Entries by Scott Benner (615)
See me on The Katie Couric Show June 19th
Tuesday, June 18, 2013 at 7:46AM 
I'll be on Katie Couric's talk show, 'Katie" this Wednesday, June 19. It's a syndicated show so it runs at a few different times of day. Use Katie's station finder to find the station and time near you.
After we taped the interview last week Katie asked me if I would also contribute to her blog! I've sent the piece to her digital producer and I'll link to it as soon as it posts. This has been an exciting few weeks and Katie has been so very nice, I actually have a message on our home answering machine from her TV producer that says that she is sorry for calling and asking me to appear last minute (As if I cared!) but that, "Katie asked for me personally" during their production meeting.
The next day, I was on her stage - I had the audience laughing a few times during the segment that I was a part of, hopefully it all won't be edited out. I can't wait to find out! We are away right now on a family vacation so you may well see the episode before I do - let me know what you think.
Number Thirty Seven
Monday, June 17, 2013 at 8:00AM 
Have you ever heard that if you ask a person to name a number between one and one-hundred, the most common answer that people give is thirty-seven?
I don't know if that's something that can be proven mathematically but I have noticed it a lot over the years, that number just pops up all of the time.
Arden's All-Star softball team competed in their All-Star tournament last week. They played their first game on Thursday night and lost. Friday was rained out so they were scheduled to play two games on Saturday but they couldn't lose again or they would be out of the tournament - you can only lose two.
Thursday's game required a large bolus to battle Arden's adrenaline and the same was needed for the first game on Saturday. They won that first game Saturday and after a thirty minute break to recharge, they played again. During that second game her BG held steady until about the fourth inning. Arden's DexCom CGM was hung on the fence of the dugout during the games and I would check it every inning or so depending on how her BGs were acting. Arden ran out on the field when the forth inning began, as she did I walked into the dugout and looked at her CGM. Her BG was 120 with two arrows pointed down, she was falling fast but I knew that a juice box would handle it. I was actually waiting for this fall. Arden ran in to the dugout, drank a juice box in about ten seconds and ran right back to third base. Her BG balanced out as I expected and the girls won the game about an hour later. When Saturday ended, the team was 1 and 2, and scheduled to play again the next day at 1pm.
Arden's BGs were on the low side overnight, as I expected they may be and I handled them with a little juice and some temp basals. Nothing out of the ordinary after a day of activity.
Sunday brought high temperatures and a clear sunny sky, it was very hot. The girls warmed up at twelve-thirty, the game began at one and the adrenaline hit her about 45 minutes later. I bolused when her BG began to climb but I was too late, Arden's BG was on the move. I tried desperately to get it to come back down without going to low. Arden has trouble running when her BG gets above about 200 - she is normally very fast but above 200, her speed and dexterity become average, so my goal is always to keep her under that number when she plays. They won the first game and the next game was going to start in a half an hour. Arden's BG wasn't moving but I still only gave her a slight bolus (.20) for all of the food that she ate after game one. I thought that the .20 was a conservative approach to her game break snack as I was still leary of a fall from the earlier adrenaline bolus.
We were now into the second game and my plan was to check her CGM after the third inning. The last time I looked at it was before the second inning began, it read 192 with an arrow diagonal down. Before I could get up after Arden made the last out of the third inning, she ran through the gate toward me holding her hands over her head and gesturing for me to come to her...
"I feel really dizzy!"
I didn't bother to test before I handed her a juice. She sucked it down as I tested her free hand...she was 37.
I said to Kelly, "Give her another one" as I ran to get the CGM from the fence. Arden's BG was dropping so fast that the CGM hadn't caught up yet, it read 101 but now both of it's arrows were pointed down. Arden's BG was falling way too fast, she drank two juices, ate a fast acting tablet and was now chewing on a handful of Mike and Ike's. I tested again, BG was 49 and she was still very dizzy.
