Sorry I have been a bit MIA. Between puppy stuff and keeping a family of six healthy and happy and sort of clean, I have been busy! My two year old is going through a stage where he likes to get in your face and make the most annoying sound ever. He does it to all of us and he gets a reaction so he keeps it up. It's wearing on me (and everyone else as well and since I am the mom they think I have control over his antics so they whine to me about it).
Bekah is going through what I think may be a growth spurt. Her numbers have been scary high. No ketones (we check those often too) I am going to bare all here...7 day average is *gulp* 256 *gulp* I have changed sites and locations of sites, changed insulin and tweaked basal rates like a crazed honey badger and still Bekah's last check was 444. ACK! I am determined to get this (insert profanity) tamed! My plan is after doing more tweaks today (I am sticking with the 3 day rule) to see what tomorrow holds and if things are not better then making an appointment to have a bone scan done to see if early puberty is the culprit for making insulin act as water in the house.
On a positive note, I made a video to help raise money for Bekah's dog, Sarah. It turned out pretty cute I think except that the music track is a bit off.
Thursday, August 18, 2011
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
missing my girl
I woke up this morning thinking it was Thursday and tomorrow I would get to see Bekah. Then realized it's only Wed and I have 2 more days to wait. I have been doing pretty good with her being gone until last night when I just wanted to cuddle with her. I dreamed that her BGs at camp got up in to the 600s.
Today I just keep thinking about her and wondering how her BGs have been. How did her site change go? Has she lost any sites, did I leave enough? I keep wondering if she is missing home or having the time of her life. Or a bit of both?
I have a ton of stuff to do today as the stomach flu finally made it to my husband and now he is better. Bathrooms, laundry general disinfecting are all on my agenda today. I think I will wash the car and try to reorganize the girls' room as well. (Bekah's bed is too high for Sarah to sleep with her so we have to come up with a solution...I'm thinking IKEA but that takes money so I'll let my creative juices flow and see what we can come up with) Sarah starts puppy kindergarten tonight as well. Hopefully all of that will keep me too busy to miss my girl too much.
Today I just keep thinking about her and wondering how her BGs have been. How did her site change go? Has she lost any sites, did I leave enough? I keep wondering if she is missing home or having the time of her life. Or a bit of both?
I have a ton of stuff to do today as the stomach flu finally made it to my husband and now he is better. Bathrooms, laundry general disinfecting are all on my agenda today. I think I will wash the car and try to reorganize the girls' room as well. (Bekah's bed is too high for Sarah to sleep with her so we have to come up with a solution...I'm thinking IKEA but that takes money so I'll let my creative juices flow and see what we can come up with) Sarah starts puppy kindergarten tonight as well. Hopefully all of that will keep me too busy to miss my girl too much.
Monday, August 8, 2011
D camp
Yesterday, late morning, Bekah and I loaded up to meet one of her diabuddies and one of the most amazing D-moms I know. We girls along with another family rode the hour or so together to our local diabetes camp. We made a pit stop for a special treat lunch at McDs and got to camp just as registration began.
The girls picked their bunks and began setting up their little homes while we moms waited in the lines. Standing in line, I did feel a few butterflies from time to time becuase I knew in a couple of hours I would be leaving and my baby girl would be staying there. She has never been away from our family overnight. I knew though that she was in good hands.
I did pretty good and only had a few tears as we parted ways but my eyes were dry before we got too far down the road. A caffeine stop for us moms (Starbucks) and we headed home. I pulled in around 6:00ish, so it was a whole day event.
I have to be honest and tell you it is 4:45 AM and I can't sleep. I am missing my girl right now. I can't hear the slight snore of her breathing. I can't go check her BG to make sure she is ok. I don't get to see her sweet smile today. My arms ache to hug her and kiss her on the top of her head.
