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?

school

I was asked to speak at the kids' school yesterday.  They had their staff meeting and I was to be "the guest of honor".  Since the school that we have chosen for our kids is private, they do not have a nurse on staff.  Therefore, I have been the unofficial nurse to manage the care of both of my kids and their diabetic needs.

I have been working directly with the teachers of my kids but the rest of the school staff hadn't seen much of what we do everyday.  So, I was given the privilege of educating the entire staff about diabetes and the care that the kids require.

The meeting ended up being blessed.  It wasn't a dry, informative, mandatory educating time.  It ended up being very interactive and the staff was very responsive.  There were many questions and comments.  I brought in many items to show what we used to manage their diabetes.  I discussed their pumps, needles, insulin, sugars, and cgms.  Questions led to conversations about how was it to accept a diagnosis as a parent?  Will we ever get to sleep through the night again?  What are signs of them having low blood sugars?  and where is the positive in all of this?

I found myself coming to tears as someone asked the last question.  Because, WHERE is the positive in all of this?  not only ONE child, but two!  Is there any positive?  well, after I thought about it and a teacher in the meeting took a moment to reflect while I composed myself.  I said that I wouldn't not have any of my children.  If I knew that they would have developed diabetes, would I have decided to not have all of these children?  no.  Our second child's name means "God has heard our prayers."  We prayed  for each of our children and even with my last child that brought on heart failure in me, I still am thankful to have survived and have him today.

The silver lining in living with problems: is that we all have problems.  Some have different names and diagnosis.  We all struggle and are sad and some days happy too!  God is the problem solver for us and can show us blessings through our perseverance.  God has opened my eyes to childhood illnesses that I never knew about before and shown me how precious life is.  We take life for granted until we realize that life is a gift.  Every life.  Every child.  And sometimes we need those reminders.