DBlog Day 3: Diabetes Bloopers

So - today I am supposed to write about something funny that has happened with Kaci's diabetes. I have been thinking and thinking and thinking.....

I have made lots of mistakes, or "bloopers" with diabetes.

I have forgotten a shot after a meal, I have forgotten to cover her chocolate milk more times than I can count. I have added or divided wrong, I have had to poke her finger 2 or 3 times when the meter reads "error" due to not enough blood. But something funny- well, I can't think of one funny thing! Not one damn thing that makes me laugh about diabetes....

Sorry, I guess today's post is just not for me!

DBlog Day 2: Letter Writing Day

Back in February I wrote a post that goes well with today's topic of writing a letter to something or someone about something you love or hate about diabetes. Here is the link to that post- http://andrea-randomthoughts.blogspot.com/2011/02/arithmetic-is-where-numbers-fly-like.html

So - to put it in new words.....



Dear Numbers,

If you knew me at all- if you took a second to get to know me....you would know I hate math. Numbers are the center of math- and since Kaci's diagnosis with Type 1 Diabetes- you are the center of my world.

Each day I wake up and check Kaci's sugar at 6 a.m. I have to check to make sure you (her number) is OK. Her meter reads 108. Perfect...no correction! A great morning reading is between 80 and 130. She wants a smoothie for breakfast. Weigh the banana on the carb scale....it is 23 carbs. Add 1/2 cup of milk...that is 5 carbs. Add a yogurt cup .....that is 13 carbs. Put 3 strawberries in...they are 4 carbs. Add that all up and the total is 45 carbs. Breakfast insulin coverage is 1 unit for every 8 carbs, so I divide 45 by 8 and that is 5.625- Round up and that is 6 units of insulin. Oh number.....it is only morning and I am already sick of you!!

She is taking her lunch today, so I have to write all the carbs down for the school nurse. I am making her a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Each piece of bread is 10 carbs, a tablespoon of peanut butter is 7 carbs and 1 tablespoon of sugar free jelly is 5 carbs. She wants to have pringles...they are 12 carbs. A pickle pack is 0 carbs. She is having water with sugar free add in and one cookie for dessert...it is 15 carbs. So add all those together....59 carbs. Her insulin coverage for lunch is 1 unit for every 12 carbs. So divide 59 by 12 and you get 4.916. She checks her sugar for lunch at about 11:37 (** When the nurse checks her sugar at lunch it is 188. So to figure her correction you have to take her current blood sugar and subtract 130, then divide by 40) So 188 - 130= 58.....divide 58 by 40 and you get 1.45 for correction. Add that to her meal coverage of 4.916 and you get 6.366... Since her sugar was a litte high at lunch I will round that up to 6.5 units of insulin.Now I have to pack her snack. To avoid having to get a shot at school for snack, Kaci usually takes a FREE snack. This means a food that contains no carbs: pickles, cheese, pepperoni, ham, or sugar free jello. Today I pack pickles. When she takes her blood sugar at 9:55, if it is above 129 she must eat her FREE snack. If it is above 130- she can eat her carb snack and her FREE snack. Today I will pack 3 carbs of crackers...Much more than that will require a shot. For 6 carbs she gets to have 3 Ritz crackers. When she checks her blood sugar today at snack it was 201. She eats the FREE snack.

When she comes home from school she is hungry. We check her blood sugar at 3:00 and it is 110- We pop a bag of popcorn and add a few M&M's for fun! The popcorn is 17 carbs and the M&M's are about 7 ....Add those together and her total carbs for snack are 24. At snack her insulin to carb ratio is 1 unit for every 15 carbs. Her blood sugar was 110, so there is no correction. I divide 24 by 15 and get 1.6. I will round that to 2 units for snack.

I start cooking dinner and Kaci comes to me and says her legs feel shaky. This usally means that her sugar is below 70 (darn you- you low number)and she needs sugar to raise her to a safer level.We check her sugar and it is 64. Guess I should have rounded down the insulin at snack. OOPS! She is excited to get to drink a juice box to raise her sugar to a safer level. It is 7 carbs and should do the trick. We wait 15 minutes and recheck with another finger poke. Her blood sugar went up to 164. That did the trick! Ok numbers....I am liking you a little more now.

Dinner is ready in the next 20 minutes- so we don't take her sugar again. We just use the last reading. For dinner we are having fettuccine, peas and butter bread. I boil her noodles separate because the box gives me the carbs for 56 grams of uncooked pasta. I weigh them on the food scale and they are 42 carbs. Add the sauce- and I make my best guess and say it is about 8 carbs. Bread with butter is 10 carbs. Peas are about 6 carbs. Add this all together and this meal is 60 carbs. Dinner ratio is 1 unit of insulin for every 10 carbs. So this one is easy....no correction since she was low before dinner, so I divide 60 by 10 and she gets 6 units of insulin. We usually do her shot as soon as she is done eating (just to make sure she eats everything or doesn't want more...since that will change her carbs up or down) but pasta and pizza take longer to digest. So, we wait about 30 or 40 minutes after she finishes to give her the shot.

