It's hard to believe it's only been four weeks today since Kevin was diagnosed. So much has happened over the last month, and we have really done well with incorporating diabetes into our lives without making it the focal point of our lives. Last Friday we had two firsts. We used a babysitter, and a close friend gave him his injection. We scheduled the babysitter so that he'd have lunch and get his injection before we left. We were just around the corner, but it gave us a sense of liberation.
I know there are many trials ahead, but our first month has proved to me that this is entirely manageable! And with the support of Juvenation, there's always a resource where someone has gone through exactly what we're experiencing.
That's so great you got out of the house!!! I hope it can become a habit! (Says someone who never gets around to finding a babysitter and therefore never goes anywhere, lolol)
I hope it only gets easier for you as the weeks go on.
We're fortunate that we already had a college age babysitter who we trust. I am a firm believer that it's healthy and necessary for parents to have some time together without the kids, even if it is just a lunch date.
we have just completed our first year, filled with firsts. I remember when Ezekiel was first diagnosed and i spent a lot of time on some facebook groups and we were the newly diagnosed ones. what amazes me a year later is how many families we have come accross that have had a child diagnosed a lot more recently.
even last weekend we had a diabetes survivor party to celebrate our son's bravery and rising to the challenge of his type 1 diabetes. anyway, we had it a the super 8 where we were able to use the pool and waterslide and there were 2 other families in the pool that were hotel guests and not with our party and one of those had a son who was diagnosed this past september. it was actually kind of neat that they were there at the same time as us though since one of our other guests was a teen with type 1 and my husband is also type 1. it didn't sound like they really knew any other people dealing with type 1 so hopefully we were able to give them some encouragement.
it amazes me as it seems like yesterday that we were hit with news and i was so sure i would not be able to rise to the challenge and here we are on the other side of a year with a very different perspective.
Congrats on getting thru it! That's awesome! If it were 1921 we wouldn't be so lucky! I too feel especially lucky to have celebrated my son's 2nd birthday (with some low carb delicious cookies).
I do have 1 little comment and I'm definitely not trying to bring you down, just had a thought. You said that someone other than mom or dad gave the insulin. Something to think about.....did YOU calculate his bolus? and did you watch the dial get turned to the right number? The reason I ask is this: if you have several different people calculating & rounding and doing the dialing, it may actually develop trends that wouldn't be there if only 1 or 2 people did the calculations/rounding.
My husband and I round and calculate the exact same way. All I recommend is that you and your other injection person are on the exact same page with the math.
My son's not on a pump yet, so he's getting injections. When our friend gave him the injection, I did the calculation and drew up the insulin. She gave the shot. We've actually had the school nurse and my mother-in-law do the calculation, but they always call either me or my husband so we can review the calculation/dosage prior to the injection. This way we can ensure consistency.
Congratulatons Ann Marie - Four weeks seems like a lifetime when you go back and thing about what you have been thu since diagnosis.
My son is coming up to the one year mark - April 11. Its the one anniversary that you can't celebrate but it is a date you never forget.
I remember all the events, cold and flu, weekend camping trip (my son is 14), and just trying to get people to undestand its not the same as Type II.
Then when you feel you have the shots under control and things are proceeding in less than chaos you choose to switch to pumps which have their own learning curves. So you trade comfort for more uncertainly with the end result being better control if done right.
You will make mistakes - I made one today even though I have been to multiple classes, met with other T1 parents etc. Its going to happen. Every parent will tell you that.
Last week my son forgot his pump in the bathroom and went to school, one time he left it on the bus. We made it thru fine.
Today, he was to adjust his nighttime basal rate to .90 units per hour and he actually made it 9.0 units per hour. He dropped but we caught it because he knew what low felt like.
So we adjusted the pump so it will not allow any basal rate to go over 1.0 units per hour. I know this might all sound greek to you now but it won't be long until it does not. lol.
Your doing the right things and you have support and that is everything.
ONe note: After awile you will be so entwined with diabetes talk that you will be having a casual conversation with a family member or friend and you will mention how your child was a certain number and you might mention high or low - you will see a glassy look in their eyes and then you will realize they have no idea what the numbers mean. Give them a break and explain. LOL