Saturday, January 15, 2011

Another FIRST


Mondays and Fridays are "running days" for this Mama Pancreas. I usually ask Joe how far I should run as I drive him to school. He usually sticks somewhere between 7 and 10 miles with his responses.









Yesterday:

Me: "Joe, how far should I go on my run today?"

Joe: "How far did you go last time you ran?"

Me: "7 miles."

Joe: "Go 8...you should always try to improve on yourself." (Is he for real?)

Me: "Joe it did snow like 10 or so inches in the last few days. The path will be very difficult."

Joe: "OK, 7.5...that is still better than 7." - UGH.

So, I dropped Joe off. I headed home. I ran. I use Yaktrax (thanks to my brother and sister-in-law's Christmas gift and my sister, Tara's advice to run with them) on the snowy, icy Vermont sidewalks. I feel like I have been "popped" into four-wheel drive with those bad boys strapped to my feet. It was cold. The high was around 14 degrees. I ran...and ran...contemplating the 8...miles...

And my son...

Joe has a hockey tournament this weekend. It is out-of-town. It is his first. I was going through the "diabetes supply list" and checking it mentally, as my heart was like pounding out of my chest from the exertion of the run. I was then thinking what if Joe goes down on the ice rink, or more worrisome...goes down and passes out. Then I questioned... Would I just run out and jab him with Glucagon? Check a blood glucose first? I don't know why this vision went through my head. It is fucking hockey afterall. He goes down a lot. He is Joe. He gets right back up and he skates. But, anyway...I decided during my whole "I am dying from sloshing and sliding and slushing through the heavy wet snow, while running 7+ miles" psychotic-induced-haze that I would check a blood sugar first and then stab him with the Glucagon , if need be. For some reason I was then thinking of head injuries, and cerebral edema, and Mannitol, and serum osmolality, and if I accidentally made his glucose too high that it would not allow extra doses of Mannitol to be given to decrease intracellular edema. Ahhhh...yeah...a thought process infiltrated by my old Surgical Intensive Care nursing days. I am not even sure if I remember all of that correctly, as my brain has been taken over by the pickl-y penis-y looking organ, the pancreas, and by motherhood.

Back to this weekend...


As many of you D' Rents know an out-of-town athletic event will provide many blood sugar challenges. The activity level of two games a day... along with the hotel pool... and the added bonus of eating out ... and the wild ass guessing of Joe's carbohydrate consumption ... will be no easy feat. I am ready. I am thinking of myself as a Linda Hamilton (Terminator-y) kind of Pancreas this weekend. I have packed extra sugar sources, extra snacks, extra juices. I packed double of all supplies needed. I packed a back-up glucometer (remember this). I packed 10 transparent dressings to secure his pump sites while swimming. I am prepared to crank that basal up by 100% for the three hour drive. I do still need to insert a new Dexter, as Joe's current one is taped into place and is literally hanging on by the tip of the probe (I think it is day 10 anyway...it is the first Dexcom sensor that has been this accurate in a long, long time...I hate to part with it).

So...

Although I am facing this weekend with a bit of trepidation, I am also looking forward to putting yet another first behind us. I admire Joe's heart, his love of the game, and his spirit to try. He enjoys a challenge and he makes all of us that know him put a little more "umph" into our everyday lives.

So, did I run the 8 miles? Nope. I ran 7.05 miles and then I made Joe and Bridget some chocolate chip cookies.

A day-in-the-life of gearing up for another first with "D" in the picture.

P.S. I'll be out of the loop for the next couple of days. I hope you guys have a great weekend!

29 comments:

meanderings said...

Have a great time!
Good luck to Joe's team.

Lorraine of "This is Caleb..." said...

Hey, 7.05 is still an improvement! Good luck this weekend! You will all do great!

Deanna said...

I think you're all gonna have a great weekend! Have fun and good luck! :)

Hallie Addington said...

You rock, lady! And you will both rock it this weekend! Good luck and have fun!!!

Andrea said...

Have a great weekend...both you and Joe will do great!! Just make sure you have fun!

Can't wait to hear how it all goes next week!

Good Luck Joe!!!

