When you think of Type 1 Diabetes and the multiple daily injections... chances are the first things that come to mind are NOT jealousy. But believe it or not, there is one person jealous of Ellee and that person is Danica!
I feel so bad for both of them. For Ellee who has to get the shots because no one in their right minds LIKES them, and for Dani who has no idea what is going on but knows that Ellee gets lots of attention with the shots. In a child's world, this would be along the lines of bad attention is better than no attention.
Not sure if its because Ellee is doing such a good job of tolerating the whole process, but she really does make it look easy and painless. Even if she kicks and cries about it, Danica still watches her in amazement and interest. One of the books that I picked up to read in the hospital when El was first diagnosed was written by a mother. She said that many parents often comment that they may not like what is going on (shots and finger pokes), but they like the fact that they are actually getting attention. And on that same token, I think it's the same thing for the siblings, it may not be positive attention, but some is better than none.
Danica really is fascinated by all of this. I often catch her trying to get into the "poodle bag" and get the test kit out. Or if I leave the test kit too close to the edge of the counter, she sneaks it and tries to poke her finger. One morning, shortly after diagnosis, the girls and I got up and I started making breakfast. I gave Ellee her kit to check her sugar, so she sat down on the step between the living room and kitchen with Dani anxiously watching her, or so I thought! I hear the beep of the meter and Ellee call out:
"Mom, what is Dani's number?" El is learning her numbers, but doesn't always recognize them in digital form.
"Your number is 86"
"No, it's Dani's!"
"What do you mean it's Dani's?" No sooner do I get those words out, Dani is proudly holding up her finger to show me the blood still left on there!
Dani is also fascinated by the shots, even more so since she has started counting! When we give El her shot, we count to five after pushing the plunger in before removing the needle. We do make a game out of this to take her mind off of any pain there may be. My dad is the best with it, as he doesn't count right and gets her laughing as she tries to correct him! I think it's because of the laughter that Dani thinks she's missing out on something fun. The first couple times she's indicated interest, she held her arm out and said "tickle"! Again, not sure if it's a good thing or a bad thing, but its so darn cute! I knew right away that this may not be such a good thing, so I capped the needle, pinched the upper part of her arm, then "jabbed" her fairly hard and started counting. She rubbed her arm a little and walked away! I didn't do it hard enough to cause her great pain, but I wanted to make sure that she understood that it "wasn't nothing" and that there was pain involved with it.
We check Dani's sugar every so often. As a parent (and the grandparents too), it's always in the back of your mind to wonder if she will get it. Type 1 is mysterious because no one knows what exactly (or what virus) triggers the immune attack or if it was genetics. Because of that, I like to know where her levels are. The funny thing is that often when I check her, both of the girls have very close to the same numbers! Ellee's is of course with the help of insulin, but it's comforting to know that we have it under control!
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Monday, October 26, 2009
Walk to Cure - East Harbor, Lake Erie
Sunday, September 20th
A few weeks after she was diagnosed, I was looking around on the JDRF.org website to see what the future for this disease looked like. There it was, a video of Kevin Kline and a link to the Walk to Cure website! I checked Ohio and found that they were having a walk up at Lake Erie... and of all places, at my favorite campground!!! DONE!!! We were going to do a walk to help raise money! Part of me hoped that we could do this every year and that Ellee would get to the point where she would want to take over and continue to do this annual event without me dragging her! You know, something that she looks forward to!
We ended up camping at Camp Perry since Dad already had the camper set up there from the weekend before. Saturday morning Mom and I took the girls over to Marblehead to that I could try to get some portraits of them. I can't say that it was a sucessful venture, but I did get a few good shots!
When we got back, the girls were bound and determined to go swimming dispite the cold wind! It really would have been great weather to spend the whole day on the beach but the wind was so cold and froze you! It took longer to get the toys, swimmies, bathing suits and everything else together than we were actually on the beach!
The Walk
Dad wasn't done at base yet, so we went over to East Harbor without him. We had no idea what to expect, but the traffic was backed up on the road heading back to the beach! Along the side of the road were little sneakers staked into the ground. I teared up, it was encouraging to see, not to mention so cute! The parking lot on the right side was packed, but we finally found a spot and made the long walk to the party!
This really was a great event, a DJ & stage, jump house, balloon animals, activities for the kids, free food, and the Coast Guard had an airboat there! They had an area set up with lots of medical brochures and other stuff. It was wonderful, they had anything from log books, insulin pens, pumps, and support brochures. Carl and Moriah called wanting to know where we were at! It was a very nice surprise because I didn't expect them to drive over from Toledo on their way home from Bass Pro & Cabelos!
When it was time to start the walk they gathered everyone up by the stage. They had all the Type 1s come up and get behind a sign for pictures and I was so disappointed that Ellee did not want to go up there! That would have made a great front page picture for a scrapbook for the event, but oh well! They had a ribon that went between the stage and the entrance to the path and they had a little 6 or 7 year old boy that was just diagnosed cut it... then we were off!!!
We had no idea where were going or how long the walk was except that the website said 3 miles. It started off on a nice grassy path, and it didn't take long for the girls to ride on Josh's & Uncle Carl's shoulders! We soon hit a point where we had to turn and walk up towards the beach. Talk about a great view! We could see the waves (it was pretty choppy that day) between the openings of trees. The path went from a grassy path to a sandy and an occasional concrete pad. We were not prepared for the walk up hill in SAND!! *Note to self - wear sandles next year!*
Ellee got a big burst of energy and wanted me to run with her! Much to our surprise, we were just about to the end! I really don't think it was a full 3 miles, but we still had fun! After everyone else finished, the girls got to play on an air boat that the Coast Guard had there.
We called Dad to see if he was done on base yet and he was just finishing up, so we meet him for dinner. Not sure what it is about being up at Lake Erie, but ice cream is a must when you're up there! Toft's is the big brand up there and it is wonderful! I think we had just as much fun sitting outside of the ice cream parlor as we did at the walk!
A few weeks after she was diagnosed, I was looking around on the JDRF.org website to see what the future for this disease looked like. There it was, a video of Kevin Kline and a link to the Walk to Cure website! I checked Ohio and found that they were having a walk up at Lake Erie... and of all places, at my favorite campground!!! DONE!!! We were going to do a walk to help raise money! Part of me hoped that we could do this every year and that Ellee would get to the point where she would want to take over and continue to do this annual event without me dragging her! You know, something that she looks forward to!
