God's Gift - T-Slim Pump

Yesterday, I took the boys out for a few hours to run some errands and when we return there is a message on the answering machine from our Delivery Pharmacy in Sherman Oaks, CA. We listen the first time and I think we were in shock, so we had to listen to it again. Our representative said our pump was finally approved by all three insurance carriers and she was calling to ask if I was ready to order his pump? Of course we were. We were excited, but most of all thankful that we had finally reached a point in his medical care that were able to try to utilize a pump.

It was a long road to reach this point. His last Endo appointment was in October of 2014 and we have been keeping logs of everything and faxing his numbers weekly on Friday's ever since. Every correction, every change in insulin, every mistake, every 2am check, every middle of the night low, every high, every football game, every practice... everything was being watched and monitored. I received a phone call every Friday from our Endo office and even the school RN communicated with the Endo office as his school orders changed constantly.

We almost lost it all this past Friday as the Endo office noticed a night correction was not given and his schedule was not the usual. I did not realize that him being on vacation could cause such a problem. But, with prayer and leaving it to God. It worked itself out. I needed to just believe. God always had a plan. And I was chosen to be the mother of a Type 1 Diabetic child before this precious little angel was even born into this world.

I never looked and reflected at my past. But, during this season of lent, I have spent some time talking to Deacon Gregg at our Parish and as a Catholic I have had my eyes opened to the realization that God had already chosen me for this path. I can handle it. I was meant to be his mother. I am strong enough to endure the challenges and I will do just fine. My faith is strong enough to guide me. My son is healthy and I wouldn't have reached this point if he wasn't. I must always never forget the Lords guidance. I will continue to pray as this journey is still just beginning and this is just step one. In 5-10 days, we begin step two.

the slimmest pump on the market and has a sleek, modern design. But, don't let this small insulin pump fool you! A unique pumping mechanism, and the latest lithium-polymer rechargeable technology allows the t:slim Pump to pack a 300-unit reservoir and up to seven days of power into its slim, sleek case. The smooth, compact design allows it to easily slip into a pocket or be worn discreetly under clothing.

According to the website, above is the reason Daniel chose this pump and we agreed it might be a good choice for him as he is going into junior high and high school. There are so many choices out there, but our insurance only covered four of them. I called all four and this one just seemed to be a little more what our family is looking for. I will post more about it as it arrives and we start logging his basal rate and start his trial. I haven't learned anything about it and have a home visit scheduled from a representative so I will have lots of information to help other families make their decision should they be deciding on a T-Slim.

Time to head to bed to catch a few hours of shut eye before the 2am check. Wishing all the other T1D families a good night.

Toddlers Day at the dentist

Today was Landon's second visit to the dentist and he did amazing. He kept asking when was it his turn. He goes to the doctors office so much for his older brother Daniel he doesn't get a turn very often, so when it's his turn he gets very excited even if it is the dentist. 

He's grown so much in 6 months from his first visit. He looks like a big boy now taking his x-rays. It took an entire 2 mins and he follows instructions incredibly well. 

Time for his exam and cleaning. No cavities! He's doing great on brushing too. He was so happy he told his dentist he wanted an ICEE when he was done. Well, that was a fight considering he had to wait 30 minutes since he had a fluoride treatment. 

Tomorrow it's another busy day of doctors appointments. One for this Mama and another dentist appointment, but this time for Daniel. I'm on 2am checks this week too so I better get some rest. Blood sugars haven't been too great in the mornings so we have a new adjustment and Mama is on 2am checks again. 

Post more exciting things as they come. 

First weekend of Spring

Our first weekend of spring was great! Blood sugars have been wonderful. Adjustments that have been made over the last two months have really made that huge mountain we climbed reached a nice little quite valley we can enjoy for a minute. Pump is on its way, so it's a nice little break before we start another storm of crazy schedules of alarms going off and nightly interruptions and non-stop blood sugar checks. But, this little nice place we are in is calm. We've never had numbers in target range since diagnosis. I like it! We are able to enjoy the day without fixing lows constantly and battling the false highs after. 

We took the boys to Knotts Berry Farms again. Why not? We have season passes. Might as well get a few rides in during Springbreak 2015 right? Little Landon is a tall 2 year old so being that he is 39" tall he was able to ride many larger rides for 36" riders with an adult. He chose the log ride. I was a little hesitant. He is only TWO! But, he's a little thrill seeker and thinks he's 15. He waited in line. Refused his stroller all day long. I knew he was mature enough. I just think Mommy wasn't ready. 

Here we are boarding the log. As you can see, it was no big deal to him. He was ready. 

