The Changing Face of Type 1 Diabetes

We are a happy family. 

One father, one mother, two daughters and one well loved cat. 

We travel, we play, we bike, we swim, we shop, we craft, we read, we play games, we watch movies, we hang out, we wii and we do a lot of snuggling and cuddling.  We are enjoying our life.

In spite of type 1 diabetes or because of type 1 diabetes?  I don't know.

I'll never be able to answer that question because I will never know what our life might have been like. 

All I can say is that I am happy.  Today.  Right now.  With our life.

If you ask my husband or my daughters, they will most likely say the same.  Unless they aren't winning in Monopoly because somehow Mom in undefeatable.

And to the lady in the grocery store line who noticed my oldest daughter's insulin pump, no, we aren't terribly sad. 

This is our life.

Burgers and Fries, Oh my!

Let me preface this post by briefly explaining how our family views type 1 diabetes and carbohydrates (and a whole bunch of other things reserved for a later date). 



Kids first, diabetes second.



There you have it.  That is our big mantra.  Our family motto.  We repeat it often. 



"Mom, can I have a snack at Sarah's house?  Sure! Kids first, diabetes second."



What this means is that we have a philosophy that in teaching our children proper nutrition, we stress that there are no "bad" foods.  By doing so, we hope to reinforce the healthy eating philosophy that all types of food can be consumed in moderation.  We are taking the stigma out of a cookie.  If it is not considered bad or placed in a mysterious category reserved for desserts or special occasions, we are hoping that the underlying message is that a cookie is no big deal.



Happily this seems to be working.  I have two little girls that love vegetables and fruits.  They are not afraid of onions, peppers, zucinni, or mushrooms.  No one seems to mind a bitter lettuce leaf or a sprout and I can serve peas, water chestnuts, broccoli or beans any day of the week without screaming.  Even the once dreaded squash worked it's way back into favor by quietly starring in a lasagna which the kids devoured in Garfield the cat style.

 



Through all of this regularly incorporated healthy eating, their A1cs have been great.   I also give a ton of credit to the fact that we are a family of pre-bolusers.  Before eating on any given night, the girls do a quick blood sugar check, enter their numbers into the CGM and then bolus for either all or at least half of the amount of insulin they will be taking for their dinners.



This works wonderfully.... EXCEPT, (I could also insert BUT here, but each time I think it, I remember the advice of my English prof that said no one wanted to have a big butt.  BUT I digress....)



Except for the fact that when you go to a restaurant and order burgers and fries, during the dinner hour in which everyone in town is eating, and your waitress is running half of the restaurant, then you are going to have a few problems.



1.) Pre-bolusing is dangerous because you don't know when the food is coming
2.) Counting carbs isn't accurate as there is no nutrition label to be found
3.) While the food is fantastic, everything is made in a fryer. 



You go, you order and you manage to sputter things like, "gulp, yum, chew, slurp, kids first, diabetes second, gulp, yum, yum, yum." 

And you end up making a special family memory that will last a lifetime.


Even when you know in a few hours that you will be doing this...How-to-check-nighttime-blood-sugars-and-scare-your-neighbors

Too Much Is Not Enough Sometimes

We have two little girls diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. 

That translates to a whole heck of a lot of type 1 diabetes supplies.

With so many supplies, one of my most frequently asked questions is How Do You Stay Organized? 

Well, the fact of the matter is it is hard.  Very hard.  We have 'diabetes stuff' lurking in multiple places throughout our home.  The linen closet has been deemed the supply closet.  We had to buy a shelf to house meters, lancets, and strips in the kitchen.  We have too-many-to-count meters floating around our home, school and cars. There is a mini refrigerator in the hall outside of our daughters' rooms.  The girls each have meters for next to their beds and for their purses and backpacks. 

At the beginning of a three-month supply drop from the Fed-Ex man,  I have enough medical equipment to open my own Naturally Sweet Sisters Pharmacy.

However, what we have learned is this - you just never know when you are going to need an extra set of supplies.

Here is the best story that I have to illustrate this fact.

                                                       


Last summer, our family of four decided to take a vacation to an island in Michigan that is only accessible by boats.  Big, expensive boats that cost about $100.00 to get us there.  The island does not allow cars or trucks and the primary mode of transportation is bicycles or perhaps a horse and buggy ride.

We planned out our day and packed snacks; both fast-acting glucose treats and protein rich mini-meals.  We packed a mini-medical kit with neosporin, band aids, sunblock, bug spray and sun hats.  We remembered our money, ID, cell phones and island maps.  The girls checked their insulin pumps to make sure they had enough Apidra insulin on board and we packed an extra vial along with a few site changes.  I even stuck a medical id card into each child's pocket in case we were separated. 

And off we went.  A little tidbit is that this island is known as the land of homemade fudge.  In fact, tourists visiting the island are referred to as "Fudgies".  The girls had never experienced it and were eager to sample it and taste the promised deliciousness of it.

                                                    
                                     

The boat ride lasted about 30 minutes and from the excitement, when both girls disembarked, they immediately felt hypoglycemic.

No problem.  We had snacks!  All we needed to do was to check blood sugars. 

(insert brakes screeching here)

No meters.  No lancets.  No strips.  No nothing.... we had left it all back on the mainland. 

I never do this in front of the girls, but I started to cry.  Right there in front of hundreds of tourists.  I bawled my eyes out.  This was no way to start our island adventure. 

Then the girls started to cry. 

With the three of us sobbing, my dear husband knew he had to do something quickly.  I am not quite sure what made him think of this, but he formulated a plan.  He told us that he would hike up towards the north part of the island to a medical station and see if they could help us. 

Still crying and fumbling with juice boxes for the girls, I am thinking that it won't work.  After all, no one just hands out meters, strips and lancets, especially without a script from a doctor.

20 minutes later, my husband comes bouncing down the road with a huge grin.  Not 1 but 2 meters!  And enough strips and lancets to last for a week!  It's not our brand and it takes me a few minutes to get a handle on it, but it works.  The girls think the new meter is pretty and special because we received it on the island.  Everyone is happy again.


                                           
                                              

We dose for the juice boxes and off we go to start our fudge-filled adventure.

When it comes to diabetes supplies, you really can never have enough.