We ended up camping at Camp Perry since Dad already had the camper set up there from the weekend before. Saturday morning Mom and I took the girls over to Marblehead to that I could try to get some portraits of them. I can't say that it was a sucessful venture, but I did get a few good shots!
When we got back, the girls were bound and determined to go swimming dispite the cold wind! It really would have been great weather to spend the whole day on the beach but the wind was so cold and froze you! It took longer to get the toys, swimmies, bathing suits and everything else together than we were actually on the beach!
The Walk
Dad wasn't done at base yet, so we went over to East Harbor without him. We had no idea what to expect, but the traffic was backed up on the road heading back to the beach! Along the side of the road were little sneakers staked into the ground. I teared up, it was encouraging to see, not to mention so cute! The parking lot on the right side was packed, but we finally found a spot and made the long walk to the party!
This really was a great event, a DJ & stage, jump house, balloon animals, activities for the kids, free food, and the Coast Guard had an airboat there! They had an area set up with lots of medical brochures and other stuff. It was wonderful, they had anything from log books, insulin pens, pumps, and support brochures. Carl and Moriah called wanting to know where we were at! It was a very nice surprise because I didn't expect them to drive over from Toledo on their way home from Bass Pro & Cabelos!
When it was time to start the walk they gathered everyone up by the stage. They had all the Type 1s come up and get behind a sign for pictures and I was so disappointed that Ellee did not want to go up there! That would have made a great front page picture for a scrapbook for the event, but oh well! They had a ribon that went between the stage and the entrance to the path and they had a little 6 or 7 year old boy that was just diagnosed cut it... then we were off!!!
We had no idea where were going or how long the walk was except that the website said 3 miles. It started off on a nice grassy path, and it didn't take long for the girls to ride on Josh's & Uncle Carl's shoulders! We soon hit a point where we had to turn and walk up towards the beach. Talk about a great view! We could see the waves (it was pretty choppy that day) between the openings of trees. The path went from a grassy path to a sandy and an occasional concrete pad. We were not prepared for the walk up hill in SAND!! *Note to self - wear sandles next year!*
Ellee got a big burst of energy and wanted me to run with her! Much to our surprise, we were just about to the end! I really don't think it was a full 3 miles, but we still had fun! After everyone else finished, the girls got to play on an air boat that the Coast Guard had there.
We called Dad to see if he was done on base yet and he was just finishing up, so we meet him for dinner. Not sure what it is about being up at Lake Erie, but ice cream is a must when you're up there! Toft's is the big brand up there and it is wonderful! I think we had just as much fun sitting outside of the ice cream parlor as we did at the walk!
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Life Lessons - 6 Months
Exactly 6 months ago, I was sitting in the hospital at Lima Memorial thinking that my world has come to an abrupt end and I couldn't possibly imagine how to deal with the news we were just handed. 6 months ago I scrambled for as much reading material as I could find from the library to prepare for a long hospitalization and tearfully called to tell my parents the devistation news. But here we are... 6 months later... and we're still alive!
My motto as of about 5-6 years ago has been "Prepare for the Worse, Hope for the Best" and that has helped us pull through this. I knew that if we could get past the first month, things would get easier. Just like Elizabeth was first born, I knew that if I could get through that first month that things would get easier. And just like with a child as you celebrate any of their birthdays, you look back in amasement at those first few months and are thankful that you some how survived it. Same thing with Type 1.
Don't get me wrong, T1D is a horrible disease. It makes my skin craw just thinking that any child's immune system can attack their body while you have no idea that it's going on and even if you did, you are absolutely helpless to stop it. At the same time, as we have learned to cope with it, I am thankful for T1D and that it wasn't something else, something that would not allow us to bring her home from the hospital.
One of the wonderful moms from TheMomPack said a few words of encouragement that have stuck with me... "It seems like most Diabetics are overachievers". As I see more and more people who have T1D, I believe that this is the case! People who do not let this disease control them, but control the disease. And that is my wish for Elizabeth, is that she learns to control this disease, turn the tables on it, and put it to good use. I loved seeing so many of the nurses at Childrens who were Type 1s working with the newly diagnosed. This was comforting to see that it never slowed them down and that they are using their experience to help us newbies, not just going from second hand knowledge from a textbook at nursing school.
I hate calling Ellee a Diabetic. First and foremost, she is Elizabeth! Period... Plain and simple... Elizabeth! Then secondly, just like a little side note in a book, she has diabetes. But Ellee is so strong, easy going, and has done the best of taking this in stride. She no longer fights us at meal times or complains when we tell her to check her sugar for what ever reason. Occasionally she'll complain that the shot hurts, but as soon as we are done, she has already moved on and is back to playing. My hope for her is that she continues on like this. That she doesn't let it slow her down and that she continues to control the diabetes, not let the diabetes control her.
My motto as of about 5-6 years ago has been "Prepare for the Worse, Hope for the Best" and that has helped us pull through this. I knew that if we could get past the first month, things would get easier. Just like Elizabeth was first born, I knew that if I could get through that first month that things would get easier. And just like with a child as you celebrate any of their birthdays, you look back in amasement at those first few months and are thankful that you some how survived it. Same thing with Type 1.
Don't get me wrong, T1D is a horrible disease. It makes my skin craw just thinking that any child's immune system can attack their body while you have no idea that it's going on and even if you did, you are absolutely helpless to stop it. At the same time, as we have learned to cope with it, I am thankful for T1D and that it wasn't something else, something that would not allow us to bring her home from the hospital.
One of the wonderful moms from TheMomPack said a few words of encouragement that have stuck with me... "It seems like most Diabetics are overachievers". As I see more and more people who have T1D, I believe that this is the case! People who do not let this disease control them, but control the disease. And that is my wish for Elizabeth, is that she learns to control this disease, turn the tables on it, and put it to good use. I loved seeing so many of the nurses at Childrens who were Type 1s working with the newly diagnosed. This was comforting to see that it never slowed them down and that they are using their experience to help us newbies, not just going from second hand knowledge from a textbook at nursing school.
