Glad To Do The 4am POD Change?

We are currently having a Schnauzer Party.

You see we have Oscar (salt and pepper) and Henry (the black one) and we are dog sitting Cooper (the party mix).

A couple of nights ago... on Cooper's first night at our house...

I woke.  It was 4am.  It was my night off from the blood sugar check.  Dave was standing at the foot of our bed saying something about us having a "situation"; I think he said we had a "couple of situations" actually. 

"Joe's POD is alarming that it has failed and Henry has *expelled fecal matter* (not in those words mind you) all over his crate ... *then something was mentioned about the stench ... Henry's crate housing Henry resides in our room*"

This is where I was somewhat glad and not resentful that I know more about the PODs and insertions than Dave.  Dave had not done a POD insertion yet.  He had only watched Joe and I do one. 

I volunteered for the POD change and left the soiled crate and canine to Dave.

A day~in~the~life of our nights with diabetes and dogs.

"Good"?

My vision was tunneling, the periphery clouding.  I had to hunch myself over a bit in an effort to avoid passing out.  I was hoping the lady would stop talking and move on.  The lady was an acquaintance-y friend of mine.  She is the mother of one of Joe's school-mates.  I had not talked to her in a couple of years.

I had just popped off a 5 mile run without hydration.  The humidity and heat were elevated.  It was on July 4th.  I ran into this acquaintance-y friend of mine on the sidewalk about a mile from my home.  About a mile from hydration!

"How's Joe?"

"He's doing well."

"How's his diabetes?"

How to answer?  How to answer?  It's good?  I mean really?  Is it ever good?  Sure.  I can smile and pretend it is all well and fine and that Joe and I just luuuuvvvvvvvv checking blood sugars, counting carbohydrates, and changing pump sites and staving off lows, while avoiding the long-term complications of highs.  The easy answer... the easy answer is just like the response we all give when someone asks how we are doing in passing.  The easy answer is "good". 

Still feeling a bit passing-out-ish...

She (Joe's~school-mate's~mother) then went onto tell me about a childhood friend of hers. She had a childhood friend.  She had Type 1 Diabetes.  She did fine through childhood...grew-up...went to college.  She came home from college for a school break (Christmas Break?  I cannot remember)...she took a nap... she never woke-up...her mother found her dead ... dead from the diabetes.

Welp.  Good to know that I don't have to go with the "good" response here. 

"How's Joe's diabetes?"

The words "good" or "bad" are too polarized.  I need something more general to describe Joe's diabetes on most days.  But then there are some days that "good" sums it up.  And then there are days that the word "bad" is perfect.

My general answer when asked "How's Joe's diabetes?" will be:

Joe's diabetes bears watching and managing; not just day-to-day, but hour-to-hour. 

In response to Joe's~school~mate's~mother about her friend:

I live with knowing that there is that possibility that I will get "the call" someday.  You know, "the call" that your son was found down and has been taken by ambulance to the hospital.  I live with being as prepared as one can be for walking in on an unconscious (or worse) Joe.  I do not live in fear.  I just simply live knowing this is my reality. 

A day-in-the-life of trying to explain being a parent of a child with Type 1 Diabetes.

Dog Food Arm

"Here it is...you can get it in different sizes to wrap up their paws."

"Ahhh...it is for my son ... he has diabetes ... it is to secure his pump site ... cheaper than the human stuff..."

So...I was at Pet Food Warehouse a few days ago... buying Vet Wrap (thanks Heidi) to secure Joe's POD until the Skin Tac arrives (thank you Penny) and the Band4Life ships (thank you Marla).

His arm is now covered in this green polka-dotted dressing and smells like dog food.  Not exactly what I had in mind when we switched to the POD, but I am still trying to remain positive and upbeat.  Not to mention we have gone through nine PODs and a whole vial of insulin (you lose the insulin that you put into the POD with site failures/losses)  in just under two weeks.

Site failures and losses aside, we had a successful week at hockey camp.  Originally, Joe's and my plan was to have him call me with blood sugar numbers and we would handle bolusing over the phone; he keeps a phone in Woodchuck for this purpose.  A couple of days into camp, I realized that a full day without some outside help was not a safe plan.  Hockey camp consisted of  two hours of dry-land training in the morning (soccer and field games).  Lunch was consumed at 10:30 (a huge issue for us, as his ratio at that time of day is usually a 1:60 to put the brakes on his 1:10 breakfast ratio).  After the 10:30am lunch, Joe would head out on the ice for 3.5 hours of drills and scrimmaging.  Each day I packed the same lunch.  Each day Joe would have 26 grams of Gatorade carbs (2 of the G2's) for "free"... I have no idea when he drank them.  Here is how the week went down:

Monday:  First day of camp.  I went into the locker room to meet the coach.  I explained that Joe had Type 1 Diabetes.  I asked if the coach had any experience with diabetes.  He did not.  I basically stated that if Joe started acting grumpy, lethargic, became shaky, looked dazed to have him drink a juice and call me.  I stated that Joe needed to have Woodchuck with him at all times and that Joe must be able to call me at any point during the day to discuss diabetes management. 

