Camp Week (Reflecting on Time Away)

Camp week is over.

My girls are back at home; safe and sound.

Each feeling a whole lot tired and thrilled.  They did it!

In short, blood sugars behaved with one high and an emergency site change, trace ketones and lots of water.  One daughter had a 48 bg after a very large lunch but bounced back after a box of juice and couple of tabs.  Beyond that, BGs remained constant in the 100s and low 200s throughout the entire week for both.  Pretty amazing given that the weather was about 200 degrees and the kids were busy bees all day long.


The ride home was suprisingly loud, full of giggles and stories of camp.  Both youngest and oldest daughter had tall tales to tell, including a story of falling into the lake while fishing, in front of a cute boy.  In her words, "It was totally embarassing!"

Really?  Cute boys already?

Even though she was too shy to explain it, our oldest daughter also was the recipient of the Kind Award.  Upon pick-up, her counselor had tears in her eyes and said that she was only one of four Trailblazers to receive an award, which was picked by the entire staff.  This news promptly made my husband and I cry because we are so incredibly proud of her too.  She really is a nice girl and I am so unbelievably happy that her kindness follows her... even when no one (like two parents) is around.

Youngest daughter proudly displayed the battle wound from a freshly removed leg infusion set and said that against her instinct, she even tried a dreaded tomato.... and liked it.  The interesting part of the story is that in order to perform leg site, she went with her medstaff to seek out oldest daughter to hold her sister's hand during insertion.  Later that day, they went through the cafeteria line and our youngest daughter, so determined to be just like her big sister, decided that if one was getting a tomato, then so would she. 

Again, after learning that story, both my husband and I started to cry. 

Yes, both daughters are very content and pleased with themselves. 

And us?

Despite the fact that we are apparently big cry-babies, I am so happy that my girls went to camp and had the chance to have these experiences.

It really isn't about the type 1 diabetes, but more about the chance to grow, challenge themselves and to bond with not only each other, but also all of the friends that they meet along the way.  These experiences will shape their future and also, will teach the idea that anything is possible if you just try.

Yes, anything is possible if you just try.   So tonight, I will be seizing the moment and serving tomatos.  Wish me luck that the magic of camp is still upon us!   Thank you Camp Midicha and the ADA! 

Meter Review - One Touch Verio IQ

As promised, here is the review of the One Touch Verio IQ that the girls' received through the type 1 diabetes camp check in process - just for the sake of clarity, no one at One Touch asked me to write anything up... this is just a fun thing to share.

As soon as you open the box, a tightly wrapped in cellophane package rolls out.  Is it me or this kind of thing exciting? 

Drum roll, please................

Ok, so it is rather anti-climatic.... The contents include the usual meter garb; one owner's booklet, an easy read guide, a warranty card, soft black case, power plug adapter, USB cable, tester solution and a few leaflets.  My favorite part of the package is the bonus 10 strips and the Delica lancing device with 10 lancets.  I love it when companies provide some strips and lancets to play with.  Who wants to wait around for a shipment from a durable medical goods supplier?

One downside to someone impatient like me, is that before you can play with the Verio IQ, you have to charge it first.  Since it was bedtime, I opted for an overnight charge, however, according to the package instructions, you could charge it for 4-5 hours.

This is my husband's blood sugar after having hummus and pita bread.  Not too bad.  The strips take the blood on the side and it seems like a microscopic amount, which is nice.  The only down side is that a poke is still a poke.  Can't wait for the day when we can ditch that part of type 1 diabetes care.

Look at the bling on the strips.... pure gold tone!

The other handy feature of this meter is that is supposed to relay alerts on blood sugar trends and offer suggestions.  I haven't used the meter on the girls but think it might be nice to actually have an alert, especially for oldest daughter who is really taking on more and more of her own day to day type 1 diabetes management.

The down side is that I need to clearly label the meters because having more than one child on a meter could be confusing and provide incorrect trend alerts.  Since there are no skins, this is definately something to aware of.

Hope you enjoyed a brief look at the Verio IQ.

Camp Drop-Off (Or Leaving My Heart Behind)

Not our camp, but how cute is this poster?