Here are a few photos I took of the day
Looking at these photos puts my mind at ease knowing she is having a blast! I love that she gets to have the memories of camp. I never got to go to camp. I love that there is a place where diabetes is the norm for a few days. No one is going to ask awkward questions that she doesn't feel like answering becuase they all live this reality as well. Everyone will be checking their BG before meals and at bedtime. The counselors will be checking all of the kids BGs at midnight and 3AM. Bekah will be having too much fun to miss home much. I am not sure what the week holds for me yet but I will keep busy and try to get in some one on one time with my other kids.
The girls picked their bunks and began setting up their little homes while we moms waited in the lines. Standing in line, I did feel a few butterflies from time to time becuase I knew in a couple of hours I would be leaving and my baby girl would be staying there. She has never been away from our family overnight. I knew though that she was in good hands.
I did pretty good and only had a few tears as we parted ways but my eyes were dry before we got too far down the road. A caffeine stop for us moms (Starbucks) and we headed home. I pulled in around 6:00ish, so it was a whole day event.
I have to be honest and tell you it is 4:45 AM and I can't sleep. I am missing my girl right now. I can't hear the slight snore of her breathing. I can't go check her BG to make sure she is ok. I don't get to see her sweet smile today. My arms ache to hug her and kiss her on the top of her head.
Here are a few photos I took of the day
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| Diabuddies! |
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| look at that smile |
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| one last shot before I left (bye Mom) |
Looking at these photos puts my mind at ease knowing she is having a blast! I love that she gets to have the memories of camp. I never got to go to camp. I love that there is a place where diabetes is the norm for a few days. No one is going to ask awkward questions that she doesn't feel like answering becuase they all live this reality as well. Everyone will be checking their BG before meals and at bedtime. The counselors will be checking all of the kids BGs at midnight and 3AM. Bekah will be having too much fun to miss home much. I am not sure what the week holds for me yet but I will keep busy and try to get in some one on one time with my other kids.
Saturday, August 6, 2011
a nasty bug
Ever since Bekah was dx in March of 2010, I have been afraid of the stomach flu. I knew it could land her back in the hospital and I am not sure why that scares me, maybe because when she was at the hospital for dx we were close to losing her or the fact that illness brings on ketones and ketoacidosis is the number one cause of death in T1Ds. What ever the reason, the flu and T1D are scary (I'm pretty sure I am not alone in feeling this way).
We made it through "flu season" and she just happened to be absent on the two days when kids in her class threw up at school. I breathed a sigh of relief when school was out thinking I had until "flu season" again to worry about nasty tummy bugs.
Last weekend we had made a quick, last minute, trip to Tacoma to visit my sister and her family. After we got home, Megan began feeling icky. She is 13 and a bit dramatic so I just figured it was cramps becuase her period was coming. A few hours later she began puking. I still thought it was her period maybe mixed in with some car sickness until at 1:00 AM when David began puking. Being only 2 he had no idea what was going on so I just held him and let him spew all over me (sorry if you have a weak stomach). I knew I was probably a goner but I did take extra D and C along with probiotics to help boost my immune system (couldn't hurt).
I spent the day Monday and Tuesday disinfecting the house and washing all of the "sick" laundry. I was still hoping not to get sick and more than that hoping Bekah wouldn't get sick. Tuesday night I woke up in the middle of the night with my gut aching. Crap! I got sick (I'll spare you the details). I spent the entire day in bed on Wed. I did come down stairs to watch AGT (America's Got Talent) with the family.
In the middle of AGT, Bekah began to complain of a tummy ache. I knew we had some zofran that her pediatrician had prescribed before she had oral surgery last summer so I gave her one hoping it would do the trick. I was still feeling under the weather so I was amazingly calm as I decided to take her to my bed where we'd hang for the night. I got her up stairs and checked her BG 92 with 1.90 units IOB (0.0 ketones). Crap on a stick! I got the regular 7-up out and had her sip on that to keep her BG up and began to pray that some of the carbs she had eaten for dinner would begin to absorb or her liver would kick in some sugar.
