Hello there!

Ummm, yeah. I have all but abandoned this blog but I'm here with a refreshed commitment to document and share our anything but boring lives with Type 1!

We survived another summer with Type 1 including a two week trip to California to visit my parents. Air travel is always a little tricky because of the TSA security regulations. On the way out to Cali, I did my normal routine of pointing out that Ty was wearing an insulin pump and again they were boggled and pulled him aside for the embarrassing secondary security check.  On the way home I tried an experiment and did not say a word about his pump and guess what? He walked right thru security with no issues at all like the rest of us.  From now on I am adopting the "don't ask, don't tell" policy. Until the TSA agents are trained with some basic Insulin Pump knowledge and sensitivity, I will not voluntarily point it out to them. We have had agents who were rude and ignorant, and looked at me as if I said that my kid had an explosive device attached to his hip rather than a device that provides life saving insulin. If they notice and question it I will be more than happy to explain.

Other than that it was smooth sailing. I even remembered to change his pump right away to California time, having the time just two hours off can create crazy highs or lows since he has several different basal rates over the course of 24 hours.

Now that summer is over, it is on to our next adventure- Junior High! Check back for a post on how we are navigating a new school, new schedule and adolescence...

Disneyland With Diabetes



Goofy Kid!



We are just home from a wonderful spring break trip to California. We spent some time with family then four days at the Happiest Place on Earth- Disneyland! We are Disneyland veterans, this was our fifth trip as a family of four, and I have lost count of how many total times I have been there. I love it- it truly is my happy place.

Getting there is the hardest part of the trip- we carry on all of our diabetes supplies on the plane. My biggest fear is that we have the supplies in our checked luggage and the luggage gets lost! I pack enough site changes to change the site every day when we are gone, plus a couple extra. I have NEVER needed that many, but better safe than sorry! We have good luck with airport security, I just tell them when we get to the front of the line that our bag has diabeticc supplies and that Tyler is wearing an insulin pump, and usually they wave us through. Once in San Francisco they pulled Tyler aside and wiped his pump down with a special wipe then tested it for bomb residue. I was irritated, but Tyler thought it was pretty cool!



Testing on the plane



A trip to Disney can be tricky with a Type 1 kid, but we have learned enough along the way that it has become a piece of cake for us. Our #1 rule- Tyler wears a hip pack with Juice, Glucose Tabs, a tester and a card with our contact info in it at all times. If for any reason he is lost or separated from us, he will at least have his low supplies until we are reunited. We tend to pack lightly for a day at the park- I keep glucose tabs and insulin and syringes with me just in case- we figure that if a pump site goes bad, we can always run back to the hotel and change it there. The few times I brought site changes and overloaded on low supplies, I learned that it was overkill- I was carrying around tons of stuff we did not end up needing. I am comfortable with the basics now, since we stay at a hotel 10 minutes away from the park.

Testing in line

We have found that even with all the extra junk food we are eating ( churros, candy, ice cream, popcorn ) his blood sugars tend to be on the lower side because of all the activity, so we tend to test BGs often, and err on the low side when trying to calculate the carbs of all the junk. It is better to correct a bit later than have a huge low crash in the middle of a crowded and hot amusement park. For meals, we use our iphones and http://www.calorieking.com/ to find carb counts of almost anything we eat while at the park. 

Just like everything else, things are a little trickier with Type 1 along for the trip but the important thing to know is that like everything else, it can be done and does not have to put a damper on the fun things in life. Be prepared and roll with it!

Stuff

Sometimes I feel overwhelmed with the sheer amount of STUFF that we have and require to treat Tylers Type 1. Insulin, Test Strips, meters, syringes, cartriges, infusion sets, low supplies, and on and on and on. For the most part we put it all in bins and have a spot in the closet where it is kept. I am usually on top of it but don't really have a great system to keep track of when we have on hand and what we need to reorder.

We spend a fair amount of money on Type 1 stuff, co-pays, prescriptions and out of pocket expenses.  While at the pharmacy last week picking up test strips I noticed that a box of 100 strips cost about $100.00 over the counter. WHAT? That is $1.00 per test- we test on average 8 times per day. And that's just test strips, not insulin, and all the accessories that needed to administer that insulin. Holy Moly. Thank goodness that we have insurance for all this stuff- that I would prefer not to have in the first place. I can't imagine how people get by that can't afford their stuff- diabetes is not cheap even with insurance coverage. Another reason we need a cure for Type 1!

He's getting it!

Tonight Tyler was making his lunch for school tomorrow. He had opened a new bag of cookies and destroyed the packaging in the process. All by himself he put the cookies into a large ziplock bag and wrote the carbs on the bag! He even did the math and wrote the # of carbs per cookie instead of what the bag said- serving size 3 cookies total carbs per serving 21.

I was so surprised when I saw what he had done. I have been talking to him about carb counting and encouraging him to count his own carbs for meals now that he has the math skills to do it. It's nice to see that the habits that I have are starting to rub off on him. It's a proud Mom moment, my boy is growing up!

Real Life Memories

I just came across this picture from last years vacation to Disneyland. I love this shot of Tyler , it captures his sweetness perfectly. I also like that you can see his pump and hip pack of diabetes supplies, it's such a real example of what his life entails. When we go somewhere like Disneyland, I make sure that Tyler has his own supplies on his body at all times. I carry stuff in my bag, but what if he got separated from us? It is a scary thought but it happens, and he needs to be in the habit of having what he needs with him just in case. He is getting to the age that he won't always have Mom or Dad with him. The more independant he is, the safer he is. I found that a hip pack with juices, glucose tabs and our contact information inside works great, and provides much needed peace of mind.

 My dream is that when he's an adult he will look at this picture and say "When I was a kid I had to wear an insulin pump and carry juice boxes everywhere I went, because I HAD Type 1 diabetes." Wouldn't that be amazing? Hope is a powerful thing. We'll never give up hoping for a cure.

Featured D- Mom!

Today I am the Featured D-Mom over on the D-Mom blog! Leighann has a great blog about parenting Type 1 kids where she features other Moms with Type 1 kiddos. I am very happy to be her latest featured D-mom -go check it out HERE!

Some days.

Some are just more frustrating than others. Most of the times we sail right through our days poking fingers, pumping insulin and counting carbs. No biggie, its what we do. Other days it all gets to be too much.  Days when you've been up all night checking BG's every two hours because somethings off and god forbid you go to bed and the unthinkable happens. Days when you decide to be proactive and want a little advice from your endocrinologist but they can't help you because the computers down. Days when you fight with the insurance company to get the best care possible for your child and get shot down.  Days when your kid complains about having to do a BG check or a site change, and it strikes you that this is it- until there's a cure for this awful disease, this is my kids life. Always and forever.

Tomorrow I will get up and do it all the best I can, I may even joke about it and have a positive attitude. I know there are worse things, that there are kids who won't get off so easily, who have diseases that they can't manage and parents that won't get to see their kids grow up. That is so much worse and gives me perspective on how lucky we are. We are able to manage diabetes ( though most of the time it seems like it manages us. ) We have good insurance and have access to great doctors and the best treatments. That is all wonderful but some days you want to stomp your feet and scream "IT'S NOT FAIR! " the way you did when you were 6. People compliment me all the time on my positive attitude and openness when it comes to Tyler's Type 1, because most of the time I am positive and open. But today is one of those days, and every once in a while you just gotta let it out.