Life (briefly) Interrupted

(that look has more to do with me than diabetes)

Piss Poor PSA

There is some talk about the International Diabetes Foundation's (IDF) latest public service announcement (PSA): Diabetes Kills.  

All done watching it? 
(I hope I don't get too shredded for this.)

I agree this is a piss-poor PSA. Not because I was offended by the Death Eaters picking people off or because that last poor soul was slammed into the ground only to morph into a tombstone or because my kids might see it but because:

I don't understand what they are trying to convey.  Which totally defeats the point of a PSA!  

If the PSA is targeted toward general public awareness and understanding of what diabetes really is then, personally, I'm OK with a little "Diabetes Kills".  Diabetes does kill.  I think only something really bold is going to break through the misconceptions and stereotypes diabetes and people with diabetes have placed on them.  Both of which need to be broken to get to empathy.  Then real education and action can take root. 

The PSA goes overboard.  I'm sure they intended to go overboard to make a point, but I can see how this might be seen as over-overboard (and smacked it's head on a tombstone).  However, I also don't think the people the IDF are targeting (if it is the uneducated-I'm still not sure) understand the dangers of diabetes.  So where is the perfect balance?  I don't know.  But I do know that some people still think diabetes is caused by eating too much sugar. Wait, is that what it is about?  Still not sure. And then the "Learn how to stay Healthy" totally threw me.  Who are they targeting again?

On the other side of the goes-too-far fence, I also don't like these quotes:

"Diabetes doesn’t kill people; UNCONTROLLED diabetes does.”
“Well-managed diabetes is the leading cause of… NOTHING.”

I get it.  I really do.  They're empowering, positive, motivational and hopeful.  All good and important things, but I think they are misleading and a little false/extreme.  Probably to make a point. 

Camp 2013

Brakes don't fail me now

Translation: WELCOME BACK!

Diabetes camp 2013 was a

really good year! The sign

to the left signals that we are

only a few minutes away.
And they are not kidding about the "hill". 

Straight down to the river valley.  

               

What was your favorite part about diabetes camp this year?

  Roo: Meeting so many great people  (sorry I didn't get pics!)
  Pink: The people in my cabin



"This year I could stay longer." ~Pink

What exactly do they lance
their fingers with at night?

"Best year ever!" ~Roo

The girl in front of us in line was diagnosed only 2 months earlier.

Main lodge

Name one thing (anything) that you learned at camp this year.

  Roo: You have to have graduated to work there 
  Pink: Nothing

No scary stories this year.  Last year Pink had a T1D counselor need some help from some Glucagon at some point.  She was fine and I am still confident of the care given at the camp.  They even do night checks on all the campers and T1D counselors (and sometimes nonD counselors - OOPS!)  

One of the cabin areas

really roughin' it

What was your least favorite thing about camp this year?

   Roo: No chocolate

   Pink: The heat

Apparently there are multiple discussions about the regularity of one's bowels. Well, in Roo's circle anyway. Topics include "have you yet", "how many days has it been" and the like.

speech before getting kids back

Would you recommend diabetes camp to other kids with diabetes?

  Roo: It should be mandatory

  Pink: Definitely

diabetes care everywhere
BGs: 402 and 155

The kids come marching down from the cabins chanting (see movie at the end of this post) and give a small presentation on the stage in the above picture.  Pink was looking at her pump during the presentation which is alarming because she doesn't have a CGM so the pump must have been alarming.  Zero units left.  Great - I didn't bring any insulin with me...well, because I'm picking them up from diabetes camp where there's tons of insulin. So I zipped into the med cabin to fill Pink's reservoir and they just tossed me an entire vial of insulin.  Score!  We filled up in the van.

Add'l swag: backpack
towel, water bottle

If you had to choose between diabetes camp and Children with Diabetes Friends for Life conference at Disney World which would you choose?

  Roo: Camp

  Pink: Both c:

This was the first year both girls went the same week.  It takes three times longer to check in two campers as it does one.  It takes four times longer to check out two campers as it does one.


At the end of the parent's speech they shoot off a really loud canon to signal we are ready for the kids.  Here is a video of the campers and counselors marching down to join the parents. This was our third year of camp and I have yet to keep my shit together when all these beauties march by.

More Random

Fasting blood draw for Pink this morning.
Summering girlie is not too excited about getting out of bed, let alone getting out of bed so someone can drain her of blood.

In the car we were discussing the definition of "fasting".  She had a quizzical look about her but we had arrived and we went into the clinic to check in.  As we were walking up to the reception desk she just says "but last night..."  Uhhhhggg!  I had given her some chocolate milk at midnight to boost a BG of 80-something! Luckily we got the OK and went right back. 

