A couple of days ago...in the car, on our way to school..."OK Joe, so I'll bring your LEGO Ninjago Space Ship~Thingy and Catching Fire for the Endo visit." No comments on the Catching Fire. Bridget read it. Yes, violence. Yes, it, the violence, isn't as "depersonalized" as Star Wars with it's Lightsabers, or as Harry Potter with it's "STUPIFY", etc. I know ... kids killing kids with spears, arrows, and hand-to-hand combat that is organized and sensationalized by the government to instill fear in the "governed" seems to be a bit inappropriate for an eight (almost nine) year old. After typing that I realize that... indeed ... yes, I suck.
Back to the story at hand...
"Oh... and... Joe, please try not to laugh when the doctor examines you. He is a diabetes expert and he needs to look you over to see how your body is doing with diabetes."
In the rear view mirror, I see Joe's eyes widen. "You mean he is the best at diabetes in the world."
"Ahh. No. Well, I don't know exactly Joe. Let's just say he is the best at diabetes in children in our region. How's that?"
"mmmm" Joe seemed satisfied with my shifty response.
I dropped Joe off at school. I had a couple of hours before I needed to return to grab him for the Endo appointment. Now, usually I am not too thrilled to be going to Endocrine appointments. It seems that they coincide with a bad batch of blood sugar trends. I have felt that I was going in to "face the music". I have had "defensive manifestos" prepared for my actions with the pump, with boosting, with letting the settings ride. This time, however, I felt confident. Joe's numbers have been steady. Diabetes has been in the periphery of our day-in-the-life. Joe's last A1C was 7.3%; his highest, since pumping. I was hoping for a 6.6 to a 6.9%.
With Lego Ninjago thingy and Catching Fire in hand, I collected Joe from his school and off to Endo we went. While entering the parking garage, I saw a stretcher with a covered body being loaded into a hearse. I scope out Joe's focus. He saw it too; the body. He thought it was being loaded onto an "ambulance" and he did not understand why the persons head was "under a maroon colored sheet". I explained that the person was dead and that the body was being taken for burial. Joe chimed in "so the doctors did everything they could to save that person and they just couldn't". So... do I just go with it? Or, do I let him know that "life" isn't always the "best outcome" for the patient. I let him know ... the truth. This upset him a bit. The part that a person would choose death over treatment options. He wanted to know that I would always choose to treat anything that comes my way in the "medical condition" department. I reassured him that I would at this stage of my life... that I would do everything possible to ensure that I would be here for he and Bridget. A simple "good", was his response.
After the "body" sighting and deep discussion we headed into our appointment.
The Endo visit was uneventful. Joe's A1C was 6.9%, with a fairly tight standard deviation.
We checked out. On the elevator to the parking garage, an elderly man in a wheel chair joined Joe and I for the ride. I looked down at the gentleman's feet. He was missing one. His prosthetic was visible. I notice Joe's eyes were taking it in (face palm... I don't think I can handle another deep convo with this kid today). We departed from the elevator; from the one-legged man. Joe said nothing for a few moments. Then... "I think he lost his foot racing dirt bikes Ma."
A day-in-the-life of trying to parent a kid through doctors visits at the hospital.
11 comments:
Ah! Caleb has all the Ninjago sets and has read the entire Hunger Games series!
Me thinks you had a long day that day - and honestly you did look tired at BBall. But then, I was looking through my own distorted lens... Anyway, I LOVE his reason why the guy had but one foot. Living life the fullest he knows how Reyna, that's your little boy. And he thinks everyone else does too. :-) I bet that guy would be honored by the glory Joe gave him. Love you my friend!
Oh, I love Joe! You have an awesome kid. I'm sure the elderly man was having a blast racing dirt bikes when that foot was injured and had to be lopped off! What a smart kid! And love to you too, Reyna!
lol @ shifty parental bullshit. i do not blame you in the least for taking the dirt bike way out. you'd done your work already with the other Deep Talk.
my kid's read the hunger games series too man.
I love Joe's insights! I think you handled it very well...and congrats on the 6.9% A1C!
sometimes you just have to go with it.
Well at least SOMEONE has an A1c that you feel is actually reflective of how things have REALLY been going! :)
HOORAY FOR DIRT BIKES!!!!! I LOVE that kid!
The Hunger Games trilogy rocks. Good for you for taking a book and supporting his literacy. At least the bookd don't condone the killing . . . they use ut to represent the insanity level our government could reach if we are not careful!
Dirt bikes. Yep, more dangerous that uncontrolled high blood sugars. Joe should stay away from those bikes. Too risky, ;)
Books - she's reading that is awesome, don't let others make you feel too guilty especially if they're big bible readers, that book is uber scary in itself, too!
And well Ninjago, let's just say I've been schooled up and down about the ins and outs of spinjitzu!
As for the one-legged man, you never know - my niece has one leg, she was born that way, a neighbor has one leg (and recently dx with t1d) but lost his leg in Iraq. So...you truly never know, I think a bike accident is a perfectly reasonable answer to the "why" of that situation :) Enjoy your weekend!
OH MY! Dead bodies and amputations...EEK!
Love that kid ;)
Congrats on the reduced A1c! I think Joe is too young for those truthful, heavy conversations and glad he came to the conclusion about the dirt bike racing being the cause of the injury. By the time he is old enough to learn more about complications, hopefully, there will be advances in both treatment day to day and treatment of complications.
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