D Blog Week: Memories: A Few Moments In Time Could Save a Life!

I have to say I pretty much remember almost every single significant event that has happened in our life due to Diabetes now for the past three years. But the one that I can see crystal clear and can recall every single detail of is not the day my son was diagnosed, unconscious in DKA, or the life flight from a low blood sugar, no it's a small glimpse in D life that didn't present cause for a trip to the hospital at all, but it still haunts me to this day.

Like every parent that has a child with Diabetes, those moments walking to your child's room when they have slept in later than they normally would are frightening. One particular morning, he slept in a little later than normal, around 9am, which is late for Clifford on any given day. I tiptoed up to his room, checked to see if his chest was rising with each breath, I myself breathed a sigh of relief to see that in fact it was. I touched him to wake him up, and there was no movement, my heart sunk for a second, but when he started to stir I recovered from my cardiac episode. However I couldn't fully understand what he was trying to tell me. So I went through the normal 20 questions to see if he was in the 'right state of mind', or if a low was taking him over. "What's your name", Clifford, Okay good. "How old are you", Blank stare, no answer, again, "How old are you", : 9, awesome he's back, but something wasn't right. He was only answering me intermittently, and it just didn't sit right with me. I ran downstairs to get his meter (which is why we keep it by the bedside now), ran back up out of breath at this point to test him, thankfully I thought enough to bring a juice box with me. Tested him and he was 65, okay low but we've experienced lower, this juice will bring him right up I thought to myself.  He drank, and I planned on checking him again in 10 minutes to make sure he was coming up.

I went downstairs to toss the empty juice box in the trash, on my way through I decided to grab the cake icing tube, you know just in case. Then I went right back upstairs to check on him. During those few brief minutes, honestly maybe only 2. He had moved himself from his bed, and crawled through the hallway to the walk in closet at the other end of the hall, he was on his hands and knees in the closet, and still talking to me intermittently, he was having a slight twitch as well, not one that you would consider even the possibility of him having a seizure, or that you think of when you think seizure, but just a nervous twitch of sorts. Without thinking I grabbed him up and started forcing icing into his mouth, rubbing it on his gums, tongue, the sides of his mouth, everywhere, asking him to swallow. He had that 'low' look that I remember too perfectly, glazed eyes, wide open, staring through me like glass. It seemed to be forever in my mind, but within a few moments he started looking at me like I was crazy, which told me he had started to become 'normal' again and was aware of what was going on, in a sense. He asked why we were in the closet, and what I was doing, he had no recollection of what had happened. I guess in a way that was good for him. But his little sister who is 7 had to watch as I grabbed him up and forced icing in his mouth. I didn't panic, I just made it happen.

It wasn't until after this was all said and done, he was tested and was 141, that I sat down, and had to take a moment to come to terms with what had happened, and what we had just done. It was a simple moment in D life, that thankfully didn't require emergency intervention, but it very easily could if we had lost a few more moments in time that usually seem so insignificant. But in D life those moments are priceless and very well could save someones life!

Inside Peek Into the Life of Type 1 Diabetes

While on paper it all looks pretty simple when it comes to type 1 diabetes management. You count your carbs before you eat, you inject insulin and this all should provide you with a stable blood sugar number right? Boy do I wish.

While giving insulin to cover the carbs the body will covert into glucose in the bloodstream is extremely important, it's not the only factor when it comes to Diabetes management. Exercise plays a huge role in blood sugar numbers, it's a great way to bring a higher number down, or help keep you in your target zone. Stress tends to increase one's blood sugar numbers, as well as illness, or puberty.

But the one way I've been kept on my toes throughout it all is during the night time. No matter the basal's that we put into place at night time it seems that there is no correct 'formula' for his night time insulin dosage. Clifford's body tends to be more sensitive to the insulin during the night time, I really do not know why this is, as I haven't really researched it as much. Add into play the dawn phenomenon, which typically happens for him at least around 2-3 am, his numbers are usually hit or miss. With his increased sensitivity, if he's high, it's a horrible guessing game for the correct dosage to bring him down to a nice number. I know I have to back off a good deal of what the pump suggests at night time, but just how much, well that's another story. There is no one set number, I can't just back off .5 units and hope for the best, because I get varied results either still high or too low. (Oh yeah, did I mention you must take into consideration also if they had any activity before bedtime, as it could take a few hours to take full effect?) Sounds fun right?