Sunday was our big type 1 diabetes camp check in and drop off experience.

The night before we left for check in, Saturday, I could sense the anticipation ramping up with youngest daughter's barrage of questions.

"Do you think I will be able to get a top bunk bed?"

"What do we get to eat for dinner?"

"Will my friend Sarah be there from day camp?"

"How many times will we be able to go swimming?"

On the morning of our drive to camp, her intense questioning fell silent. For a few hours, she didn't speak a word except to say that she needed a snuggle from her big sister, whom was also riding in the back seat of the car.

Giving each other knowing smiles, my husband and I knew better than to react too sharply to any of it. After all, this wasn't our first time at the rodeo (IE. overnight camp).

The previous year, oldest daughter experienced a similar roller-coaster of feelings; from excitement to nervousness to impatience to sheer happiness. There were even tears at times and that same demand for snuggles. In the end, we picked up the most happy child ever, so we knew that all of this emotion is just temporary.

This time, with a full year of knowledge under her belt, our oldest daughter played it cool. She fulfilled the role of the big sister and gave little tips out.

"You can have any bunk bed you want. Just throw your stuff on it and it is yours."

"Top beds are way cooler."

"At night, you can use your flashlight under your covers to read and no one says anything."

"Don't worry, I will see you a lot and we can get into line together for meals."

"Your counselors will be sooooo nice. They will help you."

"You're little.  I bet that you will get flipped the most on the water raft.  You're going to love it!"

Seeing my soon-to-be sixth grade daughter playing it so cool and mature with her little sister, allowed me to be more confident too.

I still had that restless energy that alternated between nervousness and excitement, but I was able to actually relax a bit more.  I focused on packing the week before and making two big care packages for the girls to open on Monday night's mail call. 

After that was done, I filled the empty spaces of time with extra snuggles and fun day trips around town, keeping us all busy.

Then finally, camp check in arrived.

The procedure itself is rather long.  And of course, times two, ends up being around 3 hours for our family.  It contained the usual arrival, medication drop off, photo ID picture taking, and meeting with the med staff on how to actually care for our children.  If you have never been through camp or are hesitant to go, let me just say that the med staff rocks!  One of our med staff this year, actually made index cards with notes from the previous year for our oldest child. 

"Hi!  How is your broken arm?  Did it heal up?  Are you still playing soccer?  How was fifth grade?"

(Insert shocked looks on all of our faces - how did she know that stuff?)

I think that might have been the best "camp" magic trick, any of us have witnessed.  This truly is the magic of type 1 diabetes camp.  People who come out and volunteer to spend a week with your child in hopes of letting kids be kids and allowing parents a little extra time to charge their very important batteries.

These diabetes peeps care!  How cool is that?

During check in, we also scored some cool swag with a couple of back packs, beach towels and from a rep who loves our Naturally Sweet Sisters, four Verio IQ One Touch meters (I promise to update on those when the girls come back from camp - oldest daughter immediately fell in love with I-Pod look and feel of them - just need to see how well these babies work!).

Once both girls were in their cabins and getting changed for the big swim test, my husband and I reluctantly left with only a wave and one last snuggle.  The girls were too excited to be nervous and gave us a little push towards the door. 

And so we walked away, empty handed, no kids, no sleeping bags, no diabetes stuff.  For a moment, too drained of all those heightened emotions to say much of anything to each other.  Camp check in day was not only here, but now over.

We, as parents, have a week off.

A whole week off.

With no one planning a swim test for us, making us dormitory food, taking us on zip lines and hikes.... now what do we do?

See it isn't the diabetes that I will miss, but the fun times that we have with our girls. 

A long silence on the drive, this time, from the two of us.  I feel the need for a snuggle to reassure me that the girls will be fine (or maybe it is for me to reassure me that I will be fine).

But wait... did my husband just make us a tee time at our golf course and suggest an adult dinner afterward?  I briefly contemplate the last time we went on a date and I come up empty handed.

Time alone with my husband, who at times seems more like a medical co-worker, than a husband.

Okay, so maybe this is going to be a fun week for the grown ups too.

Camp really IS great!