Conquering Fears

When it comes to diabetes, I have many fears, but there are 2 that top the list:

Fear #1: Matthew will go low overnight and not wake up.
Fear #2: Matthew will go low while swimming and drown.

This post is about fear #2. 

This past weekend, Matthew was invited to a friend's house and the mom asked me if he could swim.

Matthew has been swimming lots of times....with me.  Never without me.  I started to say no.  And then I started thinking:

Okay Tracy...Swimming has gone great lately.  If he follows a few rules, he can do this.  He really can....

I decided to go for it!

We set rules:

1. Check BG before swimming.
2. Call me.  You'll probably need a starburst to take you up quick, then a fun size snickers will keep you going. 
3. You can swim for one hour.

He followed the rules and did beautifully.  I was so proud of myself for letting him be "normal."

But here's the best part:

At dinner, when he saw his fantastic BG of 112.....with a huge smile on his face, he said, "I ROCKED IT!"

I'll never forget that moment and I'm so thankful that God helped me be brave.

Blessings by Laura Story

If you haven't heard this song, today is the day to change that. 

It's a beautiful song that very D-Mom will identify with.  Especially the line about sleepless nights. 

I cry every single time I hear it. 

And guess what?  Someone sang it in church today.  As the tears spilled out of my eyes, boy was I wishing there was a tissue in my purse.

Laura's husband has been battling a brain tumor and this song was born out of those moments.

Listen to here share her story here.  It's runs about 2 minutes, then listen to the song.

Oh....And have a tissue handy.

Silly Talk Overnight

Do your kids talk when they're half asleep and you're trying to get them to drink juice?

Sometimes Matthew is hysterical.

Me:  Honey, you need to drink some juice.  Can you drink some juice for me?

Matthew:  Yep. (Then closes mouth.)

Me:  Matthew, I need you to drink some juice.  Open your mouth.

Matthew:  I can't. I'm grounded.

Me:  No, you're not grounded, silly, I just need you to drink some juice.

Matthew:  Oh, I'm just talking to myself.

Me:  (Now I'm really laughing.)  Well....can you drink some juice?  Open your mouth.

Finally, I get the straw in his mouth and he drinks.  What a goof!

School is in full swing....

And it's going great!  (Thank you, Lord!)

The first week, Matthew ran a little low at lunchtime.  VERY surprising because my kiddo gets so excited about school that his sugar runs high.  Guess I was a bit aggressive with fixing that this year....

Anyway, I made adjustments and he ran high on Tuesday.  Whatever.

Today is take three.  Time will tell...

On a related note, I was thinking recently how hard is it to "control" myself when picking him up from school.

He's all excited to tell me about his day...his friends...what goofy things his friends did at lunch.

But me?  Of course, I care about all that stuff.  I really do!

But FIRST I want to know:

Did you go low? 

How many carbs did you take? 

What was your number at lunch? 

No worries though.  I put on my "Mom Face" and toss aside my "D-Mom Face" until Matthew shares his joy.

Then I ask about that other stuff.....

PLEASE Give Me Your Tips

How in the world do you keep up with social media without spending your life on the computer?

Seriously, I need help.

I want help!

With all my heart, I want to keep up with everyone's blogs, but sometimes life gets in the way.  Still....this is important to me so I want to figure it out.

I know some of you have this down to a science.

You know who you are...you mascara wearing, princess-loving, candy-heart, Lawton owning, stiletto heel-loving d-moms....just off the top of my head.

I beg you!  Share your secrets!

I don't want to spend my life on the computer!

Yearly Eye Appointment

Matthew had his yearly eye exam today.  It went great!

Well....except for having his eyes dilated. The poor child acts like they're pulling his eyeballs right out of his head. 

But I know....it's no fun.

The good news is that his eyes are healthy!

And the appointment is over.

Victory!

Another Diabetes Death

We've lost another child to diabetes.  Beautiful 14-year-old Emily.  From what I've read this family was super active with the JDRF...very responsible family.  It's heartbreaking.

And, I think there was another death as well....an 18-year-old who just moved into her first apartment and suffered lows all day. 

Days like this, I get so frustrated with people who look at Matthew and....almost ignore the diabetes because he's thriving.  Yes!  He's thriving, but only by the grace of God and serious care 24/7/365. 

So many people just don't get it.  Too many kids are dying from this disease.

It's a hard day to be a d-mom.

Where did I put my brain?

Last week was the hottest week we have had in years. 

And what did I do?

Started crocheting a blanket!

It's going to be so pretty!

My Troublemaker Boys

So today my boys decided to go for a morning bike ride.

Matthew LOVES biking with Kevin.  They have such fun simply exploring the neighborhood.

Or so I thought.

While they were gone, I planned to dash to the grocery store.  When I got there, this is what I saw in the parking lot:

What a surprise!!


(FYI:  Matthew does wear a helmet, but it's so darn hot that he took it off while they rested...)

Help! I'm Melting......

This heat is ridiculous.  Beyond ridiculous.  Seriously. 

Here's what my car said yesterday.  (While I was stopped in a parking lot!)

As many of you know, my fabulous husband is a TV weatherman.  (That was also my career in the pre -Matthew days.) 

People are always complaining to Kevin about the weather.  Especially these days. 

His favorite line?

"I'm in marketing.  God's in manufacturing!"

Temporary Basal....advice?

I've decided one of my projects is to work on temporary basal.  This has to be one of the coolest features of the pump, but I have yet to use it very much. 

Last night, I decided to go for it.  And ummm.....I use some help.

Matthew was 97 at 11pm.  (Yeah, so much for that late-night spike!)

Instead of juice, I did a 50% decrease for 30 minutes.  About an hour later, he was 147 and then went up into the 190s.  Not exactly what I was going for, but you have to start somewhere...right?

Here's my question.  What would you have done?

I know YDMV and will from day-to-day!  I'm just looking for some guidelines.

Three cheers for my blogging friends who are always there for me with help and encouragement!!!

Trying New Things

After the endo appointment last week, Kevin and I are making a few changes. 

Our big diabetic issue with Matthew:  2 hours after dinner his BG is great, but he's high at 4 hours.  Every single night.

The entire medical team has tried everything to fix it...instead, we're going to "go with it."  Here's our plan:

1. When he's around 100 just 2 hours after dinner, I will not give him a little "boost."  Instead, I will wait to see what happens.  (It has been VERY hard to put him to bed at 100, knowing there is 2 hours of IOB!  But Matthew's system is "unique" at night....)
2. Matthew's bedtime is 8pm.  We are moving it back to 9pm.  That way he'll catch a drop if it happens.  By the way, this is additional reading time for him.  (Oh and he thinks staying up later is an awesome benefit of having diabetes.)
3. When he does go high at night, instead of thinking "correction" we will simply give .25 or .50 units of insulin.  (In the past, if he was 200, we'd give most of correction and then we'd be up monitoring active IOB every 2 hours.  By doing a small amount, there is less fear and his BG is coming down.  Plus---without that 8pm "boost" he's not going as high! (Of course, sometimes he'll need a major correction....)

We tried this over the weekend with great success!

And more sleep.

Until he grows again!  : )

SIDENOTE:  I've started a Daily Doctor Mom group on Facebook.  Let me know if you'd like to join. It's a place for prayer and praise!