I hate calling Ellee a Diabetic. First and foremost, she is Elizabeth! Period... Plain and simple... Elizabeth! Then secondly, just like a little side note in a book, she has diabetes. But Ellee is so strong, easy going, and has done the best of taking this in stride. She no longer fights us at meal times or complains when we tell her to check her sugar for what ever reason. Occasionally she'll complain that the shot hurts, but as soon as we are done, she has already moved on and is back to playing. My hope for her is that she continues on like this. That she doesn't let it slow her down and that she continues to control the diabetes, not let the diabetes control her.
Diabetic Mothers
I found this little story shortly after Ellee was diagnosed. This was my Holland story! (There is a side story to that a few people will get! I'll find that story and post it later.) What better way to share it than 6 months after she was diagnosed?!
HOW GOD SELECTS THE MOTHER OF A CHILD WITH DIABETES
by Erma Bombeck
Most women become mothers by accident, some by choice, a few by social pressures and a couple by habit. Did you ever wonder how mothers of children with diabetes are chosen? Somehow I visualize God hovering over earth selecting his instruments for propagation with great care and deliberation. As he observes, he instructs his angels to make notes in a giant ledger.
"Armstrong, Beth, son. Patron Saint Matthew."
"Forrest, Marjorie, daughter, Patron Saint Cecilia."
"Rutledge, Carrie, twins. Patron Saint Gerard. He's used to profanity."
Finally, He passes a name to an angel and smiles, "Give her a child with diabetes." The angel is curious. "Why this one, God? She's so happy."
"Exactly", smiles God. "Could I give child with diabetes to a mother who does not know laughter? That would be cruel".
"But has she the patience?" asks the angel.
"I don't want her to have too much patience, or she will drown in a sea of self-pity and despair. Once the shock and resentment wear off, she'll handle it. I watched her today. She has that feeling of self and independence that is so rare and so necessary in a mother. You see, the child I am going to give her has her own world. She has to make it live in her world and that's not going to be easy."
"But, Lord, I don't think she even believes in you."
God smiles. "No matter. I can fix that. This one is perfect. She has just enough selfishness."
The angel gasps. "Selfishness? Is that a virtue?"
God nods. "If she cannot separate herself from the child occasionally, she will never survive. Yes, here is a woman whom I will bless with less than perfect."
"She does not realize it yet, but she is to be envied. I will permit her to see clearly the things I see .... ignorance, cruelty, prejudice ... and allow her to rise above them. She will never be alone. I will be at her side every minute of every day of her life because she is doing my work as surely as if she is here by my side."
"And what about her patron saint?" asks the angel, his pen poised in mid air. God smiles. "A mirror will suffice."
HOW GOD SELECTS THE MOTHER OF A CHILD WITH DIABETES
by Erma Bombeck
Most women become mothers by accident, some by choice, a few by social pressures and a couple by habit. Did you ever wonder how mothers of children with diabetes are chosen? Somehow I visualize God hovering over earth selecting his instruments for propagation with great care and deliberation. As he observes, he instructs his angels to make notes in a giant ledger.
"Armstrong, Beth, son. Patron Saint Matthew."
"Forrest, Marjorie, daughter, Patron Saint Cecilia."
"Rutledge, Carrie, twins. Patron Saint Gerard. He's used to profanity."
Finally, He passes a name to an angel and smiles, "Give her a child with diabetes." The angel is curious. "Why this one, God? She's so happy."
"Exactly", smiles God. "Could I give child with diabetes to a mother who does not know laughter? That would be cruel".
"But has she the patience?" asks the angel.
"I don't want her to have too much patience, or she will drown in a sea of self-pity and despair. Once the shock and resentment wear off, she'll handle it. I watched her today. She has that feeling of self and independence that is so rare and so necessary in a mother. You see, the child I am going to give her has her own world. She has to make it live in her world and that's not going to be easy."
"But, Lord, I don't think she even believes in you."
God smiles. "No matter. I can fix that. This one is perfect. She has just enough selfishness."
The angel gasps. "Selfishness? Is that a virtue?"
God nods. "If she cannot separate herself from the child occasionally, she will never survive. Yes, here is a woman whom I will bless with less than perfect."
"She does not realize it yet, but she is to be envied. I will permit her to see clearly the things I see .... ignorance, cruelty, prejudice ... and allow her to rise above them. She will never be alone. I will be at her side every minute of every day of her life because she is doing my work as surely as if she is here by my side."
"And what about her patron saint?" asks the angel, his pen poised in mid air. God smiles. "A mirror will suffice."
Monday, October 19, 2009
Camping - with a new twist!
May 15th-17th
I got so rushed trying to get everything caught up that I left out our camping trip to Hocking Hills. That will teach me to blog more often instead of doing it all at once!
My brother Carl found a 100 mile Poker Run down in Hocking Hills that was on May 16th. Late Friday afternoon, we took off with my parents, little brother Jason, older brother Carl & his fiance Moriah.
Mom and I prepared for a while for this trip trying to figure out what she can and can't have, do we plan on doing banana boats instead of smores or vise versa. Once the doctor said that we can do the the Insulin to Carb ratio, that helped out tremendiously! It allowed us to plan a regular meal without making sure it was a certain amount of carbs for Ellee.
It was VERY late by the time we got down to Old Man's Cave Friday night. Carl and I were on the motorcycles with Dad following us in the Yukon with the big camper. Josh and Jason got impatient and went ahead to the campground to get the pop-up camper set up. We finally get there and get both campers set up and go to bed!
Late Saturday morning, Josh and I & Carl and Moriah head over to the poker run (which wasn't all that fun because it rained on us).
That evening, it was a "make your own dinner" type of thing! We had stuff for Pizza Pie Irons, Hobo Foil Packs, or Kabobs. Have I mentioned how much I like the Insulin:Carb thing lately?! This is one of those times where I would have gone crazy if I had to make El eat a certain amount of carbs! It was also nice because she didn't eat very many carbs for dinner, which allowed her to eat more of the fun stuff later on! She could eat as many smores and banana boats as she wanted, then we just had to dose her accordingly!
The weekend went really fast and we didn't even get a chance to go hiking. How can you go to Old Man's Cave and not hike?! I some how talked everyone but Mom and Moriah into going down and hiking for about half an hour before we took off. I never cease to be amazed at the differences between Ellee and Dani! I honestly think that Ellee has grandpa wrapped around her little finger because she ended up riding on his shoulders most of the time while Dani (only 18 months old) walked up and down every single step! I did have to give her a ride in a few spots to keep her away from the steep dropoffs!