What I'm left with is the job that his once vital pancreas would do. The way the pancreas works is rather beautiful. You wouldn't know it but as a non diabetic you may still have a higher blood sugar from time to time if you checked yourself. That is because the body will secret your insulin at just the right time to bring you down, but not cause you to go too low. It's in no other words beautiful. It's hard to understand this when you don't have to see the other side of a non working organ in play. But here I am left playing the part of the dead organ floating inside his body and it's a bit stressful at times.

An example of my nightly guessing game when he's high is like last night he was over 300 ( which I honestly couldn't figure out why, so I busted out the ketone meter), the pump wanted to give him 3.3 units, but woah is that a large dose at night time for him. I backed off down to 1.9 units, because the particular number 1.4 units showed up in my head (to subtract), and well I went with my instincts. Because he's corrected, I must set an alarm to get up 2 hours later to make sure he's not coming down too fast, last night he happened to be 270 something I believe, and while typically that number comes down into a more stable or target number, something in my stomach said that we should still bolus for this one as well. In fact the pump wanted to give him 1.4 units and I only gave him 0.3. The nice side of this story is, he's is sitting currently at a 117! But there are times it could go either way, it's never perfect, and it's exhausting to be in my head during these few short moments.

This is diabetes. Not what you see in books, or on the internet. It's not black and white, and while it's manageable as they say, it's not easy. It's time consuming, it's a parasite that takes from you every single moment of the day, but it's worth all the hassle to see a healthy child wake up in the morning! Just a little inside view into the life of Type 1 diabetes!

HAWMC Day 10: Wordless Wednesday!

HAWMC Day #10: Wordless Wednesday!

It's often hard to like pictures of ourselves, post your favorite picture of yourself!

 Technically since my blog is about Clifford and living with his Type 1 diabetes I figured I'd post up my favorite picture of myself but also one of him, just acting like himself. So here you go.

Acting like a goof!

The one behind the computer screen....

If Your Health Condition Was an Animal.........

I am a bit behind on my Health Activist's Writer's Month Challenge from WEGO, but today is Day # 8 and here is the prompt.

HAWMC Day 8:
If your health condition (or the health condition of a loved one!) was an animal, what would it be? Is it a real animal or make believe?

Originally when I thought of this question and thought about Clifford's Diabetes, I wanted to say a Lion, you know the king of the jungle, the ruler of all, I get what I want when I want, Lion. But when I thought about it more, I really feel like Diabetes has multiple personalities. Because why it's large and usually almost always in charge, it does tend to let us get a grip or a hold on it from time to time. You know those brief few hours, or maybe even days where it seems like we got our shit together and everything is going great? Yeah, so I did some research to see which animals tend to have multiple personalities.

This may seem silly, but if Clifford's diabetes was an animal, it would be a MIMIC OCTOPUS! Yeah, you heard me right a mimic octopus. Until today I didn't realize there was such an octopus, but there is, and it resembles diabetes most to me, and let me tell you why. This mimic octopus is a super intelligent mollusc, that has eight arms each with two rows of suction cups, when they are threatened they will take the form of other animals by changing color, shape, and behavior to scare their predators off. 

So when you read that it pretty much sums up diabetes to me. When diabetes feels threatened that we got a grasp on things, and it's control isn't as tight, it comes back in for the attack, taking the form of this horrible, life changing disease to scare us off, to knock us off our tracks. Diabetes attaches itself to pretty much every aspect in our lives, hence the 8 arms with 2 rows of suction cups each. I picture diabetes just reaching out and grabbing and touching anyone and everything in it's path just to let them know it's there. * NOTE: I'm not the best drawer on Paint, but that is my vision of the Diabetes Octopus up top there..

You pretty much get the picture right? Diabetes is one bad ass, with multiple personalities that has a huge control issue!

