Five years with type I.

I sit here with a strong urge to share how I’m feeling. I think that what I’m about to say will be of no surprise to some and very pleasurable to the recently diagnosed.

Today is the fifth anniversary of Arden’s diagnosis. I’m not sad, glad, mad, jealous or thrilled... in fact I have no special feeling associated with the anniversary. What I can impart is this, upon realizing that today felt just like any other day, I experience a wonderful feeling of satisfaction. I think that if I was to give myself a pat on the back today, I’d do it with a sturdy, “well played” and move on - nothing to see here.

This all feels normal now and I think that is the greatest thing that I could say. If at the moment you are overwhelmed, sad, mad, in denial  - know that one day it will all be gone. 

We are diabetes normal and in this house, that’s perfect!

$100k for research

Brett Michaels, 80’s glam rocker, reality show star and type I diabetic just won his challenge on NBC’s Celebrity Apprentice sending $100,000 to the American Diabetes Association.  Great news, congratulations to all involved!

Twitter tags for this story:

@bretmichaels, @AmDiabetesAssn, @CelebApprentice,@ArdensDay

Day One: 2:59 pm... Arrived at home with Lunch

We’re home and have lunch with us.  Arden was acting strange in the car so I’m going to check her BG before she eats.  By acting strange I mean she was getting upset about her haircut that we have scheduled for 4:30 today.  

2:59pm...  Arden’s BG was 75 right when the insulin was peaking.  What that means is the little bit of food she had in the car saved us from her being at 50.  At 75 I have about 5 minutes to get her BG up at least 20 points because the insulin is dragging her lower and at it’s quickest.  If I hadn't been aware of what was happening Arden would have seized in about 15 to 20 minutes.  All because I made a 20 minute unscheduled stop.  I thought that a juice she had on the way would buy me more time then it did.  

3:01pm... Arden was hungry and she was eating so I let her eat and hoped that it would be enough to keep her BG from dipping any lower.  I tested her again at 3:14 and she was 79.  The food held her but wasn’t bringing her up and the peak was here.  She told me she couldn’t eat anymore because her head was shaking (some times she says her face is wiggling), shaking head or wiggling face she’s tanking and I’m out of time so I ran through all of the foods with Arden that she could have but it’s too late...  She’s now upset and agitated and beyond reasoning with.  It’s time for Strawberry Syrup.  The syrup goes down easy and brings her up very fast!  But it’s going to be a struggle...

3:22...  Test again, she is 87... I’m winning.  Can’t get her to take any more syrup besides she say’s she is feeling better.  So I’ll wait a few minutes and test her again.

3:26... she is 100 and the peak is over.  We aren’t done yet but definitely out of trouble.  The insulin is still going to drag her down a bit (maybe 15-20 points) over the next hour.  Her hunger is back now that she isn’t low but now she doesn’t want the food she wanted before.  I have 20 minutes to get her to eat before we have to leave for her haircut.  

Arden is in good spirits and eating a donut... Which will undoubtedly send her BG too high.  

I set the video camera on a desk while I was getting Arden stable. Be warned it’s going to be shocking to anyone that has never seen a diabetic child go low. The video is at this link.

Day One: 1:30pm at the Dentist Office

I checked Arden’s BG at the dentist office at 1:30 pm she was 259.  She got one unit of Novolog to cover the high (259) and lunch that I knew/thought she’d be eating at 2:30. We made one unscheduled stop on the way to lunch that took me 20 minutes off of my schedule.  When we got home with the food...

Day One: 11:14 am BG check

Time for another BG check.  You recall I wanted to check Arden at 1 hour and 40 minutes  because the Novolog peaks at 2 hours.  Arden’s BG was 229 at the 1hr 40 min mark.  It will drop quickly over the next 20 minutes.  I’m expecting it to be around 180 at the 2 hour mark and if she doesn’t eat or drink over the next hour to settle at about 160.  It’s important to note that she easily could have decided not to eat and we could be in a much different situation right now.  Had she not eaten I think her BG would have been less then 100 and we be in a crisis mode getting Arden to take in carbs before the Novolog peaked.  This went very good!

 Arden getting tested

We’ll be checking again in an 1hr and 20 minutes to be sure...  See you then.