Getting close to bed and her sugar must be above 120. We check it at 8:00 and it is 110. She needs some carbs to raise her sugar. She has a sugar free ice cream bar that is 13 carbs and 1/2 a cup of milk that is 5. We don't give her a shot for this snack, because we are trying to raise her sugar- but we still have to give her her night shot. It is called Lantus and it is her long lasting shot. It lasts for 24 hours along with her meal coverage shots. She takes 18 units. We check her sugar again at 9, just to make sure it has raised above 120 and discover that even after eating 18 carbs her blood sugar has only raised to 111. Sure that the food will continue to cause a rise in her blood sugar we send her to bed and set the alarm to check her at 2 a.m.

2 a.m. rolls around and the alarm goes off. I check her and she is 88. We have now poked her finger 10 times and she has taken5 shots .With 4 and 1/2 hours more of sleep- I fear if I don't have her eat or drink something she will continue to drop and go below 70 (this is when she needs fast acting sugar) So, I decide to wake her and have her eat 3 vanilla wafers, they are 2 carbs a piece and a 1/2 cup of milk....it is 5 carbs. That is a total of 11 carbs....again with no shot....as I am trying to raise her sugar. This is when I hate you the most numbers....when you are low in the night hours. Why can't you just stay above 120 all night- EVERY night!?

When the alarm goes off at 6 a.m. I rush to her room to wake her for the day - and of course, check her blood sugar. The meter beeps and it is 112......

And the day begins again.....

Good morning, Numbers.....

Sincerely,

Andrea Borchgardt

"Enjoy the little things, for one day you make look back and realize they were the big things.” ~Robert Brault

Over the last few weeks at Kaci and Bailey's school - the art teachers have been working hard to get each child's artwork on display in the hallways before the Community Fest. I love this time of year. It is really fun to walk to halls and see all of the creative pieces hanging everywhere you look! So much talent!

Over the last few days we have looked and looked and LOOKED for Kaci and Bailey's artwork and have not been able to find it. Every morning- Bailey insists that we look some more!

Finally, I decided to email the art teacher, Mrs. Wing, to ask her if - in fact- each child's artwork was displayed. I wanted her to know that I was not upset if Kaci and Bailey's artwork was not displayed (as there are over 800 students in the school) I just wanted to know if we could stop looking! LOL!

How sweet was she to not only email me back stating that, " EVERYONE is in the show!" but to include these pictures of Kaci and Bailey's artwork- in case they were taken down before I could get up to the school to see them for myself!? AMAZING!


Their art is displayed in the glass cases near the cafeteria- and we had never made it down that far to look. I just love them both! The chocolate cupcake is so precious and looks good enough to eat. Kaci's Japanese branches are beautiful too! I would love to see them behind black frames in our hallway here at home.


I believe life is in the details. Small gestures can often mean so much more than one grand display of love. Simple pleasures throughout the day can be far more gratifying that one amazing weekend....so Mrs. Wing....Thank you!



Thank you for taking the time to take these pictures and email them to me at home. Sometimes it is the little things that really mean the most.

DBlog Day 1: Admiring our differences

This year I have decided to take part in the 2nd Annual Diabetes Blog Week. It was created by Karen Graffeo at www.bittersweetdiabetes.com . The idea is- each day everyone who joins writes about a predetermined topic that has to do with diabetes. Day 1's topic is, " Admiring Our Differences." Today we should write about the many different perspectives in the DOC (Diabetic Online Community)

Well, I have just recently ventured out and started reading some of the blogs in the DOC. I must say it is refreshing to read about other families like ours. Families who live by numbers. Families who live by highs and lows- and never leave home without a bag of medical supplies and snacks. Families who know that Type 1 Diabetes is so much more than most of the world understands! It is unpredictable - the part I hate about it the most.

I enjoy reading about children (like my daughter) who are young, brave and heroic. Who are tough in spirit, body and mind! I also enjoy reading the blogs of the children who have grown up and are now adults dealing with this disease. I love reading about how it has shaped them into the adults they are- but does not define them. They are not just diabetics- but more importantly- they are mothers, fathers, doctors, teachers, speakers, husbands, wives, college graduates, etc.

I love this world of BLOGGING!

We love Mr. Ray!!!