No Time for Diabetes

There are days I wish I could put diabetes on the back burner, there is simply just no time in the day for everything. But unlike the laundry, I can't set it aside for a better time, nope it needs attention NOW, in fact Diabetes is a huge attention whore! Always poking it's face in where it doesn't belong, and at the most inappropriate moments, plus it's ALWAYS about D!

It may be the lack of sleep leading this post or just the fact that D is simply tiring in itself. With a family as large as ours, (In case you've forgotten we have 9 of us!) there is no dull moment. Quite honestly I go to bed tired as death, and wake up the same. I hardly sleep, and no not just because of D, because well simply with 7 kids someone always needs something at some time or another. There is always something going on, whether it's a doctors appointment, endo appointment, dentist appointment, PT appointment, Speech therapy for the twins, or Early headstart for the twins. There is just something always going on. And the one big thing always there is D. It's a constant 24/7 job that takes no breaks or vacation, quite honestly I wish I had it's energy, I would get soooo much done.

Endless finger pokes, carb counting up the wahzoo, site changes, fighting the doctors for prescriptions, fighting the pharmacy, fighting the insurance, sleepless nights, the uncertainty of it all.

But one thing stays certain in the mix, no matter the time, the loss of sleep it's worth it in the morning to see a bright, smiling, ALIVE face. (Although he has to work on his wake up time, usually it's the butt crack of dawn).....

Three Year Diaversary - What Three Years Can Do!

A lot can happen in 3 years.... In  years you go from thinking you have a healthy 6 year old little boy, to being told he has Type 1 diabetes, to watching him suffer in DKA unconscious all the while you think he is slipping away. Just when you think you are starting to learn the ins and outs of this new "Type 1 Diabetes World" he passes out from a low blood sugar and bumps his head, only to be rushed off once again via ambulance to Children's hospital. And when again you think you've got it covered he suffers the scariest seizure you've ever witnessed in front of you to be flown by helicopter back again to Children's hospital. This trip though was bittersweet, it was in April of 2010, and a new D mom like myself and I had connected on Facebook, and she helped keep me company while sitting in the hospital with Clifford and waiting for Chad to come. That mom has moved on to become family to me. (Diane, you know it's you ;) ). Moving forward from my initial contact with Diane, she helped to introduce me to many more wonderful people that knew what was going on, and we were welcomed into the DOC (Diabetic online community). If you are reading this and still are unsure what the signs and symptoms of type 1 diabetes are, take a look here, it could very well save someones life! Knowledge is power!

These events haven't even covered the first year of living with Diabetes for Clifford. These events both happened within 2-6 months of being dx'd. Finally though after that was all said and done, his doctors got his 'sliding scale' which I've come to detest figured out better. A sliding scale is basically to me a guess of how much insulin to give them based on their blood sugar at the time. It doesn't take into account the carbs they are eating, or anything. So as you can see it's basically just a 'start' into learning the diabetes lingo, and treatment plans, and honestly it sucked.

In three years, not only did we get handed a diabetes diagnosis, we found out we were expecting (at first we thought just one baby), then we moved, then found out surprise (it's two!). That first year of D is not something I'm proud of, but I tried my hardest and did what I was told to do, all the while suffering from morning sickness. Many times I gave injections, and tested blood sugar from the couch because well it just felt better there, instead of getting up and having the room spin around me.

Finally after questioning it over and over again, Clifford got to start "Carb Counting" in August of 2011. He was on that dreaded 'sliding scale' for a year and a half. I have to admit though as horrible as the sliding scale was we haven't had an a1c over 7.5%, except for Dx which was 10%) In fact in the last three years  ( 7.5%, 7.4%, 7.3%, 7.1%, 7%(twice), 6.9% , 6.8% (twice), 6.5%, 6.4% and 6.3%.  We moved forward into our carb counting journey with one goal in mind, pumping... I was told multiple times by those at Children's hospital that Clifford wouldn't get approved for a pump, his a1c was too 'good' and that injections were fine for him because he was doing 'good'. Well wouldn't it be better to move from doing 'good' to doing 'great'?? In fact that's exactly what happened after pumping, but we'll get there later. It took some time but I pushed for the pump, fought the insurance a bit, had an appeal, but low and behold in March of 2012 he started pumping (all paid for by the way and approved by the insurance) ;) . Within 3 months, just 3 months of pumping his a1c went from 7.0% down to 6.5%!! Then in September it was 6.3% and 6.4% in December. Before pumping the lowest we saw was 6.8% (which is rocking also btw, but as you can tell he went from 'good' to 'better').