I went down and grabbed the gluc and some pediatric syringes just in case. I decided that if she began puking and went low I wasn't going to mess with trying to get honey or frosting to absorb through her cheeks and gums I was just going to do the mini gluc and then call the endo on call. (I probably should have called as soon as she began getting sick so we were on the same page and had a plan in place but I didn't)
An hour or so later, the puking began. After each session I would check her BG and ketones. BG 96, 0.0 ketones; BG 98, 0.1 ketones; BG 115 0.1 ketones; BG 123 0.2 ketones. Then 2 hrs went by with no puking BG 223 0.8 ketones correction given. It seemed as if the worst was over (it was but I wasn't letting my guard down). A check every hour to two hours after that showed her BG stable and ketones going down. All day we just kept checking and correcting her BG and ketones (it never went above 230 with 0.8 ketones) as she sipped on G2 (low carb Gatorade).
Friday morning I was awoken to a smiling girl saying "good morning mommy I feel better today"! My heart was happy that we had made it through our first bad bug and my girl was doing well.
It could have been worse and I know many of my friends in the DOC have had much worse experiences with tummy bugs. In some way it is a relief to have that under my belt. I know I can make it through with out losing my marbles.
Camp starts tomorrow. Can I leave my baby girl for 5 nights with out losing my marbles?
We made it through "flu season" and she just happened to be absent on the two days when kids in her class threw up at school. I breathed a sigh of relief when school was out thinking I had until "flu season" again to worry about nasty tummy bugs.
Last weekend we had made a quick, last minute, trip to Tacoma to visit my sister and her family. After we got home, Megan began feeling icky. She is 13 and a bit dramatic so I just figured it was cramps becuase her period was coming. A few hours later she began puking. I still thought it was her period maybe mixed in with some car sickness until at 1:00 AM when David began puking. Being only 2 he had no idea what was going on so I just held him and let him spew all over me (sorry if you have a weak stomach). I knew I was probably a goner but I did take extra D and C along with probiotics to help boost my immune system (couldn't hurt).
I spent the day Monday and Tuesday disinfecting the house and washing all of the "sick" laundry. I was still hoping not to get sick and more than that hoping Bekah wouldn't get sick. Tuesday night I woke up in the middle of the night with my gut aching. Crap! I got sick (I'll spare you the details). I spent the entire day in bed on Wed. I did come down stairs to watch AGT (America's Got Talent) with the family.
In the middle of AGT, Bekah began to complain of a tummy ache. I knew we had some zofran that her pediatrician had prescribed before she had oral surgery last summer so I gave her one hoping it would do the trick. I was still feeling under the weather so I was amazingly calm as I decided to take her to my bed where we'd hang for the night. I got her up stairs and checked her BG 92 with 1.90 units IOB (0.0 ketones). Crap on a stick! I got the regular 7-up out and had her sip on that to keep her BG up and began to pray that some of the carbs she had eaten for dinner would begin to absorb or her liver would kick in some sugar.
I went down and grabbed the gluc and some pediatric syringes just in case. I decided that if she began puking and went low I wasn't going to mess with trying to get honey or frosting to absorb through her cheeks and gums I was just going to do the mini gluc and then call the endo on call. (I probably should have called as soon as she began getting sick so we were on the same page and had a plan in place but I didn't)
An hour or so later, the puking began. After each session I would check her BG and ketones. BG 96, 0.0 ketones; BG 98, 0.1 ketones; BG 115 0.1 ketones; BG 123 0.2 ketones. Then 2 hrs went by with no puking BG 223 0.8 ketones correction given. It seemed as if the worst was over (it was but I wasn't letting my guard down). A check every hour to two hours after that showed her BG stable and ketones going down. All day we just kept checking and correcting her BG and ketones (it never went above 230 with 0.8 ketones) as she sipped on G2 (low carb Gatorade).
Friday morning I was awoken to a smiling girl saying "good morning mommy I feel better today"! My heart was happy that we had made it through our first bad bug and my girl was doing well.
It could have been worse and I know many of my friends in the DOC have had much worse experiences with tummy bugs. In some way it is a relief to have that under my belt. I know I can make it through with out losing my marbles.
