|
Today I went in to Liam's preschool to supervise the front office staff do his pre-snack blood sugar check and snack bolus, and as I watched my wriggly goofball of a son, fresh off the playground from recess and FULL of energy bouncing in his chair and trying to do a headstand on the floor, completely oblivious to the bolus she was getting ready to deliver, the school director started to look a little flustered as she tried to get the PDM next to his pod to deliver the bolus. "It's okay," I heard myself say. "That's actually one of
the great things about the OmniPod. You can do it from where you are standing. Just imagine trying to get a shot near him when he was on injections." She relaxed, and the bolus delivered, but it really got me thinking.
Even on our worse days, things are so much more manageable now. Diabetes isn't ever simple, but it's gotten a lot easier to deal with over the last few months. So, in no particular order, a list of things that I am loving right now.
1. D-Moms and the online community
Until a couple of months ago, I was barely aware that a Diabetes community existed. I'd joined a couple of forum type websites initially that ended up being pretty inactive, and found one or two... okay, just one other mom of a type 1 diabetic, and proceeded to email her novel length rants full of questions and frustration and very little coherence (Sorry Lorraine!)
While I still really like to bug her, I had the good fortune of running across Joanne who realized I was very close to her and sent a whole bunch of other d-moms my way. She also mentioned Laura, who lived even closer to me and had a son who was diagnosed within days of Liam at the same hospital, and incidentally, had just been booked into a pump training class with me. Real live d-moms, in the flesh! How awesome!
I really didn't realize how much support was out here. And you all have been so incredibly awesome. (And cheaper than therapy! Ha ha!) The first time I got online to chat with other d-moms, I laughed harder than I had in months. The whole next day, I felt lighter. And it kept lasting; the isolation I'd been living with began to lift.
I think the simplest way to explain this was something I saw Joanne's sweet little Elise do the first time we met. We were sitting down to eat lunch (at Laura's house, no less- MAN I love those playdates!) and while I was checking Liam's blood sugar, Elise reached her tiny finger out and touched Liam's Multi-Clix lancet and said "same." She recognized that he had the same one as her. That just got me all choked up. That was the point. For the kids to see that they were the same. (Well, and us...) I want to put my finger on all of you awesome d-moms and say "same." You get it. Simple as that. It means so much to me to have you all in my life. I am so grateful to have met all of the other people living a life like ours, as much as I wish none of us had to live it.
2. The OmniPod
Insulin pumps! The greatest thing since insulin! Even when I'm trying to figure out which basal rate to put where, and I'm rambling like a crazy person, I'm SO grateful that we have the ability to tailor basal rates to his varying needs. I'm so grateful that Liam can stand on his head while we bolus him. That we don't have to give him shots anymore. That I don't have to watch him try to decide whether it's worth it to have an extra shot so he can have a glass of milk when he wants one.
I'm grateful that he can walk around, swim, ride roller coasters, turn his bath into a deep sea expedition, all without having to worry about disconnecting a pump. I love the PDM (Personal Diabetes Manager, for the uninitiated) and its big color screen. Its seriously simple prompts and menu. (So much so that I also need to buy stock in AAA batteries.) It's made Liam's life resemble that of any other kid so much more in the last two months, and if I had any goal for him other than his health and safety, it was that he still get to be a kid.
3. Healthy Balance Juice from Old Orchard
This may seem small after all that heavy stuff, but my kid really likes juice.
The big JDRF letters on the bottle caught my attention, then I saw that it was 6 carbs a cup. Not free, but also not straight sugar that will make Liam spike like crazy. It's sweetened with Splenda, and while I wouldn't let artificial sweeteners touch the kid before, I'd rather Splenda than aspartame if we're going there.
The very best part? This is a much better solution every once in a while than Crystal Light (0% juice), or even the Minute Maid Fruit Falls or Just 10 (5% juice) because this stuff is 20% juice. My local Kroger carries it, but you can check it out here .
Read Full Article
|