He's smiling enjoying the ride. I decided to put my iPhone away at this point because as clumsy as I am I probably would have lost it on the drop lol. I heard him giggling the entire ride. The water splashed. Daniel and I enjoyed our time together. It was fun. Then here comes the drop. We all laughed. The baby was laughing so loudly and then screamed the funniest giggles when the water came into the log and soaked us. It was perfect! Then we go to check out to buy the picture, but he was so little all you could see what his hair standing straight up high, but not his face. Bummer! He was too short for the camera to catch his little expression. Next time he will have to sit in the front of the log. He's a brave little boy. I'm going to have my hands full with Landon. He not afraid of anything! 

We went along our day. And still landon refused to sit in the stroller. I might as well throw that Chicco stroller in the trash at this point. It's just a carrier for medical supplies, drinks, snacks, sweatshirts, and something to lug around the park with us. 

Daniel did ride his first real big crazy roller coaster yesterday. First ride at the park. Walked right by it and looked at dad and said lets do it. So they walked right into line. Baby and I waved from the bottom! Awesome!! That's what life's about. Give it a try son! 

There they come passing right by Landon and I. I'm so proud of Daniel. He went from being terrified to riding every ride in the park. Such a brave little guy. If Type 1Diabetes doesn't stop you, nothing should! 

We didn't take much pictures. We were busy playing with the boys and having fun. Busy enjoying our day. I'm sure when you have a great day as parents of a type 1 diabetic you cherish those moments you don't need to open your bag up, get out a meter or supplies, and you just want to live. And that's just what we did. We lived! 

Landon got busy with a huge snoopy cookie while Daniel and I rode Ghostrider. Yummy! Maybe I should've stayed with Landon and ate some yummy deserts and let the hubby ride the coaster instead. I missed out on some good ole fashioned pastries. 

We did spend Saturday with Grandma at her house swimming and the boys got into mischief over there too. Sister has a stash of candy in the garage that Landon just couldn't help, but get into. Now how could a toddler resist? He's just like his other sister, he LOVES candy! 

As you can tell by the smile, he hit the jackpot! The younger of the older sisters tried to scold him, but she couldn't and gave in and started laughing from work as he was already eating a ring pop as they were face timing hahaha. 

Swimming and lounging by the pool always makes for a relaxing and rejuvenating weekend. Boys are healthy and happy! First weekend of spring was great. This Mama is happy as long as her boys are happy. Here's to a good week everyone. 

Daniel's week

What a week! 

Blood sugars are the usual, but more lows this week so we have new ratios that we hope will help. No pump this week. We were expecting it Thursday, but got our usual monthly arrival. Pharmacy says we are waiting on the final supplemental insurance company to approve the portion they are picking up and hopefully we will know that answer by Monday, which is tomorrow. Still a waiting game. 

We have changed meters to the Accu-chek Nano. We finally ran out of our Aviva strips we had. I couldn't find it in myself to throw away perfectly good medical supplies that are so expensive and hard to come by when money is tough. So we used every box up until now. Daniel is so excited to be using something new. Funny thing is I don't know how to change the time or date so it's all off. My recording has to be done at the exact moment we check his blood sugars or I'll have no idea when it was. I'll need to figure that out very soon. I'm not tech savvy. I'll read the instructions in the morning with my coffee before the boys wake up to figure that one out. 

Overall, it's been a low blood sugar weekend. I can't complain. We got some rest. I didn't have a Lantus change so I got a 2am break that was much needed. I thank our Endo office greatly for the break! This mommy needed some sleep. 

We did have an awesome Friday! Daniel earned all A's and B's again with a 3.42 and made Honor Roll. His first Gate newspaper article made the front page of the school paper and he made student of the month last month. I'm a lucky Mom! Daniel is one awesome little boy. I am beyond words to express how I feel to be blessed to be his mother. He's so smart. He's just a great kid. Such a brave little human being. Endures so much on a daily basis and complains about the normal childhood things like chores and playing outside, but honestly he's the easiest kid. He's mature and can grasp a concept well beyond his years. Algebra is a breeze right now. We work on it a couple times, and he breezes through the assignment. He amazes me. 

This post is for Daniel! Congratulations son on your accomplishments in school! You make me proud! You don't let diabetes slow you down. You make up all your missing assignments everyday without any problems, you don't complain about it, you earn A's for them, read at 9th grade level, you are just amazing! And I'm lucky to be your mom! 

Today's struggles = time

When life was simpler, I use to complain about the simplest things such as what were we doing this weekend, or why didn't the kids finish their chores when they were asked. Now, my struggle is much greater... Time. It's not a material thing to earn or purchase, it's not something to borrow and return, it's not even something to go see. It's simply God's gift of time. Time for devotion, time for scripture, time for church, time for family, time for rest, time to re-energize ones spirit for the next day's tasks at hand. 