Camp starts tomorrow. Can I leave my baby girl for 5 nights with out losing my marbles?
Friday, August 5, 2011
Road trip, the final days
Sorry it has taken me a while to get back to finishing up our road trip adventure. We got our puppy and were super busy with the trainer and then got plagued with the stomach flu. One at a time we dropped like flies. Luckily I was on the mend when Bekah got it so I could care for her. That is a blog for another day, now on to the finale of our road trip...
Yellowstone Natonal Park was our next destination. We spent the night in West Yellowstone and the next day touring the park. The sulfur and I did not get along well. As we approached Old Faithful, I began to feel achy and nauseated. I thought I was coming down with the flu. I began to panic with my first thoughts going to Bekah. Managing D on the road is tough enough but an illness and D was more than I could wrap my little brain around. As we left Old Faithful I began to feel better and then as we would approach spots along the road that had more sulfur, the symptoms would come back.
Our stop for that night was Idaho Falls. On the way to the hotel from Yellow Stone, our transmission crapped out on us. We had 2nd gear so we eeeked our way to Idaho Falls to the hotel. The next morning was Saturday so many places were closed. After doing much research and brain racking we decided that the best option would be to rent a U-haul big enough to tow our car home and then rent another car to drive. Jason and Josh drove the U-haul and my dad decided to drive me and the other kids in the rented car. We could have traded off but he insisted on driving the whole time. We got home safe and our tranny was under warranty so we got it fixed with in a few days at no cost to us.
All in all our road trip was an amazing unforgettable experience! We had some good, bad and ugly all in the mix but that is what makes the adventure right?! I am so thankful to my parents for giving us such a great family gift to get to go on this trip! It was absolutely incredible!
Yellowstone Natonal Park was our next destination. We spent the night in West Yellowstone and the next day touring the park. The sulfur and I did not get along well. As we approached Old Faithful, I began to feel achy and nauseated. I thought I was coming down with the flu. I began to panic with my first thoughts going to Bekah. Managing D on the road is tough enough but an illness and D was more than I could wrap my little brain around. As we left Old Faithful I began to feel better and then as we would approach spots along the road that had more sulfur, the symptoms would come back.
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| You'd never know how sick I was feeling just by looking at this photo of my sister and I by Old Faithful |
Our stop for that night was Idaho Falls. On the way to the hotel from Yellow Stone, our transmission crapped out on us. We had 2nd gear so we eeeked our way to Idaho Falls to the hotel. The next morning was Saturday so many places were closed. After doing much research and brain racking we decided that the best option would be to rent a U-haul big enough to tow our car home and then rent another car to drive. Jason and Josh drove the U-haul and my dad decided to drive me and the other kids in the rented car. We could have traded off but he insisted on driving the whole time. We got home safe and our tranny was under warranty so we got it fixed with in a few days at no cost to us.
All in all our road trip was an amazing unforgettable experience! We had some good, bad and ugly all in the mix but that is what makes the adventure right?! I am so thankful to my parents for giving us such a great family gift to get to go on this trip! It was absolutely incredible!
Friday, July 29, 2011
Back to the road trip...Minnesota reunion for 4 days
Only 3 hours of driving...woohoo!! We ended up in Osage, MN on Straight Lake where my dad grew up. My grandma, aunt, uncles, and cousins all joined us and we packed every one in tight. We had 3 cabins, one very large one and two tiny ones but we all seemed to have a bed to sleep on. My dad BBQd while we were there. Walleye, ribs, burgers and bacon. We all pitched in to help with food prep. It was a wonderful time! The kids played on the play ground and in the lake and had a blast!!
This was my first time managing D on the road other than day trips. I packed a ton of stuff too becuase you never know what is going to happen with D. We did temp basal increases for the time in the car. Our endo recommended for Bekah to go +110%. I was nervous, especially with no CGM but it worked like a charm. The challenge was then the activity once we got to the hotel with swimming and laughing with cousins we had a few lows before I had a plan. Bekah wore her pump in the pool and the lake and I wasn't sure if she would so I had a frio pack for it to go in to keep the insulin from getting skunky. I kept the extra insulin in a frio pack when we were on the road and put it in the fridge on the days we were at the cabin. I had Lantus and Novolog just in case of a pump malfunction.