As a mother, I constantly worry and panic. It's even worse with the diabetes because I think of Ellee's long-term health in addition to the short term. This is just one of the instances where I'm learning that I can't change things to conform to the diabetes, but instead I get to have the upperhand and make the diabetes conform to our life!!!
I got so rushed trying to get everything caught up that I left out our camping trip to Hocking Hills. That will teach me to blog more often instead of doing it all at once!
My brother Carl found a 100 mile Poker Run down in Hocking Hills that was on May 16th. Late Friday afternoon, we took off with my parents, little brother Jason, older brother Carl & his fiance Moriah.
Mom and I prepared for a while for this trip trying to figure out what she can and can't have, do we plan on doing banana boats instead of smores or vise versa. Once the doctor said that we can do the the Insulin to Carb ratio, that helped out tremendiously! It allowed us to plan a regular meal without making sure it was a certain amount of carbs for Ellee.
It was VERY late by the time we got down to Old Man's Cave Friday night. Carl and I were on the motorcycles with Dad following us in the Yukon with the big camper. Josh and Jason got impatient and went ahead to the campground to get the pop-up camper set up. We finally get there and get both campers set up and go to bed!
Late Saturday morning, Josh and I & Carl and Moriah head over to the poker run (which wasn't all that fun because it rained on us).
That evening, it was a "make your own dinner" type of thing! We had stuff for Pizza Pie Irons, Hobo Foil Packs, or Kabobs. Have I mentioned how much I like the Insulin:Carb thing lately?! This is one of those times where I would have gone crazy if I had to make El eat a certain amount of carbs! It was also nice because she didn't eat very many carbs for dinner, which allowed her to eat more of the fun stuff later on! She could eat as many smores and banana boats as she wanted, then we just had to dose her accordingly!
The weekend went really fast and we didn't even get a chance to go hiking. How can you go to Old Man's Cave and not hike?! I some how talked everyone but Mom and Moriah into going down and hiking for about half an hour before we took off. I never cease to be amazed at the differences between Ellee and Dani! I honestly think that Ellee has grandpa wrapped around her little finger because she ended up riding on his shoulders most of the time while Dani (only 18 months old) walked up and down every single step! I did have to give her a ride in a few spots to keep her away from the steep dropoffs!
As a mother, I constantly worry and panic. It's even worse with the diabetes because I think of Ellee's long-term health in addition to the short term. This is just one of the instances where I'm learning that I can't change things to conform to the diabetes, but instead I get to have the upperhand and make the diabetes conform to our life!!!
First Doctor's Appointment
Monday, June 8th
One reason that we chose to take Ellee to Children's Hospital in Columbus (instead of Dayton or Toledo) is because there is an doctor's office in Dublin that we could go to for her follow up appointments. We have no idea what to expect when we get there, how long it will take, or what all they will do. Ellee was especially nervous, asking if they would have to put a "straw" in her arm (an IV or blood draw from inside her elbow, she calls those big needles straws). I felt like a broken record saying "I don't know".
We stop at a Tim Horton's which is right down the road from the office to get breakfast. From the display case, Ellee picked out a jelly filled, powder coated doughnut. I hate choosing something for her to eat, but at the same time, I hate letting her pick stuff out... either way, it's a 50/50 chance of her liking it. She did do good and ate half of the doughnut, but I wrapped it back up in the little bag it came with and we went inside.
I actually like going to a doctors office and getting called back before you get all the paperwork filled out... so much better than sitting in the waiting room for hours!! The nurse took us into a little room to check her height and weight and to get a blood sample for her A1C (gives an average of blood sugars for the past 3 months). I have no idea how they are going to do this, but I'm hoping not by a blood draw! To our relief, the nurse asks if we have her test kit and if we can use the lancet to get a few drops. YAY, it's just like testing her sugar but using a different kind of meter!
We still waited a little while to see the doctor. A Diabetes Nurse Educator came in to talk with us and look over her log book. We talked about a few of the numbers that were either really high ore really low to see if we knew what caused them. Most of the time we did know, but I think she was mainly just checking to see how much we are watching and understanding the diabetes.
Dr. Monika finally came in (I call her that because I can't spell her last name without looking at it and can't pronounce it unless some one says it first!). She was a very nice, down-to-earth woman. She said that she was very happy with the numbers in the log and her A1C came back at 8.6. They want it below 8, so being just a few points over considering that her pre-diagnosis numbers were included is very good! She discussed changing Ellee's Insulin to Carb ratio so that we are giving her less insulin and she told us how to dose her if she's high and we need to bring her down.
She flat out told us that it's a learning curve and there is no set standard or guideline. It's all about finding what works best for Ellee and making adjustments as Ellee's body adjusts. It would be nice if there were a magic formula to follow, but unfortunately, there isn't.
One reason that we chose to take Ellee to Children's Hospital in Columbus (instead of Dayton or Toledo) is because there is an doctor's office in Dublin that we could go to for her follow up appointments. We have no idea what to expect when we get there, how long it will take, or what all they will do. Ellee was especially nervous, asking if they would have to put a "straw" in her arm (an IV or blood draw from inside her elbow, she calls those big needles straws). I felt like a broken record saying "I don't know".
We stop at a Tim Horton's which is right down the road from the office to get breakfast. From the display case, Ellee picked out a jelly filled, powder coated doughnut. I hate choosing something for her to eat, but at the same time, I hate letting her pick stuff out... either way, it's a 50/50 chance of her liking it. She did do good and ate half of the doughnut, but I wrapped it back up in the little bag it came with and we went inside.
I actually like going to a doctors office and getting called back before you get all the paperwork filled out... so much better than sitting in the waiting room for hours!! The nurse took us into a little room to check her height and weight and to get a blood sample for her A1C (gives an average of blood sugars for the past 3 months). I have no idea how they are going to do this, but I'm hoping not by a blood draw! To our relief, the nurse asks if we have her test kit and if we can use the lancet to get a few drops. YAY, it's just like testing her sugar but using a different kind of meter!