Pink definitely does not like blood draws but has always just got it done.  No hand holding or lightheadedness.  She rocked it like always.

We were walking out and she turns and says "I think I might throw up." A quick-walk to the bathroom where she proceeds to heave up nothing.  What the ???

All done and I ask if she can make it home. She nods, stands up, and simply says,

"That was random."

Love this girl!

Ketone Randomness

Checking the sleeping girls around 7:00am before heading to work greeted with 358 from Pink. Crap.  3:00am was a little high but this is not good. Does not feel right. Check for ketones and "Good Morning" this

most likely a failed site

FourDays Trivia:  Roo has never had ketones.

Shoot up Pink with a load of insulin.  New set.  Water.  Call in late to work. Pink back to sleep.

Finally give into d-mama paranoia and break out this:

Have tried to respect

privacy until now.

Too bad, so sad.

     

                   Seriously with this microscrew

               to enter the battery 

this picture would not
move until I called it a
little shit in this caption.

Luckily? computer down so

just purchase this which so generously

comes with its own Phillips microscrewdriver. 

So impressive the sales rep mentioned it twice. 

I thought at the time "uh, OK".

Clearly I misjudged the genius of the sales rep. 

Sorry.

Couple hours later, 238 BG and .4 ketones.  Get Pink out of bed.  Off to work.

Touch base with Pink a couple times.  BG upper 100 to lower 200, ketones hovering around .2.  Had some lunch.  Odd because she usually gets down to zero. 

Then get text:

"..I feel sick"    "As in throw up..."   Now I feel a little sick.  Call to discuss.

BG 92ish, ketones .2.  Eat a few uncovered carbs to get BG up.

Later, BG 154, ketones .4.  Still considered negative but too weird.  Leave work.  Unsettled. 

Change everything out: insulin, reservoir, tubing, set and never before used site.

Just waiting for vomit to join us. Maybe Hoping she's just hungover from 2.0 ketones from morning?

AND. THE. WORLD. STOPS.  Only two ketone strips left!!

like gold
(but more expensive)

they get the job done

Plus a friend's daughter has been very thirsty and peeing and at the doctor right then.  Heard the doctor only took a urine sample and did not draw any blood.  What if I need to rush a ketone strip over and narrowly save this youngin's life that the doctor so foolishly threw aside? (this last sentence is only a dramatization).  Time to break out good ol' reliable and pray they are not expired.

FourDays Trivia: Peeing on a Ketostix, probably the easiest thing about T1D, was the one thing the girls would complain and whine about when first diagnosed.  I think because it was the one thing that had any wiggle room.



This is getting too long with no real point so I'm bailing. <--Now that is some superior blogging right there.

The rest of the evening saw 65, (fyi-survival hunger overrides nauseated), 200, down (please don't vomit), a little up, down, underbolusing, down, pee stick clear, chocolate milk and finally leveling out around 5:30am at 135 with never a vomit spewed.

Love Life

Posted by Roo this past weekend.



"Happiness is all in your head. Love life. Be positive."



Look Who's Still Here

When I was young, or even only younger, I thought I could
So I guess I have a stress limit.  After diagnosis, I learned right away that

I can not structure a coherent sentence.  So I haven't written.  An actual conversation with me will test your patience.

In January, this exploded to new levels.  I don't know have a clue what to do and it has been more frightening than the diabetes diagnoses.  I'm not good with things I can't figure out.  Diabetes comes with instructions, meds, goals, actions that yield results (mostly), allowance of slight denial of the real d-evil* so life can be lived.  This, not so much.  I've enlisted as many resources as possible.  Thanks to those tools, an unbelievably supportive school and the nastiest stubborn streak I have ever produced (which is saying A LOT) we made it to the end of the school year.  It was day by day.  Hell, we've done day by day before, right!  But with this I feel lost and helpless.  We both emotionally collasped when school was finally done for the year.  We had some pretty dark moments.  I'm fucking scared.  She fucking doesn't deserve this!

Now that I'm typing this I can feel I need to type it all out but it is a story I don't feel free to tell in more detail than the post linked above.  My internal it could be worse-count your blessings chant does not have the same impact as usual.  But I know that will turn around.  I have my girls.  I have my job.  I have a place to live, food to eat and insulin.

Also, we are in the middle of that other D thing that has a 90 day waiting period in most states.

Need sleep*.  Yuck.  Sorry* so whiney.

*linked in honor of Pink and her our escape and something we can connect with - I'll take anything