if you give a child with diabetes pancakes...

We started our morning with pancakes.  He started his day at 81 which is great.  However, going to school, I wasn't sure how much insulin to give him to go with the pancakes when he was already under 100.  I knew that I didn't give him enough insulin and planned to give him more at school to be safe.

Then I couldn't find my car keys.  I still can't find my car keys.  This delayed me.  My husband finally came back home and gave me his key for my car.  I packed up the baby and headed to my son's school to check him.  By now, the teacher was texting me that his cgm was alerting that his blood sugar levels were going up.  I figured.

When I arrived at school, His meter said he was 540!!

I quick gave him a lot of insulin.  I even rounded up a bit because he had started to eat a cracker before we knew he was that high.  But then he didn't want to eat and he was just thirsty.  Of course.

I went and got him a water bottle and let him drink that.  Then I waited and checked him in a bit and he was already down to 440.  I left and went to check on my daughter with diabetes and then came back to see how he was doing.  He was now down to 330 and still had a lot of insulin on board.

Now I was worried.  It was great he was coming down but he was coming down really fast and I couldn't leave him.  I quick took my baby to my mom, so he could play, and then I headed back to my son.  By the time I rechecked him, he was now 179.

He still didn't want to eat anything so now I was just worried he was going to go low at some point.

I hung out while he cycled through the centers in the classroom.  I learned about needs vs wants and some history lessons about how people used to get their food and water.

I had watched the clock move slowly while waiting and finally it was lunch time.

He was 97 heading out to lunch and I sat with him at the picnic table.  What I had been waiting for, finally happened.  He began to yawn as he took bites of his apple and then laid his head down on the picnic  table.  Another student came over and asked how he was doing.  When I checked him, he was 55.  and still going down.

I gave him a juice and meanwhile, he slumped down on the ground and laid his head on the bench.  I kept talking to him and got him to drink another juice.  He still acted low and ravenous.  I rechecked him and his meter said 79 yet he still acted low.  My mom had given me a jar of frosting, just in case.  He wanted some.  So I let him eat some and pretty soon he was just eating from the jar, unaware of anything going on around him.  He had frosting all over his chin and cheeks and shirt.  I checked him again and he was now 90.  I took the frosting and told him that he was okay now.  He ate a little of his lunch and then lunch was over.  It was time to line up.

He was now okay.

I was ready for a giant vanilla latte.

The book we read last night that inspired the pancakes, that lead to not enough insulin, that lead to too much insulin, that lead to a low low, that lead to lots of frosting and juice, that lead to an emotionally exhausted mama...can you guess?

very low

I was working on my paper for a class I am taking and I suddenly hear her alarm alert me from down the hallway.  Every night, we check our kids, atleast twice each in the night to make sure their blood sugar levels are  within range.  My husband had gone to bed and I thought he had checked her.  When I got up to check her cgm and why it was alarming, I'm wondering if it is going to say she is low or high.  Her target number is 130.  Under 70 is dangerous and over 200 is too high.  I guess she must be low because last my husband said, she was 80 and needed milk to drink.

I quickly walk over and look at the screen.  It should have a number.  When their number gets too high, over 400, it will just say "high".  When she is under 30 it will just say "low"  and if they go any lower, that is very scary and very dangerous.  Lows can lead to passing out or even seizures.

When I look at her screen, it says "low".  I don't even recheck her blood sugar levels with her meter.  I just quick grab a juice and get her to drink it.  She responds and drinks so that eases my mind at least.  The cgm is not always accurate so it is possible that the numbers were off.  After she drank her juice I finally tested her and her meter said 78.  So I don't know how low she really was but her cgm stated 50.  After a little bit her cgm adjusted to 86.  And then I gave her a drink of milk.  I will have to go check her again when I am done typing this to make sure she stays over 100 to sleep.

That was a scare.  We never get rest.  This follows us everywhere we go.  This is way we educate because type 1 diabetes is not a matter of sugar and blood tests, it's a matter of life and death.

another scare...

just days after her fourth birthday...

I took our sweetie and her two brothers to our church morning Bible study where they have a kids program too. I left the three of them in their class and went to my Bible study group.

I told the teachers to call me if there is a problem. Later I would realize that my cell phone had died unnoticed.

As we were ending our discussion, my kids' teacher ran upto my group and said, "Did you get my message? Your daughter has fallen asleep." what???!!!!!! no. my phone was dead!!!

I grabbed my meter and sprinted out of the room. My leader yelled after me, "what's your daughter's name?" and proceeded to begin to pray for her.

I ran ahead of the teacher down the long hallways and then down two flights of stairs. I ran down the hallway and sprinted into her classroom. There she lay, face down on the floor, asleep with the other teacher, kneeling beside her. They said that she had playing on the playground and tripped and fallen and gotten a bloody lip. She hadn't cried and then began two sweat and then lay down and fall asleep.

I opened her meter and put in the test strip. I was praying as I tried to steady my hands. I tested her little finger and it said 127. Low but not low. I tested again. 153. again. 138. hmm. I pick her up and try to wake her. she doesn't wake up. I tickle her, move her, talk to her. she finally wakes a bit. but she is still drowsy. she doesn't want to drink anything. she wants to go back to sleep. A nap at this time, just doesn't make sense.

By now, my group leader, a nurse, joined us in the room. She brought another friend, a nurse too. we are all looking at her and talking to her and trying to get her to drink something. The teacher had run down the hall and gotten some apple juice to sip to try to wake her up. The more we talked the more she started to sit up. She went to the snack table and finally started to eat. She then quickly ate two whole halves of an English muffin. She was acting like she had been real low.

We all decide that I should call the on call nurse for her doctor. My group leader hands me her phone. We get through and answer lots of questions, the nurse on the phone decides that we need to have her seen by the doctor.

Everyone helps me gather our stuff and kids and get them to the car. A friend comes over to watch the kids while I take our sweetie to the doctor.

The doctor decides that there is no evidence of head trauma. She thinks it was a diabetes incident.

When I call our endocronologist, she decides it sounded like head trauma, see pediatrician.

When I called a friend who has a diabetic son, her opinion was it sounded diabetic.

What could I have done differently to prevent this from happening again? That's what I want to know. not give her the half unit of insulin I gave her to adjust her before I dropped her off? Check her before she had her snack before I dropped her off? make sure my cell phone is charged? make sure I always have the glucagon pen with me?

My whole group began to pray as soon as I began to run down the hallway after her. A few of us think that God intervened. He jump started her and turned around her blood sugar levels and woke her up without glucagon.

My daughter's verse for the week is Romans 8:28. "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. "

I learned through all of this, when I was scared to death that I was going to have to call 911 and somehow pour apple juice down her throat to revive her, that there are a lot of great people at my church that care about us.

She is now home and in bed, asleep. okay for now. just when we start to relax a bit and feel we have everything under control. God reminds us to let go of the reigns and let Him drive.