"May the Fourth Be With You"

So, did I ever tell you that the recessional at Dave's and my wedding was to the Imperial March ? You know Darth Vader's Theme Song...

Personally, I called it the "Death March" (that is a story for a different day though).

Nah... I don't think I have shared that before.

What about Dave's very Yoda-esque statement one evening when we decided to let a blood glucose of 220 "ride" without correction? Have I told you about that? I think I did during last year's Blog Week hosted by Karen at Bitter~Sweet (click here for details on this year's Blog Week, which starts next Monday, May 9th).

The quote...

"An A1C does not one high night make."

Deep, profound, and sleep allowing. We would not need to get up in 2 hours to recheck a bolused and potentially low Joe. Instead we got 4 hours of sleep to check a potentially even higher Joe, but it provided some much needed "sanity" and laughter in the moment.

Happy Star Wars Day!

No, I am not making this shit up. It is actually Star Wars Day. And. Believe it or not, I have even written a post about Star Wars and Diabetes...only me.

A Long Time Ago (like a year and a half ago)

In A House A Few Blocks Away (remember we have moved)

A Post Titled "Mom How Can I Win The Empire With You Checking Me"

Was Written by Yours Truly

And Then Rewritten Today

Weekend mornings are "hockey mornings" in the Maher home.

Joe has really shown an interest in this sport. He practices every Saturday and Sunday morning with the "Blue Crew." These practices have been a blood sugar buster. Not only is hockey an extremely physical sport, but practice times are rotated. Sometimes Joe eats breakfast before he goes to practice and sometimes he does not. As, I have mentioned time and time again Diabetes has an adulterous affair with "routine"... it loves it, it craves it, it wants it in the worst and most primal of ways.

I digress.

Anyways...

With the insulin on board from breakfast, Joe tends to go low even though many carb grams are given freely to boost him prior to practice.

Yesterday, I gave him a really low dose of insulin to cover his carbs for breakfast and he ran in the 300s and 400s during practice and after. So, when we got home I gave him a correction dose of insulin (only 1/2 the dose the pump recommended) to try to get his blood sugar (a 420) down.

A couple of hours later...

I go to check his number while he is playing Lego Star Wars on the X-box. He is using both hands on the X-Box controller. As I try to lance his finger, Joe emphatically states "Mom, I can't win the Empire with you checking me!"

A in-the-recesses-of-my-mind "for f*ck sake Joe" was muttered ... accompanied perhaps with a ever-so-slight eye roll, as a smile crossed my lips and face.

My response ... "Of course, Joe win the Empire" ..."just do it in a few minutes-OK?"

A couple of minutes later, Empire won and all, Joe did his blood sugar check. A 183 was obtained.

A day-in-the-life of recognizing that childhood trumps diabetes.

Not Even Close...

As my "network" of "D" friends expands, I am increasingly aware of type 1 deaths, diagnoses, and hospital admissions from low induced seizures and loss of consciousness. With each incident, I mutter sadly, quietly, and angrily, and pissed-offly in my head "yet one more reason why Insulin is not a CURE."

I pratically spit it, the statement.

I do.

Type 1 Diabetes is difficult, at best, to manage. It does not lend itself to being "controlled". It can kill. The medication used to treat type 1 Diabetes is insulin.

Insulin is a hormone.

Insulin can be deadly if too large of a dose is given. Insulin can cause seizures, coma, and even death. Insulin is the only treatment for type 1 diabetes. Without insulin, persons with type 1 diabetes die.

Diabetes affects EVERY organ system in a persons body. These people look totally "normal" from the outside, while this disease wreaks havoc on their vasculature and organs. Insulin is needed, not only as life support, but to temper the effects of high blood sugars on tissues, vessels, and organs.

Insulin is not a cure. It never will be.

It cannot be taken orally.

The acidity of the stomach destroys the proteins that "make-up" insulin and, consequently, render it useless. Insulin must be injected with a needle. It is give subcutaneously several times daily. It is give with food. It is given with high blood sugars. It is given as "basal", a maintenance dose so-to-speak. This, my friends, is no CURE.

Insulin must be administered to keep persons with type 1 diabetes alive. Without it, they would die. Prior to 1921, the year exogenous insulin was produced/discovered, a person with type 1 diabetes would die a death of "starvation," as their cells would be unable to utilize glucose as an energy source. The death was described as painful and agonizing and miserable between the unquenched thirst, the continual flow of urine, and the insatiable hunger ... to no end... well, there would be an end ... The End. "Life Support", it is. Again, A CURE, it is not.

Dosing is not simple. It is complicated.

