It's HERE!!!

Our pump has arrived.  I have never wanted to hug the UPS man as much as I did Tuesday night!  We still have to wait before we actually open it up and get started.  (Pending insurance approval)  But as far as I am concerned, this is a big step in the right direction.  

There will still be an adjustment period once we get Julia going on the pump but it will alleviate some of the strictness in her routine.  It also means that instead of having at least three shots a day, she will only have to get an injection when we change her pump site.  (Usually every three days).  

The great thing about a pump is that it functions more like a pancreas   She will be receiving insulin in a more constant manner.  She will receive tiny precise amounts of insulin 24 hours a day.  (basal rate)  She also gets additional doses at meals or to correct high blood sugar readings.  (bolus dose)

Being on the pump will also make Julia's school day more normal.  As of now, after she finishes her lunch everyday, she meets Bubba or me in the nurse's office to get her insulin shot.  Not exactly the best place to be when trying to AVOID getting sick.  One of the days we were there,  a child with a fever was there too.  I am hoping with the pump, we can meet her in the cafe or the playground & avoid the office altogether.     Our 2nd grade friend takes care of his bolus dose on his own (with his assistant's supervision).  I know we are not there yet but not having to be at the school everyday will be a nice change when it comes.  

Julia is excited and happy not only because it is here but also because it is pink :)  I know there will be struggles and frustrations but for now, my girl is happy.  And to me, that is what matters most. 

Rough Weekend

One of the things I have been absolutely terrified about since we found out Julia has diabetes is a stomach bug.   I have also said if she started throwing up I would probably just take her back to the hospital because I felt they would know better what to do. 


Friday night, I was enjoying a Moms Night Out with some friends.  I looked down at my phone and saw the following text:

JP threw up but said she felt better after she did

My friends were willing to call it a night and I headed for home.  The whole way home I was hoping that it was just a one time thing and her dinner didn't agree with her.  Turns out it was more than that.


The hardest part of it all is that she already had been given her insulin.  Not only the fast acting insulin to cover her dinner but also her long acting insulin that keeps her regulated for up to 24 hours.  


Bubba called the doctor and our friends who have a boy with Type 1  that was diagnosed 4 years ago.  (On a side note...I am more grateful to have them in our lives than they will probably ever know!)  Both gave some tips on how to get her some sugar so she had a hard candy and icing and we started playing the waiting game.  


Her Blood Sugar Level (BSL) came up and she hadn't thrown up anymore so we sent her to bed.  Then she started to throw up and her BSL began to drop.  Oh and did I mention Bubba just left to go to the grocery store to get Jell-O, Ginger ale, etc? 


I called the doctor again and got his voicemail.  Since I am a worrier, my brain was spinning at this point.  I was scared that I was going to have to administer glucagon.  For those of you not familiar with glucagon, it is an emergency medication given that brings blood glucose up.  It is typically used when a person is so low that they are unconscious or cannot take glucose (sugar) orally.  I actually kept it together & called the doctor's office number, got the number for the on call doctor who I called right away.  Luckily she answered on the first ring and talked me through mixing apple juice with sugar and trying to give her a teaspoon of that every 5 minutes.  


As I was giving Julia her first sips, her primary endochrinologist called back.  He agreed with the plan and so there we were watching the clock and trying to get a sip in every 5 minutes.  Slowly but surely her BSL began creeping back up although she continued to throw up every 30 minutes or so.  The doctor wanted her to be over 100 before we let her go to sleep.  You can imagine how fun that was, trying to keep a sick 5 year old awake and sipping on overly sweet juice.


We were finally able to let her go to sleep around midnight but she woke up every 30 minutes or so to be sick.  Her BSL kept trending upward but now our worry was ketones.  High ketones and high BSL could lead to diabetic ketoacidosis a potentially fatal complication.   To be fair, this was highly unlikely due to our close interaction with the doctor and the fact that we were doing everything we could to keep her in a healthy range.  But like I said earlier my brain was spinning.  


The next morning, things started looking up, she stopped throwing up, her ketones came down and her BSL came into a normal range.  For Bubba and I it was still difficult trying to figure out what she wanted to eat, how much she would eat and if she needed insulin to balance it.  Late in the afternoon we got her to eat some food and last night was much more restful for all of us.  


Today she has been back to her normal self, Bubba headed to work, Joseph to the wii and I did some laundry.


We survived our first stomach bug with out having to go to the hospital.  I'm counting it as a win for us :)

Welcome to our Journey

Thank you for checking in...

My plan for this blog is to keep those who our interested updated on Julia.  My beautiful girl was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes on November 8th, 2010.  This was a life changing moment for her and our whole family.  


I will try to update often with news.  Sometimes it will be good (on schedule to get her on a pump in June) sometimes it will be bad (our first experience with the stomach flu over the weekend) sometimes it will just be our day to day struggle with what is now our "normal."