It's been three years and he's gone from not knowing what to do, or how to care for himself to testing his own blood sugar 15 times a day (sometimes more, he's more obsessive about it than I am), to bolusing (giving insulin) for meals, counting carbs, correcting high numbers through the pump, and has even tried changing an infusion set.  Today's a day of celebration in that he's made it another year and lived it happy and healthy all while having Diabetes with him. As I said in 3 years a lot can happen!

KNOW the Signs

There is no reason that a child should die from un-diagnosed Type 1 diabetes. NO reason. But unfortunately, even with all the advancements in technology, and our better treatment options than that of what we had before, it's still happening, even today. Before Insulin what you see in the picture is what was happening. Children were dying from type 1 diabetes, because there simply was no treatment for it. They were put on starvation diets, to restrict from pretty much everything, and the outcome was a slow, painful death. Imagine the heart ache of their parents to witness them go through this.

Before and After Insulin (same child)

But NOW we have insulin, we have much better treatment methods, and we have more education then there was before. There should be no excuse for a child to die from a missed diagnosis. And with the increase of Type 1 diabetes cases being reported in children DAILY, it's important to recognize the signs and symptoms. I'm not going to lie, it was almost missed with Clifford, we almost lost him, because we didn't know the signs and symptoms, we simply thought he had the flu. I look back on it at times, now that I know the symptoms and wonder just how I could have missed it. But it happens. Let's take a look at the signs and symptoms (and I will tell you what they actually mean, having experienced them before) so that someday you can help save a young life.

Symptoms of Type 1 Diabetes

(These are the common symptoms you will see everywhere you look)

Frequent Urination

Unusual Thirst

Extreme Hunger

Unusual Weight Loss

Extreme Fatigue and Irritability

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From our experience you can also have these symptoms
Vomiting
Blurry Vision
Extreme Weakness
Lack of appetite

Unusual Thirst
When it says unusual thirst, I'm talking every 5 minutes, always attached to a water bottle thirst. When your blood sugar is high, you become really thirsty. If you notice your little one, or perhaps hear of a friends child being thirsty all time time, it doesn't hurt to get them tested, or let the parent know it could be a sign. Diabetes takes hold, and doesn't let go. It acts quickly, and it's very serious. When Clifford was diagnosed he was unconscious for the first day because he was in DKA (Diabetic Ketoacidosis). 

Diabetic Ketoacidosis is a serious condition that can lead to a diabetic coma or even death. Your cells are not receiving the glucose they need for energy, and will begin to burn fat for energy, which then will lead to ketones. Ketones are acids that build up in bloodstream, and appear in your urine when you are not getting enough insulin. They are a good warning sign that you have type 1 diabetes, your diabetes is out of control, or you are getting sick. High levels of ketones can end up poisoning the body, and when they get to high lead to the development of DKA.

As you can tell it's nothing to prolong, or perhaps I'll ask the doctor about it next time, well the honest hard truth is there may not be a next time to ask about it. Do it now if you suspect anything unusual.

Closest Picture to "Before Diabetes", this was in the hospital at Diagnosis, notice how 'tiny' he was.

As you can tell from the picture, Clifford looked really tiny (at least it's able to be seen by me now), he lost a good deal of weight before being diagnosed with diabetes.

After Diabetes, Healthy and on the life saving medicine known as Insulin.

We are almost 3 years (2/28/10) into our Diabetes journey and what I can tell you is the media is confused, Hollywood is confused, and many actors and actresses are confused. They mix up type 1 and type 2 diabetes all the time, and it's not acceptable. Because knowing the correct symptoms can literally save someones life!