It is not a medication where you can just "dose it" and "forget it". You administer it, you check on the effectiveness of that dose a couple of hours later by checking a blood sugar level. Needle after needle after needle is the life of a type 1 diabetic... around the clock ... hour to hour. Insulin is not a CURE.

The balance required in dosing insulin is tenuous.

If you give too much it can induce a low blood sugar reaction called "hypoglycemia" or an "insulin reaction". A low blood sugar is an immediate emergency and must be dealt with promptly. It can occur at any time. A low blood sugar can lead to seizures, coma, and/or death.

AND...

If you don't receive enough insulin over the course of several hours you can end up in Diabetic Ketoacidosis; this is a life threatening condition that requires medical attention immediately.

AND...

Finally there are the reasons we all do that we do. The reasons, and the list is long, as to why we attempt to keep "tight" control of blood sugars... the long term effects of diabetes... the "complications". High blood sugar levels affect blood vessels, organs, and nerves throughout the body. Retinopathy, neuropathy, nephropathy, and all the fucking "opathies" along with cardiac disease, peripheral vascular disease, and dislipidemias...and on and on ... are but a few of the consequences of diabetes. A CURE? Definitely not. Period.

Too much Insulin.... you fall victim to a low. Too little ... you are stuck chasing down a high. Not a CURE.

Activity, monthly cycles, stress levels, environmental temperatures, illnesses, and growth spurts must all be accounted for when administering insulin. Blood sugars are affected by all of these factors and by oh, oh ... so much more. Insulin is far from a CURE.

Insulin is not a CURE.

A CURE it is not.

A day-in-the-life of gratitude for Insulin .... yet hoping for a less laborious treatment regimen for type 1 diabetes. A CURE, this is not.

"Marks", "Squirts", JUVIE, and PODs...

So, this post-concussive thing isn't working out too good around here.

I am finding Joe even more "work" as I am trying to keep him from tripping, careening, falling, or flying to the ground to smash his already damaged melon into the asphalt, dirt, wood chips... pick your poison... it is all dangerous to a concussed cranium.

As his body has slowed, interesting things have been discussed and divulged as his thoughts have time to stew. The discussions are particularly titillating on "Oscar's Business Walks".

During the "Business Strolls"...

Joe counts how many times he "marks", "squirts" (what is the difference?), and "pees", and well you know ... does the "big business". As we walk Joe continues to keep track and reports with each "mark", "squirt", and "real-business" the updated tally. I just "uhm" and "ahhh", not really listening, just waiting for the mother load of business so that we can head back home.

On our walk last night....

"So, am I to young to go to Juvie?", Joe sprang on me after a "mark, squirt...etc...tally update".

"What?" (dear God, seriously?)

"You know Juvvvie ... " (I guess the extra emphasis on the "v's" was employed to jostle my knowledge base) Joe then waits patiently for my response while he lets Oscar tangle himself on 30 feet of retractable leash.

"Ah, yeah ... too young"... I was not gonna go 'there' ... and I certainly don't wanna know why in the hell he is asking.

This morning, on another Oscar "Business" walk ...

Joe was talking about his tubing from his pump. Apparently it was giving him a "feel" in the "nether regions". I have never heard him complain about his tubing. It is all he has known since he was three years of age. So, I asked ... thinking he would answer "no"... I asked if his tubing bothered him. A simple "sometimes" was expressed in the soft-lisp-kissed-nasally voice.

Hmmm.

"Yah know, there is a pump that doesn't have tubing." I then asked, "Would you want to try that sometime?"

"Sounds nice mom ... I think so ... maybe."

Wow... Not sure how I feel about this...

Pre-Ping, I wielded the Animas Insulin Pump like a pro while keeping up with an "On-The-Go-Joe". I could check the time, IOB (Insulin On Board), and bolus while Joe ran, slid, scootered... and ice skated. Not once was a site dislodged due to my pancreating feats and prowess.

The following depicts some of my adventures with a 3 year old, a 4 year old, and a 5 year old Joe (pre-Ping) ...

Time check on the slide...

Scootering down the street during a correction bolus...

The "traffic-cone-appendage-skateboard" incident....

Running down the street during an IOB check ... I didn't dislodge his site even though the tubing was as tight as my Jordache Jeans were in High School.

The seriousness of this conversation has not been determined. I am willing to look into it for Joe if he is, indeed, curious about the pod. I have heard that they get "knocked off" easily during high intensity sports like basketball. Is this true? And, I have also heard there is/was an IOB issue. Laura ... Lorraine ... Penny... anyone? I guess I am willing to think about it. Also, does anyone know if Dexcom is as close to coupling with Omnipod as they are with Animas? Another concern of mine for sure.

A day-in-the-life of wanting to lose the "leash".