THE STORY OF ONE FAMILY'S JOURNEY WITH TYPE 1 DIABETES AND CELIAC DISEASE.
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Saturday, August 6, 2011

The Day Mama's Ice Cream Melted

Sometimes I'm not exactly sure where my days start and when they end.

For example...last night my shift ended at midnight.  Then there was at least 1 child who woke me twice, plus a sugar check to keep tabs on a midnight correction.

So...did my day end at midnight and begin with the first sleep interruption?  Or was that just a continuation of the previous day...until dawn?

I never know.

So, we'll start just start there.

Dawn.

Up and at 'em for an endo appointment at 9 am.  We were being seen a month early after her last A1c showed a significant elevation coupled with a little weight loss.

The good news:  A1c is down and she gained 3 pounds.

The other news:  Her annual labs revealed a positive thyroid antibody.  Meaning that hypothyroidism has now become a very real threat.  Antibody presence suggests that there is autoimmune thyroid involvement. 

An autoimmune triple crown?

Taking it all in stride, my friends.

A pretty normal afternoon followed:  Sprouts to restock some GF essentials, 504 stuff (ehum...STILL waiting for the meeting date/time that was supposed to be schedule last week - school starts on the 15th), a million-page camp application (hoping to secure a slot to send Sugar to a *FREE* weekend diabetes camp this fall.  She's never been to camp before, because she wasn't old enough...pray we get in!).

Blood sugars dipped to the 50's twice.

And then it was time to work again.

Now Mr. Rose wasn't here, so I was on my own to deal with the kiddos, and manage my shift.  Sometimes that's okay, but Friday nights are either easy-going or horrible.  There's no middle ground.

At 8:30, I had 15 calls waiting - estimated wait time for a call back was over an hour - my screen included an asthma unresponsive to 4 treatments (ER!), a head injury with very concerning symptoms (ER!), a new onset seizure (ER!), and a lower abdominal pain for 4 hours that had worsened significantly (ER!) - I needed to speak to a doctor on call who insisted he wasn't on call and his partner insisted that she wasn't on call - the girls were arguing over TV shows - Tink was crying because she wants to be a jaguar (? yes, I know ?) - the mother I had just called didn't speak English...


AND

NOW MY DIABETIC CHILD IS LAYING ON THE KITCHEN FLOOR COMPLETELY OUT OF IT, THANKS TO ANOTHER BLOOD SUGAR IN THE 50'S.

So, I'm on the floor holding the juice box in one hand, the phone in the other (waiting for a doctor who may or may not be on call to call me back) when the phone rings...

"WHY ARE YOU CALLING ME?  I TOLD YOU I AM NOT ON CALL!!!"

"Mommy the juice isn't going to help."

"I really, really wish I was a jaguar."

Beep.  Beep.  Ah...the interpreting service calling me back because her phone kept dying.

So what's a mother to do in such a situation?

Scoop herself out a little bowl, then give them the last of the tub of ice cream, three spoons, and send them to the back room.

Duh.

Eventually the madness stopped.

I mean...it always does, right?

So what if I didn't finish my shift until 2 hours after the fact, and my children have chocolate faces with ice cream in their hair.

Next up:  The ice cream aftermath, which meant a correction at 11 pm....which meant a recheck around 1 or 2 am.  (Has this day ended yet?)

And then...it was time to chill out.  I took my melted bowl of ice cream (oh, yes I did), poured a glass of wine and decided to veg for half an hour in front of the TV to wind down so I could fall asleep.


So much for that plan.

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12 comments:

  1. What a night! I'm exhausted just reading about it.

    I'm sorry to hear about the thyroid issue. Andrew had a soft spot on his thyroid found at his last appointment. So far, the bloodwork is stable, but that could change at anytime.

    Hopefully today will be a better day !!!! Sending HUGS!

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  2. Sorry to hear about the thyroid. Cam's had an enlarged thyroid for over a year now. Last year's labs came back normal but I feel like we're just waiting for the news.
    I'm even more sorry to hear about the day you had!! xoxo

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  3. Huge (((((hugs)))) sorry about the thyroid results. Saying prayers for you. Please keep us posted.

    Tink? Jaguar? LOVE her.

    Sorry you had such a rough night! I wouldn't blame you if you just got in the car and drove somewhere! I hear Vegas is pretty cool ;)

    Love you, it will be ok, I promise! xoxo

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  4. Oh my. I never know where my day begins either, but that is CRAZY!

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  5. Wow! That WAS quite a day. Glad it's over for ya! Do you have anyone nearby you can call for help?

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  6. Oh my, Wendy! Where to begin?!?
    Yuck on the thyroid. Yuck on the 50s. Yuck on PITA doctors. Yuck on the melted ice cream...just my opinion! YEAH for wine! Yuck on snowy TV!!
    Oh, and I so hear you on the jaguar thing...I find myself in the most ridiculous 'battles' with Bug these days...like arguing that the siren she heard was a firetruck when the police car went right past us!
    Hoping for a better day that has a start and an end!! :)

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  7. I've had Hashimoto's Disease (positive thyroid antibodies) for nearly five years with a slightly enlarged thyroid. So far, all labs have been normal, but like you said, that could change at any time. Amazingly, that's what got me to an endocrinologist in the first place...

    Honestly, though, positive thyroid antibodies does not a thyroid problem make-she could develop hypothyroidism within a year or ten years or never at all-there's no way to tell, but the key is to not worry about it, especially because there's nothing you can do!

    And so sorry to hear about the rough night! Hope it only gets better from here on in!!

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  8. So sorry to hear about the thyroid results, hope nothing progresses and she has stellar news at her next visit. I just had mine tested due to some weirdo symptoms (I'm probably just getting old), feels like we are always waiting for the darn shoe to drop.

    Oh my, you deserve SO much more than melted ice cream and wine for that night!!! Big ((hugs)) and prayers going out to you!

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  9. oh my Wendy!! That is a whole lotta craziness going on at once...you are a rockstar. I'm sorry to hear about the thyroid problem and I hope all turns out ok. HUGE hugs sent your way and I hope that the rest of your weekend was boring and quiet...:o)

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  10. Wendy, I hope you at least enjoyed the ice cream "soup" and glass of wine! And...what's so wrong with aspiring to be a jaguar??? Lol!

    Praying for Sugar that the thyroid turns out to be nothing.

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  11. Oh my gosh (secretly happy that other people's worlds look like mine)! I am so sorry, I really DO sympathize. I'm glad you were thinking on your feet with the ice cream. And mean doctors-so who WAS on call? Ahhh!!
    Hope this weekend is restful for you, and you can arm yourself for the next shift. : ) Rewards for quiet behavior? New play-doh? New dress up jewelry? Praying you think of something! : )

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  12. My husband and I read your post and just laughed. We live your exact life. It's kind of stinky sometimes huh? I'm glad to see that we really are not alone. We have been dealing with children with diabetes for 7 years now, but just last Sunday found out that our youngest daughter has diabetes. We now have 3 children under the age of 11 with diabetes. Between the 3 of them and 1 non diabetic needing extra attention now, I find I am exhausted with absolutely no sleep at night. I'm glad to see I am not alone. I think it's time I start reaching out to find some more friends I can really relate to. Thanks for the post.

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While I'm happy to share our experiences with what works, and what doesn't work, for the management of Type 1 Diabetes and Celiac Disease in our house, please do not mistake anything you read here for medical advice. Decisions regarding your/your child's health care should be made only with the assistance of your medical care team. Use any information from this blog at your own risk.