We still waited a little while to see the doctor. A Diabetes Nurse Educator came in to talk with us and look over her log book. We talked about a few of the numbers that were either really high ore really low to see if we knew what caused them. Most of the time we did know, but I think she was mainly just checking to see how much we are watching and understanding the diabetes.
Dr. Monika finally came in (I call her that because I can't spell her last name without looking at it and can't pronounce it unless some one says it first!). She was a very nice, down-to-earth woman. She said that she was very happy with the numbers in the log and her A1C came back at 8.6. They want it below 8, so being just a few points over considering that her pre-diagnosis numbers were included is very good! She discussed changing Ellee's Insulin to Carb ratio so that we are giving her less insulin and she told us how to dose her if she's high and we need to bring her down.
She flat out told us that it's a learning curve and there is no set standard or guideline. It's all about finding what works best for Ellee and making adjustments as Ellee's body adjusts. It would be nice if there were a magic formula to follow, but unfortunately, there isn't.
School
Wednesday, May 20th
So much for a normal preschool experience! As soon as she started preschool, Ellee's symptoms started to appear, then she was out for a week during the diagnosis, then back to finish up the last month. The good thing is that other than snack, we really don't have to worry much about food and shots during class. The pain has been making sure that she only gets around 15 carbs at snack time, so we pack her some crackers and Crystal Light lemonade to take. I didn't figure that it would take long before she felt kind of excluded for not being able to eat what the other kids had. As a comprimise, she still had to have her lemonade, but she could have what ever snack the others had. I meet with her teacher to talk about making sure that she got as close to the 15 carbs as possible.
This was their big Walk to the Library field trip day! It got pushed back a week due to the rain, but they finally got a good day! I took off work to help chaperone! Before heading out, Mrs. M took Ellee's emergency juice box out of the fridge and put it in her little bag incase she had a Hypo event while we were gone. They didn't really have that far to walk (about 5 blocks), but for little legs it was a lot! There really is nothing cute there 3, 4, & 5 year olds making animal noises when the book called for it, and dancing to a silly song!
After the librarian read a few cute books and they did a few silly songs, it was time to go. I found it a little funny that they did all that walking for a 15-20 minute activity! Oh well, it got them out of the classroom and into the sunshine! About half way back, Ellee started walking slower and getting a whiny. I pushed her to walk just the little bit further that we had to go, then grabbed her test kit out of the car. I made her go to the bathroom, then we check her sugar and she was clear down in the 60s... Yikes! I got the juice box from Mrs. M and sat out in the hallway with her while she drank it. The other kids were getting started on their daily routine and it was nice to actually be able to see some of what they do there!
It's amazing the difference in El between a Hypo event and when she's "normal" (within her sugar range). Even when she's high, I can see a little bit of a difference in her. I wonder if she can feel the difference in herself, like if she feels funny, light-headed, belly ache, or anything like that. Even if she can, I'm sure it will be another year or more before she realizes whats going on and knows to check her sugar as soon as she starts feeling that way.
Monday, June 1st
Last day of preschool! It was a short year because we didn't enroll her till mid-February, but it still went by fast! They had a little program for all of the parents and families where they sang some of the songs that they learned! I have no idea where Mrs. M gets these songs from, but they are the cutest things! I loved picking El up from school or the sitters and listening to her sing them on the way home!
I have to admit, when I first found out that we'd have to monitor and watch what she ate, I was scared to death. The first thing that came to mind is that going to different functions or places and having cookies as snacks and having to tell her that she can't have any or a little bit of one... I know I don't have the will power to pass up a cookie, why should I expect a 4 year old to??? BUT, God works in mysterious ways! At the end of the program, I checked El's sugar and she was low! Why was I excited? Because it meant she could have a cookie and I didn't have to worry about it making her sugar skyrocket over her range!
So much for a normal preschool experience! As soon as she started preschool, Ellee's symptoms started to appear, then she was out for a week during the diagnosis, then back to finish up the last month. The good thing is that other than snack, we really don't have to worry much about food and shots during class. The pain has been making sure that she only gets around 15 carbs at snack time, so we pack her some crackers and Crystal Light lemonade to take. I didn't figure that it would take long before she felt kind of excluded for not being able to eat what the other kids had. As a comprimise, she still had to have her lemonade, but she could have what ever snack the others had. I meet with her teacher to talk about making sure that she got as close to the 15 carbs as possible.
This was their big Walk to the Library field trip day! It got pushed back a week due to the rain, but they finally got a good day! I took off work to help chaperone! Before heading out, Mrs. M took Ellee's emergency juice box out of the fridge and put it in her little bag incase she had a Hypo event while we were gone. They didn't really have that far to walk (about 5 blocks), but for little legs it was a lot! There really is nothing cute there 3, 4, & 5 year olds making animal noises when the book called for it, and dancing to a silly song!
After the librarian read a few cute books and they did a few silly songs, it was time to go. I found it a little funny that they did all that walking for a 15-20 minute activity! Oh well, it got them out of the classroom and into the sunshine! About half way back, Ellee started walking slower and getting a whiny. I pushed her to walk just the little bit further that we had to go, then grabbed her test kit out of the car. I made her go to the bathroom, then we check her sugar and she was clear down in the 60s... Yikes! I got the juice box from Mrs. M and sat out in the hallway with her while she drank it. The other kids were getting started on their daily routine and it was nice to actually be able to see some of what they do there!
It's amazing the difference in El between a Hypo event and when she's "normal" (within her sugar range). Even when she's high, I can see a little bit of a difference in her. I wonder if she can feel the difference in herself, like if she feels funny, light-headed, belly ache, or anything like that. Even if she can, I'm sure it will be another year or more before she realizes whats going on and knows to check her sugar as soon as she starts feeling that way.
Monday, June 1st
Last day of preschool! It was a short year because we didn't enroll her till mid-February, but it still went by fast! They had a little program for all of the parents and families where they sang some of the songs that they learned! I have no idea where Mrs. M gets these songs from, but they are the cutest things! I loved picking El up from school or the sitters and listening to her sing them on the way home!
I have to admit, when I first found out that we'd have to monitor and watch what she ate, I was scared to death. The first thing that came to mind is that going to different functions or places and having cookies as snacks and having to tell her that she can't have any or a little bit of one... I know I don't have the will power to pass up a cookie, why should I expect a 4 year old to??? BUT, God works in mysterious ways! At the end of the program, I checked El's sugar and she was low! Why was I excited? Because it meant she could have a cookie and I didn't have to worry about it making her sugar skyrocket over her range!