Joe was listening to the conversation and chimed it with a "what about the glucagon?".

"I think we will just go with a simple 911 call Joe".

I then explained to the coach that if Joe were to pass out or have a seizure to just call 911 (ya know, most likely the camp protocol anyway).

Monday's numbers and care went like this:

7:11am 230 (wake-up number).  I gave Joe 10 of his 30 breakfast carbs for "free".
8:01am 286 (camp drop-off number).  I reduced Joe's basal rate by 40% for 6 hours.
9:08am 256 (not sure why Joe checked here, he did not call me with this one).
10:21am 183 (pre-lunch number).  Joe had 20 grams of his 100 grams of lunch carbs for "free" and no correction.  The first day, he received 3.5 units of insulin for lunch.
1:07 pm 70  (Joe felt low during ice time).  He drank a juice (15 grams) and I had him eat 2 glucose tabs.
2:53pm141 (camp pick-up number).  Joe's POD had failed 1.5 hours prior and had not been delivering insulin.

Tuesday:

7:17am 98 (wake-up number).  10 of 30 grams of breakfast carbs were given for "free".
8:18am 201 (drop-off number).  Basal rate was reduced by 40% for 6 hours.
9:12 am 179 (Joe checked.  No call to me... not sure what he was feeling here).
10:24am 86 (pre-lunch number).  I just started subtracting insulin dosages at lunch time based on the previous day's data.  So we went with 3 units instead of 3.5units to cover the 100 grams of lunch.
2:47 pm 54 (pick-up number)  Welp.  My plan needed revision.  Joe did not notice his low while skating, so he did not come off the ice to do a check.  He agreed that I should come to do a routine blood sugar check during his ice time for the remaining days of camp.

Wednesday:

7:19am 77 (wake-up number).  Again with the 10 of 30 grams of breakfast carbs for "free".
8:18am 144 (drop-off number).  Again with the 40% basal reduction for 6 hours.
10:28 am 65 (pre-lunch number).  Juice (15 grams of carb) chugged by Joe and then he called me.  I had him eat his lunch without waiting for 15 minutes ... I told him to bolus 2.5 units after he ate lunch (I subtracted another 0.5 units from his previous day's lunch bolus).
10:49 am 139
12:58 pm 257 (Me checking Joe while he was on the ice).  I did nothing with this number.
2:51 pm 191 (pick-up number).

Thursday:

7:28am 137 (wake-up number).  Yep.  You guessed it.  10 of 30 grams for "free" for breakfast.
8:22am 203 (drop-off number).  Basal decreased by 40% for 6 hours.
10:34am 91 (pre-lunch number).  I stuck with the 2.5 units cuz that seemed to work on Wednesday.
11:05am 73 (Joe felt like he was "dropping").  He slurped down a juice (15 grams of carb) and then called me.  I told him to eat two glucose tabs as well.
12:51pm 150 (Me checking Joe while he was on the ice).  I gave him two glucose tabs.
2:48pm 300 (pick-up number).  Oopsie.  Should not have given the two glucose tabs.  And.  Nice.  Let's just add in another POD failure at 2:30 for some added fun.

Friday:

7:22am 117 (wake-up number).  Same...10 of 30 for "free".  Basal decreased by 50% for 6 hours.
8:26am 170 (drop-off number).  Glucose tabs x 2 given.
10:38 am 88 (pre-lunch number).  I subtracted another 0.5 units from his lunch dose.  So 2 units of insulin were given to cover 100 grams of carbohydrate consumed for lunch.  Joe's usual lunch ratio is a 1:18.  Impressive.
1:02 pm 194 (Me checking Joe while he was on the ice).  I did nothing with this number.
2:52pm 90 (pick-up number)  Booyah.  Only took me all week to figure out hockey camp.  Ugh.

I believe the consistency of food in type and amount of carb grams and the predictability of activity made this week manageable.  I've said it before and I'll say it again, Diabetes loves, loves, loves routine.  Joe did ask me on the third day if he could get lunch from the snack bar.  I told him "no".  With this amount of activity I was uncomfortable with "unknowns".  He did not grouse about it much.  He understood.  This was a huge accomplishment for us... not only numbers-wise, but in flexing some independence muscle in dealing with diabetes in a complicated situation.  It was a successful week indeed.

A day-in-the-life of managing fickle D' with my son Joe, who happens to have Type 1 Diabetes.