DKA Intercepted

It doesn't happen often, but we finally had a reason to pull out the couch bed in the office! Not one, but TWO of Mr. Rose's oldest and dearest friends came to visit for a few days. It's been awesome to have them here. You'd never know that ten years had passed so fast with the way they  were able to pick up right where they left off.

Anyhoo, while the boys were out the other night, those Rose Girls could hardly wait to climb into that couch bed and watch a movie.  Dex's accuracy had been spot on all day, but the distance between the office in the front of the house and our bedroom in the back of the house proved to be too much for its range.  Reluctantly I knew this meant that I'd have to leave it in the front room with her.

I snapped this picture when I tiptoed in to check her blood sugar around 2:30 am.  

I know!!!

How. cute. are. they?!?!? 

As I was standing there with my heart melting all over their adorableness, I heard it. The familiar BUZZ BUZZ of Dexcom calling.

It was faint.  

Muffled.

BUZZ BUZZ

To look at them, you might never know the raging battle which lurked beneath those blankets. 

I looked around, and found that Dex had slipped down, between a pillow and a couch cushion. With the alerts only being programmed to vibrate, I probably wouldn't have heard it had I not been standing right there...

How was this possible?  Aside from a brief spike over 200, and a quick dip to the 60's just before dinner, her numbers had been awesome. What happened?!?!?!? What in the WORLD happened between the time I tested her (140 mg/dl) on the way to bed at 11:30 pm, and 3 hours later, at 2:30 am?????

Fingerstick 566 mg/dl.

Woah.

I was flabbergasted.  There she was...sleeping so peacefully...yet clearly on her way to DKA. DKA nearly claimed her life in 2005. DKA continues to claim the lives of people with Type 1 Diabetes every day. DKA scares me just as much as Dead in Bed Syndrome.

I woke my sleeping girl to tell her we needed to change her pump site.

"I'm so thirsty, Mama."

Oh, my sweet child.  As her tired voice cracked, my heart felt heavy that she should feel any of this disaster at all. 

I went through the motions, opened a new vial of insulin, and changed out her site. I put her in bed with me, set my alarm to poke her finger again a couple hours later, and refused to fall back asleep until I saw the arrow begin to trend downwards.

She landed gently by sunrise.

But that's not where this story ends.

Actually, this is where it begins...

When my alarm started blaring (again), and I knew we had to get up. I jostled her a bit, and told her she needed to get dressed. She sat up, moaning about being exhausted while I shuffled myself to the office to get the other two moving.

It was Saturday morning, and a cross country meet awaited us.

I have no idea what it feels like to wake up after a night like that, let alone what it feels like to put on your sneakers and start running after a night like that...but she did it.  

And she did it with a smile.

{PS - Check out that Dexcom G4 case from Tallygear! She LOVES it!) 

I stood along the sidelines, watching as my girls approached the finish line, and couldn't help but to marvel at them. They cheered for each other, helped tie each other's shoes, and made sure everyone had enough water. Their energy, their smiles, their determination...my heart was completely inspired by each of them individually, and as a team of sisters.

The Mermaid Series 5k/10k/Half Marathon was going on simultaneously, and we heard an announcement for the "Mini Mermaid 1.5 mile" just as we were getting ready to head home.

Yup.

Oops they did it again.

Because why not decide to push yourself to run the furthest one-day cumulative total you've ever run in your entire life after a restless night's sleep due to a dangerously high blood sugar?

PS...Incidentally, Tiara took 1st place for her age group!!  Hence her sign -- "1st Plase"!

I wasn't prepared for that.

Bright and early Monday morning, the sun was shining and our house was buzzing with excitement.

It was the FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL!

Picking out the outfits, packing the lunches, filling the backpacks with supplies....

Sugar entered the 2nd Grade and Tiara started Kindergarten!

Jay went in late to work, and we walked to school as a family.

I didn't think much of it.  I've done the first day of school before.  No biggie.

We got everyone to their drop off destinations, gave some hugs and kisses, waved good-bye, and went about our day.

And then it hit me.

The emotions of sending your little girl to her first day of Kindergarten.  Everything else about the morning felt so routine, but this emotional tug at my heart felt very uncharted.  As I walked away from the school, holding Tink's hand, I realized it would be just the 2 of us.  She's growing up, and we've started a new phase of Tiara's life journey.

When I dropped Sugar off on the first day of Kindergarten, I didn't have much time to process the emotions of what that meant.  I was too overwhelmed with blood sugars, and the school nurse, and making sure there was a Plan A, B, and C for every possible diabetes scenario.  I was anxious and checked the phone every 5 minutes to make sure the line was working.  I watched the clock and worried about how school would be affecting her blood sugars, feared she'd go low, and prayed she'd eat all her lunch.

It was different.  It was still a glorious milestone...but it was different.

I glanced back at the playground, and thought about my strong-willed daughter who would play there at recess.  Tiara has always been a presented a little "extra challenge" for me, as her mother.  She's sweet, loving, caring, and helpful...but she'll become defiant and sassy in the blink of an eye.  Her tantrums were always the worst of everyone's.  When her mind is made up about something, there's no changing it.  Period.

No doubt, these characteristics will serve her well one day.

But underneath that exterior, she's the baby I was carrying when Sugar was diagnosed. Immediately after her birth, I tucked her in a sling, and packed my house to prepare for a move across country.  In between nursing sessions, I touched up paint while wearing her strapped to my chest, after Mr. Rose left to start his new job and find a home for us in AZ.

She learned how to check her older sisters blood sugar when she was 3.  She potty trained her younger sister.  She folds her own laundry.

The Potty Training Make Over by Tiara

She's my middle child, and she's a firecracker.

Yes, I knew this day was coming.

But I wasn't prepared for the "normalcy" of kissing her good-bye.

So this is how it feels to send a child off to school without the haze of worry that comes with a chronic life-threatening disease.  This is how it feels not to worry about the powerful hormone that is attached to her constantly.  This is how it feels to pack a lunch without a note attached that lists the carb amount of each item.  This is how it feels to pack her back pack with school supplies...not school supplies plus juice boxes, snacks, test strips, a blood sugar meter, and everything else diabetes requires.  This is how it feels not to worry that a birthday party will pop up, and gluten will be everywhere.

Yes.  This is how it feels.

And, yes, my heart was sad for a minute.

But then I grew excited for the journey ahead.  Sisters passing each other in the hallway. Sisters sharing stories about their school day. Sisters at school.

Looks like I have some very special moments to savor with Tink, before they're gone next year.