Friday, October 16, 2009
Finally - Carb to Insulin Ratios!
Thursday, May 7th
Shortly after I started back to work, I spoke with the Safety Director at work. Her Grandson was diagnosed with Type 1 about 5 years ago. She told me about how he had actually gone into a coma because his sugar was so high (it was well over 1,000, but I'm thinking she said it was over 2,000 and Ellee's was 668 at diagnosis). She also said that he does his shot after he eats, figuring out how many carbs he ate as opposed to making him eat a certain amount. WOW... this sounds a lot better than trying to make Ellee eat a certain amount of carbs for a meal and panicing if she didn't eat it all.
When we were at Childrens meeting with Winnie to train Mom, Dad, and Tonya, we also had to meet with Karen, a dietition. I brought up this carb to insulin ratio with her and she agreed that it would be a good thing! She left to check with one of the doctors (because she couldn't authorize it) then came back in and instructed us on how to do this new process.
Other Type 1s have been doing Carb:Insulin for a long time, and when people are on the pump, this is how they tell the pump how much insulin to give... but for us it was a new and exciting adventure! And it was! This took so much unnecessary stress out of our lives. I hate fighting with the girls about eating. I don't want to force them to eat something they don't like and I understand that they go through growth spurts where one minute they will eat like piggies and the next they won't touch an ounce of food. Through insulin on top of this and you have World War III in the Braun household! Up until this point I tried not to make too much of a fuss about Ellee not eating something and found a substitute that she would eat. We had enough other stuff to fight about, I didn't want this to be one of them.
Before, we were instructed to give her 2 units before dinner and have her eat 40 carbs. Of course the number of units may change or the number of carbs may change depending on if she was having lots of low readings. But it was the same concept, give her a shot and make her eat a certain amount. On the other hand, Carb:Insulin Ratio works like this... based on her past sugar readings, the doctor sets a ratio for her, like 1:20 (1 unit for every 20 grams of carbs). We test her sugar before she eats, then let her eat what how ever much of her dinner she wants. If she has 10 carbs, we give her half a unit, 1 unit for 20 carbs, 2 units for 40 carbs. Every so often the doctors will look to see if an adjustment needs made based on if her sugar is too high or having too many lows. It is better than sliced bread! They couldn't send us home doing this because they needed to make sure that we understand how to count the carbs, which makes sense. Still makes me wish that they would have told us about this sooner!
Shortly after I started back to work, I spoke with the Safety Director at work. Her Grandson was diagnosed with Type 1 about 5 years ago. She told me about how he had actually gone into a coma because his sugar was so high (it was well over 1,000, but I'm thinking she said it was over 2,000 and Ellee's was 668 at diagnosis). She also said that he does his shot after he eats, figuring out how many carbs he ate as opposed to making him eat a certain amount. WOW... this sounds a lot better than trying to make Ellee eat a certain amount of carbs for a meal and panicing if she didn't eat it all.
When we were at Childrens meeting with Winnie to train Mom, Dad, and Tonya, we also had to meet with Karen, a dietition. I brought up this carb to insulin ratio with her and she agreed that it would be a good thing! She left to check with one of the doctors (because she couldn't authorize it) then came back in and instructed us on how to do this new process.
Other Type 1s have been doing Carb:Insulin for a long time, and when people are on the pump, this is how they tell the pump how much insulin to give... but for us it was a new and exciting adventure! And it was! This took so much unnecessary stress out of our lives. I hate fighting with the girls about eating. I don't want to force them to eat something they don't like and I understand that they go through growth spurts where one minute they will eat like piggies and the next they won't touch an ounce of food. Through insulin on top of this and you have World War III in the Braun household! Up until this point I tried not to make too much of a fuss about Ellee not eating something and found a substitute that she would eat. We had enough other stuff to fight about, I didn't want this to be one of them.
Before, we were instructed to give her 2 units before dinner and have her eat 40 carbs. Of course the number of units may change or the number of carbs may change depending on if she was having lots of low readings. But it was the same concept, give her a shot and make her eat a certain amount. On the other hand, Carb:Insulin Ratio works like this... based on her past sugar readings, the doctor sets a ratio for her, like 1:20 (1 unit for every 20 grams of carbs). We test her sugar before she eats, then let her eat what how ever much of her dinner she wants. If she has 10 carbs, we give her half a unit, 1 unit for 20 carbs, 2 units for 40 carbs. Every so often the doctors will look to see if an adjustment needs made based on if her sugar is too high or having too many lows. It is better than sliced bread! They couldn't send us home doing this because they needed to make sure that we understand how to count the carbs, which makes sense. Still makes me wish that they would have told us about this sooner!
First Few Days Home
Friday, April 24th
Wow... now what do we do? Josh and I both work and who ever watches the girls needs to be trained on how to give her shots, check her sugar, and count carbs. At this point Dad and Tonya are watching the girls for us and taking Ellee to Preschool for the few hours that she has class. Since we were really slow at work, my boss and I agreed that I could work half days for as long as I needed to. So, our schedule for the next month was for me to get up as early as I could in the mornings and go into work and work half a day, Josh would go to work in the afternoon.
HELP IS ON ITS WAY!!!
It was such a relief when we were able to set a date for Mom and Dad to go to Columbus to meet with Winnie to get their training done. I wasn't going to push it, but Tonya wanted to get trained because she still wanted to watch the girls. I'm not going push some one into doing this because as a parent it was hard enough for me to do it, but I'll take any help I can get!
Everyone meet at the house and we headed for Columbus. Not sure why we didn't take Aunt Susie up on the offer to watch Dani, but we didn't think it would be that bad and she might as well go with us. I think we were planning on going to the Zoo afterwards, but that didn't work out.