As a mom who can't keep a schedule because life with a diabetic doesn't allow me to, unless you count checking blood sugars and giving insulin shots a schedule. The extra hour I enjoy in the morning I devote to my coffee and scripture reading to start my day prepares my soul for the ups and downs to come. It grounds me. I may only have had 4 hours of uninterrupted sleep and I might be exhausted. But, that isn't my son's fault. I am not in control of my son's diabetes, but I am in control of myself and that is all I need to be for Daniel. 

The struggle with time is it slips away from me quickly with Landon all too fast as well. It seems like I'm just doing something I just did five minutes prior. It's funny with a toddler how repetitive things become. But, to see them nurture and grow... That's the part of time that seems to just stop for a moment. When he recites his colors on objects he sees, or points at the alphabets he sees around him, the shapes he has figured out are all around his little world, how it all works together in the big picture and that numbers really mean something when we count from 1 to 20. This just makes me proud! 

Today I'll continue to work on myself and my struggles with time. I'll find a better way to organize Daniel's blood sugars. His binders and log sheets are beginning to look like a high school locker... Pages are falling out, papers are folded inside, but they are all saved from day one. We did it! Since day one, 01/17/12. I think I'll take the time to organize his log sheets today just so we are ready for basal rates when his pump arrives and my crazy nights of 9pm, midnight, 3am, 6am start!  Then I really won't have any idea of anything unless I write it down and let's hope my penmanship is ledgible when I'm in D-mom zombie mode. 

Staying optimistic! One little thing at a time. It's 5:30am, time to start the coffee, check BG, read my daily devotions, and work on my to-do list for today. 

Diabetes Diary 3/7/15

It is 3:33am, his BG114. That's a beautiful number. We tried to go to bed around 9:30pm last night, but his body had other ideas with a BG64. So, we hung out for a little while longer. 

Diabetes for a child is a funny thing. I get annoyed by hearing daily others compare type 2 to type 1 and how there is a cure. How he must exercise, watch what he eats, it's all from what he ate. Sometimes, I wish medically they would have named Juvenile Diabetes or Type 1 Diabetes something completed different just so society doesn't need to be taught on a regular basis the difference. 

I got a phone call from his Endo's office yesterday. We are getting ready to plan for his basal rate. What you ask is that? Well so did I? It is our baseline blood sugar rate. We have a working pancreas, therefore we don't notice our pancreas infusing insulin into our bloodstream as needed. Daniel will receive his pump in the mail in a few days. Brand new. A computerized pancreas that hasn't been programmed just for him. It's going to take a few more weeks of research along with classes to program his pump and teach us how to use it. 

For now... No more 2am checks unless needed of course of lows or illness, but this is my new schedule... No food after 7pm. Blood sugar check at 9pm, 12am, 3am, 6am... 

And then I continue along with his normal daily cycle of breakfast, school, snack, lunch, snack, after school, sports, and return to the night schedule. He can not miss a check, a correction for a high or a low. This is the most important recording time than I have been recording since October 2014. 

There are people who find myself selfish, rude, ungiving... Honestly, I don't even have the time or the energy to entertain them at this moment. Until you walk a moment in the shoes of a parent with a child with Type 1 Diabetes you will never understand the lack of sleep, the worry, the seizures, the vomiting, the inability to wake your child up, the fear that's the last time they will ever wake up, the depression that comes with the reality that this is our normal life, but with this comes a power of strength that allows us to do this and that comes from being chosen from God to be the parent of a child with Type 1 Diabetes because we are strong enough to endure it! 

I'm pushing forward and waking up nightly for my little boy. I will do anything to make sure his quality of life is as grand as can be. Time to try to fall back asleep. That's always been the hardest part for me. 

Diabetes Diary 3/5/15

It's an exciting day in our home! A couple days ago, I had a discussion with our endocrine office over our usual weekly adjustments of his insulin to carb ratios and the movement of his Lantus dosage back towards the afternoon. Daniel's numbers since his Lantus was moved to 7am made his overnight numbers extremely high and I was making corrections that the Endo didn't want to lead to a low that no one would know about. Another week of changes, of uncontrolled ups and downs with no real explanations, and every meal or snack had a different insulin to carb ratio. But, we made it! 

Good news... Our home delivery pharmacy called me to let me know our usual March delivery would be a few days late because our Pump is on its way! I immediately went into shock! Could it be true? I assumed even with three different insurance carriers it was going to take weeks to get the approvals for whomever would cover what the other wouldn't. I still do not know the different of the deductibles or even any of the supplies needed. I know nothing about how to use this new pump. But, we are excited! 

We are scheduled for class and a home visit with a Tandem T-Slim rep to help us through the process. I feel a huge sense of a renewed strength in approaching this disease. As tough as it is to watch what my child goes through, it's such a proud moment to see him reach a moment of a medical step towards feeling a little healthier. Now we are waiting on supplies to arrive and classes to start. We are as a family celebrating this big moment in Daniel's life!