Minnesota was a different ball game becuase the activity was constant so we did temp basal decreases of 60% (it wouldn't let me go lower becuase her basals are tiny) and then we had to wake her up for a juice most nights on top of it all (not low but 80s).
I chose to do my best to keep D in the background. I wanted Bekah to live and have fun and not have be the center of attention as I carefully weighed all of her food. I swagged every meal (and did great! sorry to brag but I was pretty proud). We just rolled with it the whole time. I had her kit with her at all times but didn't make a big deal of it.
There was one time when Bekah was playing on a swing that hung from a tree when she hit the tree and her site pulled out. I felt terrible for her in that moment. The kids were all staring and worried (other than family) and wondering what was going on. Bekah hates attention so I nonchalantly answered their questions, cleaned up the blood and mess and she put in a new site. Then she went about her business playing.
There was one time when I thought I was going to pee my pants. I was the only adult at the playground watching David. Bekah's sugar stash was gone (didn't realize that) in her kit and she had a low. All I could do was put my 9 year old niece in charge of David ( and Bekah)and run back to get some sugar. I had to pee but didn't want to stop for that luxury (when your child is low and you gotta pee there are priorities and it doesn't matter how bad you have to go, peeing is not a priority at that momnet). Luckily my bladder held out until Jason got back from the store to check on me. It was close though.
While we were in Minnesota we went to a parade in Park Rapids. My uncle has a store selling pellet stoves and he had a float in the parade. He had restored my great grandpa's tractor and was driving that with some stoves on the back. It was a very fun small town event on the 4th of July.
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| yummy, grandpa's BBQ |
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| grandpa's ribs are finger lickin good |
Minnesota was a different ball game becuase the activity was constant so we did temp basal decreases of 60% (it wouldn't let me go lower becuase her basals are tiny) and then we had to wake her up for a juice most nights on top of it all (not low but 80s).
I chose to do my best to keep D in the background. I wanted Bekah to live and have fun and not have be the center of attention as I carefully weighed all of her food. I swagged every meal (and did great! sorry to brag but I was pretty proud). We just rolled with it the whole time. I had her kit with her at all times but didn't make a big deal of it.
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| the two Jasons just hangin |
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| my grandma in the middle with 6 of her 8 grandkids |
There was one time when I thought I was going to pee my pants. I was the only adult at the playground watching David. Bekah's sugar stash was gone (didn't realize that) in her kit and she had a low. All I could do was put my 9 year old niece in charge of David ( and Bekah)and run back to get some sugar. I had to pee but didn't want to stop for that luxury (when your child is low and you gotta pee there are priorities and it doesn't matter how bad you have to go, peeing is not a priority at that momnet). Luckily my bladder held out until Jason got back from the store to check on me. It was close though.
While we were in Minnesota we went to a parade in Park Rapids. My uncle has a store selling pellet stoves and he had a float in the parade. He had restored my great grandpa's tractor and was driving that with some stoves on the back. It was a very fun small town event on the 4th of July.
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| Uncle Bob driving the rebuilt tractor |
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| All 17 of us |
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
The Plane is on the Ground
We interrupt this road trip to bring you some current news. We picked up our pup on Monday night at PDX. The local news was there and they did a little story. I look like a total dweeb in part of it where I say "the plane is on the ground". My husband won't quit teasing me about it. He will randomly chat or text me "the plane is on the ground". He is not trying to be mean, he knows it'll make me laugh. I was so impressed at how well my shy girl did at talking to them and the edits they made to make her look like a pro! Unless you know her, you would have no idea how super shy she is. I wanted to share it here (many of you have already seen it on FB) along with some puppy love photos. Click here for the news story.
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| here comes Dee Boghetti our master trainer with Sarah in hand |
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| hand feeding to create a good binding experience |
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