There is nothing funner than putting 7 adults and two little kids in a very small room with lots of needles! I'll get to the details in a second, but want to say that I acutally learned something about my little brother... and it's kind of disturbing!!! Here is how this played out:
We're sitting on one side of a table and Winnie is on the other side. She gets out the glucose meter and shows everyone the chip that you have to change with every new bottle of test strips. She then passes out alcohol pads to everyone and informs them that they'll be testing their own sugar. No big deal... right?!?! WRONG!!! Jason starts flipping out! Why??? Because he can't stand to be around needles!!! Hmmm... lets think about that. For anyone that doesn't know my brother, he's about 6'5" and 250 lbs, with 4 tattoos, volunteer fire fighter and his roommate is an EMT! I know that there are lots of people who are afraid of needles, but most of the don't have about 4 tattoos! We argued this fact with him and he still threw a big fit about it! Why did he even come in the first place? Okay, so he admitted that he was there for the lunch afterwards, but still, he knew that there would be needles in the same room! Dani was getting restless so I took her out to the waiting room to play with some toys. When we came back in, they were done testing sugar and some how managed to talk him into doing it.
Next came the shots. Everyone was to give themselves one. Again, shouldn't be a big deal, if your going to give shots to a little kid, you should know how it feels! Tonya and Dad do theirs, no big deal. Then it comes to Jason... will he do it?! NO. =( He again made a big deal about how he's not going to do it, and Josh is giving him the biggest ration of $hit you can imagine! If only I were at the other end of the table, it was the perfect opperturnity to give him a shot because he was going at it with Josh! When the laughter died down, Dad and Tonya said that they had the same thoughts but with as big as he was, they were afraid that he'd swing and do more damage than what it was worth!
For some reason, up to this point, Ellee will not let me give her a shot in the butt! We did it once in the hospital and she wouldn't let us use that spot again. When I use to get Depo shots, I preferred them there, mainly because I couldn't see the needle and it was over as soon as I felt it. So, while we were there, I told Ellee that she could give me a shot in the butt if she wanted to! Talk about estatic!!! Grandma helped her load the syringe up and Ellee gave me the shot! She was so proud of herself for doing that!
Wow... now what do we do? Josh and I both work and who ever watches the girls needs to be trained on how to give her shots, check her sugar, and count carbs. At this point Dad and Tonya are watching the girls for us and taking Ellee to Preschool for the few hours that she has class. Since we were really slow at work, my boss and I agreed that I could work half days for as long as I needed to. So, our schedule for the next month was for me to get up as early as I could in the mornings and go into work and work half a day, Josh would go to work in the afternoon.
HELP IS ON ITS WAY!!!
It was such a relief when we were able to set a date for Mom and Dad to go to Columbus to meet with Winnie to get their training done. I wasn't going to push it, but Tonya wanted to get trained because she still wanted to watch the girls. I'm not going push some one into doing this because as a parent it was hard enough for me to do it, but I'll take any help I can get!
Everyone meet at the house and we headed for Columbus. Not sure why we didn't take Aunt Susie up on the offer to watch Dani, but we didn't think it would be that bad and she might as well go with us. I think we were planning on going to the Zoo afterwards, but that didn't work out.
There is nothing funner than putting 7 adults and two little kids in a very small room with lots of needles! I'll get to the details in a second, but want to say that I acutally learned something about my little brother... and it's kind of disturbing!!! Here is how this played out:
We're sitting on one side of a table and Winnie is on the other side. She gets out the glucose meter and shows everyone the chip that you have to change with every new bottle of test strips. She then passes out alcohol pads to everyone and informs them that they'll be testing their own sugar. No big deal... right?!?! WRONG!!! Jason starts flipping out! Why??? Because he can't stand to be around needles!!! Hmmm... lets think about that. For anyone that doesn't know my brother, he's about 6'5" and 250 lbs, with 4 tattoos, volunteer fire fighter and his roommate is an EMT! I know that there are lots of people who are afraid of needles, but most of the don't have about 4 tattoos! We argued this fact with him and he still threw a big fit about it! Why did he even come in the first place? Okay, so he admitted that he was there for the lunch afterwards, but still, he knew that there would be needles in the same room! Dani was getting restless so I took her out to the waiting room to play with some toys. When we came back in, they were done testing sugar and some how managed to talk him into doing it.
Next came the shots. Everyone was to give themselves one. Again, shouldn't be a big deal, if your going to give shots to a little kid, you should know how it feels! Tonya and Dad do theirs, no big deal. Then it comes to Jason... will he do it?! NO. =( He again made a big deal about how he's not going to do it, and Josh is giving him the biggest ration of $hit you can imagine! If only I were at the other end of the table, it was the perfect opperturnity to give him a shot because he was going at it with Josh! When the laughter died down, Dad and Tonya said that they had the same thoughts but with as big as he was, they were afraid that he'd swing and do more damage than what it was worth!
For some reason, up to this point, Ellee will not let me give her a shot in the butt! We did it once in the hospital and she wouldn't let us use that spot again. When I use to get Depo shots, I preferred them there, mainly because I couldn't see the needle and it was over as soon as I felt it. So, while we were there, I told Ellee that she could give me a shot in the butt if she wanted to! Talk about estatic!!! Grandma helped her load the syringe up and Ellee gave me the shot! She was so proud of herself for doing that!
Second day at Children's
Thursday, April 23
Busy day with lots of people to meet with. They told us that we can go home tonight as long as we get all of our classes done and her numbers continue to improve.
Last night Josh and I learned how to do the sugar testing and how to give shots. It was easier to watch the nurses give the shots than for us to give them, but we had to start at some point because we couldn't take a nurse home with us!
For some reason, Ellee's sugar was up at breakfast and lunch. We watched for keytones and luckily they were negative. Shortly after lunch, they decided to keep her for one more night to try to get her levels down. That was so disappointed because we just wanted to get out of there, but at the same time, going home was just as scary.
One of the student nurses offered to take Ellee down to the playroom so that Josh and I could go get something to eat. When we got back, El and Maddy were practicing giving shots (minus the needles) to a couple of bears that we had. It was the cutest thing ever! Maddy was nice enough to get a couple of those hospital bracelets and write the bear's name on it! Ellee was so proud of herself for giving the bear a shot that she was showing everyone how to do it!
Later on, Maddy took Ellee and another little girl (3 years old) out to the rooftop playground. We are up on the 6th floor and can see this from our room. She had been begging to get out there and play and it was heartbreaking to tell her no we've had too many people to meet with. El really needed this fun break and it was nice to meet some one her age going through the same thing.
