? He can't see the crappy way his brother feels when he is high or low. He hears us encouraging his brother that pod site changes "don't really hurt that much". What he does see is his brother say "no" to the food everyone else is eating and get something else. He does see his brother get a cup of milk every night right before bed. He does see his brother get banana or applesauce in bed if he is going low. Sometimes we give them both a snack, but it's not good for the 6 year old all the time. Heck, it's not good for the 3 year old, but it is necessary.  He knows that diabetes is "yucky". He just doesn't know why. What he knows is that diabetes allows his brother to get sweet tarts or fruit snacks while we are walking around the zoo. He doesn't understand that his brother's body is on a constant state of upheaval.

And the crowd goes wild!

So we went to the park the other day for some family fresh air. Jackson, our 6 year old non-D child is playing in his first baseball league right now, so we took his equipment to practice. I was all excited because my best friend, who is a baseball umpire, and his wife were visiting. I thought he could help me show Jax some pointers. We threw the ball around for a few minutes and hit a few balls with his bat. Then distraction set in and he was off for a nature walk with mom. I started to pack things up when Joshua, the 3 year old type 1 said "I want to bat". I thought 'oh how cute' and threw the ball to my friend. I went to show Joshua how to stand and hold the bat, but he was already in the right stance. Must have been listening when I was showing his brother. Cool. My buddy throws the first ball and Joshua nails it over his head.

Not like Momma taught me!

Type 1 diabetes goes against everything our momma's taught us when we were kids. Yes, we were expected to clean our plates. However, did your mom ever make something else if you wouldn't eat what was for dinner. No! Absolutely not! That was taboo in the circle of Momhood. I know I heard "you will eat your dinner, or you can have that exact plate for breakfast. Then you can have it for lunch."  Unfortunately, we don't have that luxury as parents of a type 1 child. When my child refuses to eat what we make, there are consequences. Which is better? Sticking to you principles and testing to find a blood sugar of 41, or giving in to the terrorist and having your "because I said so" lose credibility?

The joy of screaming!

Screaming is not a fun experience for parents. Babies come out screaming and we spend the next few months doing whatever we can to get them to stop. Screaming children are the bain of most parents existence. Right after his diagnosis at 11 months old, screaming took on a whole new meaning. Sometimes I loved screaming. Like on the days when we had slept through his 3 am check, only too wake up to him screaming. I loved those screams because it meant that my child was still breathing. It meant that I hadn't missed a fatal low in the middle of the night. It meant that even though I had failed in my duty to monitor his diabetes, I had another day to get it right. In that case, I loved the sound of screaming.
Along the same lines, we quickly discovered that screaming was not just screaming with Joshua. If there wasn't a good reason for the screaming, it usually meant that he was high. He wasn't old enough to tell us that he was feeling bad, so he screamed.  Sure, there was the occasional time where he would be screaming to scream, but we always tested. I would say that 85% of the time, he was high if he was screaming for no reason. So, I was never that parent who complained about listening to my child cry. That joyful noise saved my hide on more than one occasion. 

This post was written several years ago. I am trying to rediscover blogging. I couldn't just leave it sitting there with the big old "draft" next toIit. Crazy to think about how much has changed since I wrote this!

Hypo-drunkness is scary!

I had fun in college. My poison of choice was captain Morgan's spiced rum and Pepsi. There were quite a few Friday and Saturday nights (a lot of Thursday's too) spent with a drink in my hand seeing just how stupid I could get. I'm not proud, but I had a good time. Some of the most interesting moments were those that we caught on video. We would watch back a video from the party the night before and cringe. Adult men, well on there way to earning college degrees and being professionals, were acting like  brainless morons. It was common to see someone talking on the video making no sense at all. We would laugh at that point because, at that point we were all ok. It's really disturbing though, the effect that being "drunk" has on your ability to function. It is just as disturbing to see similar effects from a 3 year old. 

D-Blog week post 7 - My D hero

Today's post is about our diabetic hero. I didn't have to think long about mine. My hero has never been in the news, or made a million dollars. He has never saved a bus full of orphans from falling off a cliff. He is my hero because he changed how I thought about diabetes. He stands 3 feet tall and is the bravest guy I know. My 3 year old Joshua. He has had thousands of shots, numerous hi's and lows, and some rough experiences. He rarely complains. He loves with his entire heart. He has gotten used to the multiple devices he has to wear on a daily basis. He knows that he is different. He knows that food is not just food for him. He knows the difference between "Joshua I need you to eat this" and "Joshua, I NEED you to eat this". He knows when he is low and usually says "I want to eat"! He can eat a banana in his sleep. He is a rockstar and so well behaved. He is an inspiration and is the reason I will be at every JDRF event that I can be. They have to find a cure for him. He is amazing, and is my little boy. 