Arden and I went into the dugout to get out of the sun, she alternated between sipping cool water and fuetly holding her head to try and stop the dizziness - seeing her press her hands into the side of her head broke my heart. I hugged her as she laid into me, I quietly told her that it would stop soon. We tested again, 69 but the arrows on the CGM were still pointed straight down. I decided to follow what the meter was indicating, I believed that her BG was climbing and stoped considering more carbs. It was then that Arden's place in the lineup came up... it was her turn to hit. "They can skip you for one inning", I told her.
"I can hit", Arden stood up squeezed her head between her hands one last time and put her helmet on, we tested again and her BG was 131 but she was still feeling the low. What came next was Arden's only strikeout of the tournament. She fouled off two pitches, running them both out before swinging and missing the last pitch of her at bat. I sat in the dugout staring at her, I was sure that I shouldn't have let her hit but I just couldn't find the parental wisdom in telling her that diabetes was going to make her miss that at bat. Secretly, I was so happy that she didn't get on base because I didn't want her to run but you can't imagine how proud I was of her for trying. She sat out the next half inning, opting to lay on the bench with her head on my lap so she could try to get her bearings. She only said two things to me during that time... "It's getting better" and " I can't believe two balls went to my position". She was annoyed that she missed the opportunity to make two plays.
When her team made the last out, she sat up, looked at me and said, "I'm okay, go back with mom".
Arden and her team went on to win that game and then they won the next one too. They never lost after losing the first game on Thursday and they won three in a row on that hot Sunday afternoon. I'm still not positive that I should have let her hit but, well, check this out...
That's Arden holding her trophy. Her team won the 2013 eight year old All-Star tournament last weekend! She played all but three outs in the field and never missed an at bat. Arden beat all comers, including diabetes - I think that if I was any prouder of her... my heart would burst.
BGnow, Insulin, Soft Ball, Transparency in Daddy's Blog, DexCom Blog, OmniPod Blog A Happy Father's Day Indeed
Sunday, June 16, 2013 at 12:38AM 
Last year Cole and Arden got me a gorgeous baseball glove for Father's Day. I use that glove with them all of the time, and it's one of my favorite possessions. This year they surprised me with a new laptop so I could, "Write another book". It's a pretty great laptop, and a fine gift, but it's apparently not destine to be the best surprise of my 2013 Father's Day.
I've been giving a lot of interviews over the last few months to support my new book, and it sounds weird to say but because I don't get to see those interviews before they run, I never know what they are going to say or how the writer intends to use my answers. In short, what the reporter writes is nearly always a surprise to me.
I've been waiting for Father's Day with cautious optimism for an article to run in my hometown paper, The Bucks County Courier Times. Even at 41 years old... I was just super happy to think that my mom was going to sit down with her coffee today and see her little boy in the newspaper. What I got when I woke up today was far more amazing than I ever could have hoped for.
Besides the wonderful article, this piece also ran in two sister papers and online at PhillyBurbs.com. I'm still waiting for confirmation from someone at home (We are on vacation) but I'm hearing that the story may have also been blurbed (See image at top) on the front page of this mornings paper!
Happy Father's Day Indeed!
I hope that you all have a fantastic Father's Day, I want to wish you all the best. Thank you so much to Gwen Shift of the Courier for her great and touching words, to my family for being so loving and all of you for reading Arden's Day!
Radio Interview with NPR Philadelphia
Thursday, June 13, 2013 at 10:07PM 
Blurb from the WHYY, NPR Philadelphia Website
The forecast looks favorable for Father's Day weekend, and whether you're the designated driver, griller, or just plain chiller with family and friends, you're hopefully not in the same boat as Scott Benner, tasked with the endless job of doing laundry — or so he claims in his ode to fatherhood, "Life is Short, Laundry is Eternal: Confessions of a Stay-at-Home Dad." He spoke with NewsWorks Tonight Host Dave Heller.
Being invited to do this interview was a huge honor! I couldn't believe Dave Heller read my book!
The interview can also be found on the WHYY website.