If you shop at the H.E.B. off of 1431 and Parmer- there is a good chance you know Mr. Ray! He is the sweetest, most kind man I know. He is sacker and helps with carry out. He is always wearing his brown sun hat and his best smile! He refuses to let you carry out your own groceries, insists that you put the kids in the car and start the air (or heat) to cool (or warm) them up, and always gives me a hug goodbye! He will refuse every *tip* I offer to give him- insisting that it is his job to help and he already gets a paycheck. I have filled out more compliment cards on Mr. Ray than I can count.

We have known Mr. Ray since Bailey was about 3 years old. I have always called him Mr. Ray. Bailey used to call him the "H.E.B. Cowboy" when he was younger. So cute! Now- he and Kaci both call him Mr. Ray!


Well, I haven't seen Mr. Ray in a while. Mostly- I thought- because I haven't been doing my shopping in the morning. Mr. Ray works the morning shift and is usually gone by 1 or 2. A few days ago - I ran in to H.E.B. to grab a few things and saw a sign at the door that read ;

" We are making a scrapbook for Mr. Ray. Please bring your 12 x 12 decorated page to Ashley at the Service Desk no later than May 27th"

I thought 2 things......Mr. Ray is retiring or Mr. Ray is sick. I was hoping for neither, but really didn't want to hear that Mr. Ray was sick.

When I checked out I asked the girl at the counter if he was OK. She said that he was, but that he has had surgery. She said he was dying to get back to work, but had to wait for the doctor to say it was OK. She didn't say what kind of surgery- so I didn't pry. I was just glad to hear that he was OK and would be returning soon. Kaci and I went that afternoon to Michaels to buy what we needed to make our scrapbook page.



I had a big grocery list and some free time this morning, so I headed up to H.E.B. I was ready to turn in my scrapbook page too~ It had turned out cute and simple. Kaci had picked out a "Woody" sticker to put on the page. If you know Mr. Ray- he looks a little like Woody. He is tall and thin and his hat is very similar. He has a few years on Woody- but I am sure he was just as handsome in his younger days! As I was walking in the door- I hear, " Well, good morning!" When I turned around....I couldn't believe it was MR. RAY!!! So excited to see him sweeping under the plants outside I ran up to him and gave him a big hug (while successfully hiding his scrapbook page) I told him how much we had missed him and that I was so glad that he was back! He said he was glad to be back to and had his wonderful smile on!! I went straight to the Service Desk and turned my page in. I told the girl how much we loved Mr. Ray and she said there are so many people who do. Turns out Mr. Ray had a triple by-pass surgery!! WOW! I was amazed! He had been out of work for about 2 months and has been put back on light duty and is only working 6 hours a day (doesn't sound very light to me) So glad that he is back and healthy! If you know Mr. Ray- please take the time to make him a 12 x 12 scrapbook page by May 27th and turn it in to Ashley at the Service Desk! He so deserves this special treat!

Student lead conference

A mirror.....

HOW GOD SELECTS THE MOTHER OF A CHILD WITH DIABETES
by Erma Bombeck

Most women become mothers by accident, some by choice, a few by social pressures and a couple by habit. Did you ever wonder how mothers of children with diabetes are chosen?

Somehow I visualize God hovering over earth selecting his instruments for propagation with great care and deliberation. As he observes, he instructs his angels to make notes in a giant ledger."Armstrong, Beth, son. Patron Saint Matthew.""Forrest, Marjorie, daughter, Patron Saint Cecilia.""Rutledge, Carrie, twins. Patron Saint Gerard."

Finally, He passes a name to an angel and smiles, "Give her a child with diabetes."

The angel is curious. "Why this one, God? She's so happy."

"Exactly", smiles God. "Could I give child with diabetes to a mother who does not know laughter? That would be cruel"."

But has she the patience?" asks the angel.

"I don't want her to have too much patience, or she will drown in a sea of self-pity and despair. Once the shock and resentment wear off, she'll handle it. I watched her today. She has that feeling of self and independence that is so rare and so necessary in a mother. You see, the child I am going to give her has her own world. She has to make it live in her world and that's not going to be easy."

"But, Lord, I don't think she even believes in you."God smiles. "No matter. I can fix that. This one is perfect. She has just enough selfishness."

The angel gasps. "Selfishness? Is that a virtue?"

God nods. "If she cannot separate herself from the child occasionally, she will never survive. Yes, here is a woman whom I will bless with less than perfect.""She does not realize it yet, but she is to be envied. I will permit her to see clearly the things I see .... ignorance, cruelty, prejudice ... and allow her to rise above them. She will never be alone. I will be at her side every minute of every day of her life because she is doing my work as surely as if she is here by my side."

"And what about her patron saint?" asks the angel, his pen poised in mid air. God smiles. "A mirror will suffice."