D-blog day 5 - What they should know!

What do I want people to know about diabetes. There are so many things that I wish people understood about type 1 diabetes. There is one that stands out. There is a quote that spells it out. "There are only two things people with type 1 can't eat. Poison, and cookies.....that have been made with poison." We can put anything into our mouths that we want to. We cover it with insulin. My 3 year old can eat anything that's your 3 year old can. In fact, he needs those carbs to grow. He can have cupcakes if he wants. Apple juice did not cause his diabetes. I can eat ice cream when I feel like it. No, I shouldn't eat it all the time, but neither should you! So, mind your business and don't tell me about nutrition. Otherwise, I will spend 30 minutes educating you about diabetes. I will use small words and speak slowly to make sure that you understand. You still won't get it, but I will have tried.

D-blog day 4 post - My miracle device

My miracle device It would be normal for a diabetic, or parent of a diabetic to want the invention of a new device for the treatment of diabetes. They would want a constant glucose monitor that would seamlessly communicate with an insulin pump in real time. They would want that CGM to be accurate to within +\- 5 points (I'm reasonable, right). This glorious unit would be the size of a small bandaid, so that it would not cause undo attention. The sensors involved would only need to be replaced every six months, but would not be susceptible to infection. That is what most people would want. Me? I want a new microscopic transmitter that looks like Donald Trump and is directly injected into the pancreas. Its only function would be to tell the pancreas to do its job or it will be fired. That what I want!

D-blog Day 3 - What needs work?

Do it because it's good for you! I hated to read when I was a child. I grew up in the 80's, so I was in love with the tv. My Mom tried everything to get me interested in reading. Finally, when I was in the fifth grade I entered into a bet with my parents. The deal was that I had to go an entire year without watching tv and in return I would get $500. That was a lot of money to an 11 year old. The first month was hard, but then Mom started taking me to the library every week. Boredom vanished and I discovered a love for reading that has never disappeared. It is hard to realize that something that is good for you can have such benefits.

D-blog week 2012: Post 2

I came across a post that said that this was Diabetes blog week. A different topic every day. I posted yesterday, but I am going to try their topics for the rest of the week. Today is: What I rock? I rock the role (hehe) of being an ambassador for type 1 diabetes. Wherever I am found, it is very likely that I am having a conversation somehow related to diabetes. Case in point. I went to a work conference last week when someone noticed me testing right before lunch. I answered a few questions and the next thing I know, I had rattled on for 30 minutes on counting carbs and the benefits of pumping. Now, I was at a meeting for therapy managers who work with a geriatric population, so they were somewhat interested in diabetes. I have had conversations in restaurants, grocery stores and the gym. What is funny is that when I was first diagnosed at 26 years old, I never wanted to talk about it. I didn't want anyone to know that I was diabetic. In fact, I didn't act like I had diabetes at all. I became a champion of diabetes education a little over two years ago. That was when my then 11 month old son was diagnosed. We almost lost him, and that was more than enough of a wake up call to change my view on diabetes. Now I am pumping and doing everything I can to put diabetes in its place. I have type 1 and I rock diabetes on a daily basis!

What can you do in your sleep?

What can you do in your sleep? You are always hearing the random case of sleep walking in your sleep. There are always the crazy stories about someone doing something ridiculous and blaming it on sleep walking. Then there are the people that talk in their sleep. That is just asking for trouble. I have had conversations with my wife while she was sleeping. Full blown conversations that she doesn't remember in the morning. (I promise that she told me she wanted me to skip work and play golf that day :) Anyway, these are all intriguing talents, but there is one that is more impressive. The act of eating in your sleep. 

Swing Low, Sweet...Nope. Nothing sweet about lows!

Ok, lows are not my friend. Joshua has been consistently low for more than a week. Last weekend at his brother's baseball game, Joshua was in the 50's. Shannon gave home about 150 carbs and he still didn't go over 100. We struggled with it all night. With a little help from a friend, we decided to do a zero temp basal for 3 hours. We checked him at 3:00 am and he was a respectable 179 with arrows up on Dex. So we resumed his normal basal thinking all was good. At wake up, he was 62. This has been a struggle all week long. Shannon took him to his normal endo appointment and the doc said she thought he probably had some sort of intestinal virus. A week later, he is low again today. Are some batches of insulin stronger? Is he cured :) I just wish diabetes would pick a script and stick to it!