Leighann of D-Mom Blog said...

Okay, first, totally impressed that you have it in you to run.

And I could just imagine that scenario going through my mind, well, you know, if I had any sort of medical background at all.

Have fun this weekend and good luck to Joe's team!

Cindy said...

Someday, I hope to be as hard-core as you, Reyna! 7.05 miles is awesome! Good luck with the weekend away! I bet it'll be awesome and you'll all have a blast!

Lora said...

I could run the .05... I just know it :)

Have a great weekend.

Joel said...

Joe, keep your head up and stick on the ice.
Hockey parents rock!

Stephanie said...

Have a great weekend Reyna! I hope Joe rocks those hockey games. And you will rock as a mama pancreas too!

Jen said...

you never cease to amaze me! have a great weekend!!

Penny said...

Have a great time and create great memories - you will ROCK the D Mama!

Denise said...

Have a great weekend! GO Joe's team!!!

Alexis Nicole said...

Wow you both are amazing seriously! Have fun and I wish you smooth bgs and a safe trip! Ill miss you! :(

Pam said...

Good luck with the games this weekend. And good luck with the bg numbers. Sounds as if you're super prepared and will handle anything that comes your way. As usual!

Unknown said...

YOU ARE MY HERO!!!!

GO JOE! GO JOE! GO JOE!

Can't wait to hear all about it :)

Renata said...

YEAH!! You're going to make it through one of life with diabetic children hurdles. Over prepared is the way to go, no matter how manic those thoughts got!

I ran to the refridgerator 7.05 times yesterday. Does that count?

Ann said...

I remember when I first went away to horse shows out of town as a newly diagnosed Type 1. My Mom had a big bag full of supplies for me along with instructions for everyone else on the trip in case I was low, high, unconscious, etc. I always had about 100 of those Juicy Juices too :)

Amy said...

We will miss you!!!! And I hope Joe kicks D-butt while away. I checked your list twice and agree you are reasdy for anything ;) . . . oh, what do I know? NOTHING! That's why we are so lucky to have you around because you have it covered!

Major fist bumps to you for running in the snow/ice. I get to scared I am going to fall and crack my head open. Maybe I should get some of those YakTrax. We bought some for my father-in-law to wear while walking up and down his street.

Anyway, have a blast and can't wait to hear all about it!

Sarah said...

You rock Reyna, I'd love to go for a 8 mile run with you in the snow with a pair of awesome traction grippers on! I ran five miles today and was pretty stinking proud since I actually am now officially in training...my mom signed us up for the "See Jane Run" half in July - wanna join?
I can't wait to hear how the weekend went, I hope Joe's team kicked butt! Oh and had fun of course, too.

Kelly said...

Im bitching about the cold in AZ!? LOL. How pathetic. I think I need another excuse! :)

I can imagine the Hockey weekend with Diabetes! Ahhh!! I noticed a girl with a pump at one of Hannah's tournaments last year and HAD to go talk to her Mom when she stood there with Gatorade pushed in her daughters face. I just wanted tell her she was awesome for being a D athlete Mom! You guys ROCK!! Good luck Joe!

Anonymous said...

Happy Pucking!!!

LaLa said...

Oh girl you are a running machine! Oh yea and an awesome pancreas too!! :)
I cannot wait to hear all about Joe's games!!!
GO JOE
GO JOE
GO JOE

connie said...

Have a great weekend and...go Joe!!!

(((hugs)))

sysy said...

So impressed and inspired by you and Joe :) Hope all went well!

Rachael said...

You two are so super awesome, Bridget too! You can tell that Mama is raising AMAZING kids when you hear comments like that! :)
(((HUGS))) and love! have an awesome week!

Donna said...

You truly are my hero, Miss Reyna....
Hope it went well... I am sure there's a blog post to come, right??? =)

Meri said...

I would die in that temperature. Die. I'm so impressed with your devotion. Hope this weekend was a huge success!!

shannon said...

This post is so timely! I've been out of the blogging loop for a couple of months and am getting ready to send my kiddo on a ski trip, so everything you mention in this post is relevant to my immediate interests. thank you!!