When El and I got back from the playground, they told us that we could still go home tonight as long as we got all of our classes done. It was a mad rush to get everyone in there that we needed to see still, but we managed to do it! It was a mad dash with Beth going over the rest of the "classes" that we had to go through and test on. It felt like we walked into an advanced French class and had to cram for a test without knowing a bit of the basics of the language. When Dr. Steve said that we'd be overwhelmed with classes and info, he wasn't joking - that is exactly how we felt! I completely forgot about calling Mom to tell her the good news that we'd be coming home tonight, and the next thing we know - here they are! Oops... That was a long way for them to drive, just for us to go home, but it was so nice to have them there with us!
Winnie came in to go over our meter with us and spoke with Mom and Dad about having them come down for classes. Karen also stopped in to go over some stuff with us and we spoke about her dosage. Before we were able to walk out the door, they had already dropped her dosage down a half a unit. It may not sound like much, but any sign that we have it under control or that she's entering her "honeymoon" period is a victory!
Walking out of that hospital with our daughter was a great feeling! I know that some people who enter that hospital don't get to leave with their child. I know it's a grim way of looking at things, after seeing what some of the other kids in there are going through, it made the shots a little more tolerable. If having to do 4 shots a day is the price we have to pay to be able to take her home, then that small sacrifice! The girls rode with Grandma and Grandpa, and I wanted to stop at Tuttle Mall to pick up one of those Carb Bibles and look for ID jewerly.
At Tuttle, I went to the Things Remembered and looked for a bracelet to get engraved for her to wear. It was a little disappointing to find out that most of their stuff was too big. I did manage to find a cute one that was on sale that was slightly smaller and didn't fall off when she dropped her hand. Little did I know that this would be the first of many disappointments with trying to find ID jewerly for her to wear!
We go to leave the mall, the girls are in the truck with us and we're getting ready to leave when Ellee says some thing so small, but yet it throws Josh and I into a panic... "I'm Hungry". UUURRRGGGEEE... where are the nurses when you need them?! What do we do? It's almost 9pm and there isn't very much open and we know that he have to give her something that is 15 carbs or less. Mom suggests the apples from McDonalds, so I pull out my new Carb Bible and look them up. Great! The apples are less than 15, but she loves the "apple sauce" and that would put her up to 23 carbs. We didn't really have a choice, so we went ahead and got them for her. It sounds weird and sounds like something so trivial, but for newly diagnosed parents, this was a hard decision, what do we do? Since I am writing this a while late, I will say that looking back, I can't believe that we paniced about that! Now at night we purposely give her extra carbs to raise her level up to avoid a night time low!
Busy day with lots of people to meet with. They told us that we can go home tonight as long as we get all of our classes done and her numbers continue to improve.
Last night Josh and I learned how to do the sugar testing and how to give shots. It was easier to watch the nurses give the shots than for us to give them, but we had to start at some point because we couldn't take a nurse home with us!
For some reason, Ellee's sugar was up at breakfast and lunch. We watched for keytones and luckily they were negative. Shortly after lunch, they decided to keep her for one more night to try to get her levels down. That was so disappointed because we just wanted to get out of there, but at the same time, going home was just as scary.
One of the student nurses offered to take Ellee down to the playroom so that Josh and I could go get something to eat. When we got back, El and Maddy were practicing giving shots (minus the needles) to a couple of bears that we had. It was the cutest thing ever! Maddy was nice enough to get a couple of those hospital bracelets and write the bear's name on it! Ellee was so proud of herself for giving the bear a shot that she was showing everyone how to do it!
Later on, Maddy took Ellee and another little girl (3 years old) out to the rooftop playground. We are up on the 6th floor and can see this from our room. She had been begging to get out there and play and it was heartbreaking to tell her no we've had too many people to meet with. El really needed this fun break and it was nice to meet some one her age going through the same thing.
When El and I got back from the playground, they told us that we could still go home tonight as long as we got all of our classes done. It was a mad rush to get everyone in there that we needed to see still, but we managed to do it! It was a mad dash with Beth going over the rest of the "classes" that we had to go through and test on. It felt like we walked into an advanced French class and had to cram for a test without knowing a bit of the basics of the language. When Dr. Steve said that we'd be overwhelmed with classes and info, he wasn't joking - that is exactly how we felt! I completely forgot about calling Mom to tell her the good news that we'd be coming home tonight, and the next thing we know - here they are! Oops... That was a long way for them to drive, just for us to go home, but it was so nice to have them there with us!
Winnie came in to go over our meter with us and spoke with Mom and Dad about having them come down for classes. Karen also stopped in to go over some stuff with us and we spoke about her dosage. Before we were able to walk out the door, they had already dropped her dosage down a half a unit. It may not sound like much, but any sign that we have it under control or that she's entering her "honeymoon" period is a victory!
Walking out of that hospital with our daughter was a great feeling! I know that some people who enter that hospital don't get to leave with their child. I know it's a grim way of looking at things, after seeing what some of the other kids in there are going through, it made the shots a little more tolerable. If having to do 4 shots a day is the price we have to pay to be able to take her home, then that small sacrifice! The girls rode with Grandma and Grandpa, and I wanted to stop at Tuttle Mall to pick up one of those Carb Bibles and look for ID jewerly.
At Tuttle, I went to the Things Remembered and looked for a bracelet to get engraved for her to wear. It was a little disappointing to find out that most of their stuff was too big. I did manage to find a cute one that was on sale that was slightly smaller and didn't fall off when she dropped her hand. Little did I know that this would be the first of many disappointments with trying to find ID jewerly for her to wear!
We go to leave the mall, the girls are in the truck with us and we're getting ready to leave when Ellee says some thing so small, but yet it throws Josh and I into a panic... "I'm Hungry". UUURRRGGGEEE... where are the nurses when you need them?! What do we do? It's almost 9pm and there isn't very much open and we know that he have to give her something that is 15 carbs or less. Mom suggests the apples from McDonalds, so I pull out my new Carb Bible and look them up. Great! The apples are less than 15, but she loves the "apple sauce" and that would put her up to 23 carbs. We didn't really have a choice, so we went ahead and got them for her. It sounds weird and sounds like something so trivial, but for newly diagnosed parents, this was a hard decision, what do we do? Since I am writing this a while late, I will say that looking back, I can't believe that we paniced about that! Now at night we purposely give her extra carbs to raise her level up to avoid a night time low!
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