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.
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
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!
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