Pleasantly surprised...

Today, exactly 11 months after Bekah's dx was our 3rd endo appt.  After all of the sicknesses (mostly little colds but those still wreak havoc on BG levels), growth spurts, postprandial  hyperglycemia (after breakfast) and what I suspect is a bit of dawn phenomenon , I knew that the 6.8% on the last A1C was history.  I went through her meter readings and her 90 day average was 192.  Not good.  I went over her numbers with a fine tooth comb.  I am not OCD about much but when it comes to Bekah's care I am a little (ok a lot) anal retentive.  I decided to get brave and work on those overnight basals.  I kept checking back over her 90 average to see what her A1C should be.  I had myself very prepared for an 8.2%.  My self talk in the car on the way over to the endo's office was, "It's just a number, you tell Bekah there are not bad numbers, they are just information to tell us what the next step is, we probably need to make some changes and this will tell us..." (yes I had an extra cup off coffee this morning and my head was one big run-on sentence.)  I also have to say that I read blogs of not just D-moms but PWD too and I appreciate their perspectives on A1Cs, that not every number will be perfect and it's ok. 

(Please note this is me being critical of myself as a pancreas, if you or your child have an A1C of an 8,9, 10 etc.  I am not judging you or think you are doing a poor job as a pancreas.  We are all doing our best given our circumstances.  I think we are all our own worst critic so please don't take this as my being judgmental of anyone except myself)

We did all of the paperwork, weight, height etc.  A1C in the machine and wait in the office for our endo to come in with the news...I am bracing myself.  I didn't get much sleep due to an obnoxious dog in our neighborhood that barked nonstop all night.  When I am tired I cry at the silliest things.  I cry at Halmark commercials on a good day with a full night of sleep so I was afraid that I was a goner.  I did not want to cry in front of Bekah or her doctor.  In walks the doc.  Deep breath!  A little small talk and I said something about an A1C over 8 and she laughed, "your A1C was no where near an 8".  At first I started to panic thinking it must be higher but then she said "7.2%"  I almost fell out of my chair.  Inside I did a happy dance!!  We talked about a few little tweaks that needed to be made and then I mentioned my concerns with David and she suggested the Trialnet study.  I knew exactly what this was as Jason, Josh, Megan and I had all done it last year. 

We went downstairs and took our turn in line for a blood draw.  As we were waiting, a woman with a boy that I am assuming was on the autism spectrum sat down next to me.  Bekah and David were having a great time playing as we waited.  I noticed that this boy was getting rather stressed and not liking the wait time.  I kindly asked his mom if she minded if we traded places in line.  I went to the counter and they were happy to oblige.  We did end up waiting close to an hour or more total but my kids were not having a problem waiting so I didn't mind at all.  When David got his blood drawn, he didn't even flinch.  He just looked at his arm and then looked at the lady drawing his blood and said "ooh".  What a brave boy!  He has a very brave example to look to everyday in his sister.  I will keep you posted on the results.  4-6 weeks is going to seem like a very long time...

I left our endo with a note today that I will share with you:


Dear Dr. H,

I just want to say thank-you!  Thank-you for choosing to go to school to become a doctor and not just a doctor but a pediatric endocrinologist!  It has almost been a year since Rebekah was diagnosed with Type One Diabetes.  In that year you have shared so much of your wisdom and knowledge with us.  I appreciate the way you take something so very complicated and are able to articulate it in layman's terms with out making me feel dumb.  I love your joyful personality, it is contagious and I can tell that you love your job.  Thank-you also for continuing your career after becoming a mom.  I appreciate the sacrifices that your family makes so that you are available for us.  I am so thankful for the attention to detail and loving care that you have given and will continue to give to our family over the years and we feel so very blessed to have you as Rebebkah's endocrinologist.