Sunday, April 25, 2010

Diabetes, if you wanna rock, I'm ready to roll...

I wanted to do a quick little update so those of you who know what is going on don't have to worry unnecessarily. I don't like my peeps to worry. ;)

If you follow Wendy's facebook page, you know last night we ended up taking Syd to the hospital per recommendation of our CDE. So, here is a little update for all of you who have been worried.

Like I mentioned in the post before this, her numbers have been crazy. They are low. They stay low. They don't respond normally to carbs. She wasn't getting insulin w/ her food. Her basals were at 20% of the normal...so if you don't know T1 lingo...that means she was not getting much insulin at all. Her numbers were still hovering in the 40-60s range. It was so bizarre. It was also scary because she had stopped recognizing her lows. If your child is old enough to know what this feels like, and then all the sudden they can't, it's nerve racking. It means they are getting desensitized to what a low feels like. Lows, especially prolonged lows, can cause seizures. Coma. Death. It is very serious and that's why it was making us so nervous.

I took her to the hospital where they had us disconnect her pump completely. They gave her carbs. They were going to watch her. I was a little annoyed at this though because, as I told the nurse, I can do THAT at home and not get charged for it. But they also wanted to do some blood work. The on call pediatrician called Sydney's pedi endo and he gave us a game plan to get through the night. We pulled her off the pump. We are back on injections for the time being. However, no insulin w/ her food. Only correct, via injection, when she is high. He also didn't put us on a long acting insulin like Lantus.

I told Sydney that we were going on shots for a bit (I don't know if that means 1 day, a week, or what) and she said, "Mom I think that's a good idea. I'm just really tired of being low all the time." Syd has been worn out. Lacking energy. Glucose is an integral part of the body. Everyone needs it. When you run low for so long, your body gets tired--it has no fuel. Try running your car w/out gasoline and see what happens. That's what happens in the body. Sydney has been good with the shots. She was awesome with the blood draw. She didn't move a muscle. I think those are harder on me than her. I looked in her glucometer to check her averages. They have all dropped dramatically. Her 30 day ave b.s. is 145. Her 7 day is 120. And, considering we have been checking her at least 15 times a day...I would say the 7 day one is pretty accurate. The past 4 days have been the worst as far as her staying under 70 pretty consistently. They are wondering if maybe there is something else going on in her body that's causing such an unusual reaction. So they are checking her thyroid and adrenal glands and some other things. But those results won't be back for a while.

Several people have asked how I'm doing. I'm ok. I try to keep that positive outlook. Sometimes it's hard. Sometimes reality slaps me across the face and I realize this isn't going away. T1 never goes away. It is always there, waiting to throw some unexpected barrier in our path. It's exhausting both mentally and physically. But, I have a great support system. We have felt so loved w/ the outpouring of texts. Emails. Facebook messages. Phone calls. It's been awesome.

I try to use my blog to be a buoy for others. I hope it accomplishes that. I hope that, despite the hell diabetes puts us through from time to time, we can all lean on each other and keep standing strong. It takes courage to face a beast like this day after day. One of my favorite quotes about courage says, "Courage does not always roar. Sometimes courage is a quiet voice at the end of the day saying, I will try again tomorrow." That's what we are doing...trying again tomorrow. Trying not to let the magnitude of everything pull us under. Trying. It's a powerful word. Thanks for the outpouring of thoughts and prayers. Cyber hugs to all of you from my sweet, little family.


--Syd in the wagon at discharge.

30 comments:

Misty said...

Hi Syd! I am glad that you are home. Guess what! We have the same pj's. I love them!
Love, Ally

Misty said...

Shamae, You are amazing! You are my hero for staying so strong at such a tough time. So glad to hear that Syd is home and hoping for better days..SOON! ((Hugs))

Becki said...

Such a trooper!! Both of you! Your positive outlook is truly an inspiration! I hope that things are up from here, in more ways than one!

Amy said...

LOTS of love to you all!! Everytime I rolled over last night, I thought little Syd...glad you came home and hoping that they figure something out REALLY soon. Praying for you guys!

Crystal S. said...

Poor thing! We are at the complete opposite end, Brenner has been sick for the last two weeks and we can't get his blood sugars down at all. It's becoming really nerve racking, I would give anything for a glucose average to be 145 (ha, ha). Hang in there chickie, we're thinking of you!

Meri said...

I hate that this happened. Your family has been in my thoughts and prayers. I know you are strong and capable of taking care of this...but don't be afraid to lean on others. Don't be afraid to let it out. We can take it. ;) I will continue to pray that Syd will be back to her old self very soon, playing and not worrying about constant lows. ((HUGS))

Love you guys!

Anonymous said...

Syd is very fortunate to have you two as parents. You do so well, and you do it all without really complaining.
You are teaching her to be okay with herself, just the way she is. You take the challenge and it becomes a part of rather than trying to wish it never was.

Thank you for doing everything in your power for her, and sacraficing so much of yourselves.
It's nice to know my granddaughter is in such capable hands!

We are always here!
I love you!
Mom

Jessica said...

Shamae, for what it's worth, your blog has been so helpful to me. Not just in that you say things I can relate to because I have a t1 kid too, but you have had some real nuggets that have stuck with me and inspired me in a bigger way than just making me feel like I'm not alone.
Great job with Syd. I'm glad you're home, and the game plan sounds like a good one. Hope you all get some relief.

Heidi / Jack's Pack said...

I have been thinking of you nonstop. So happy to hear you're home with a game plan. Keep us posted. We care. Hope today is a better day!!!

Penny said...

Oh I hope Syd is back to herself in no time. Lows are no fun at all. You did the right thing by taking her to the hospital. Better safe. You are in my thoughts and prayers for a solution to the lows.

Anonymous said...

Oh my goodness - what an ordeal! You both sound so strong despite it all. I hope this is resolved soon. My thoughts are with you.

Anonymous said...

Oh my goodness - what an ordeal! You both sound so strong despite it all. I hope this is resolved soon. My thoughts are with you.

phonelady said...

I hope things are better soon this is all so tiring for you I know .

Joanne said...

You guys have been in my prayers... Syd has crossed my mind a number of times over the last day or so. I hope you get this figured out soon and everybody can get some much needed rest.

Rachel said...

Hey Shamae. This is the Rachel that you grew up with. I hope that you don't mind but I came across your blog on one of my other friend's sites a while ago and I've been watching it a bit. You and your family are so often in my thoughts and prayers and I thought I'd let you know for once instead of just "lurking". If there is anything I can do for you, please let me know. I know that I don't have a child with T1 but dealing with the death of my daughter has taught me a lot about how to deal with unexpected things in our life and I'd love to be there for you. The Stringhams know how to find me. :)

Andersen Family said...

Sydney is such a sweet little girl! She has great parents! Hope you can get some answers soon.

Hallie Addington said...

I'm so sorry you've been dealing with this and that Sydney has been feeling bad. That just stinks! I hope and pray that things get back on track soon, that you ALL get some rest, and that numbers stabilize - not high- not but not LOW either!
(((hugs))) to you all!

Wendy said...

Love you girls and Im so glad you are home! You are such a great mom and a wonderful friend!

Jessica said...

Sid is such a brave girl...she gets it from her mommy! Hope it gets better! We are all moved in....not unpacked yet but doing good! Thanks for the little hello! We are thinking about you too!

Unknown said...

Sham,

I've been thinking of you guys all weekend. I am so glad Syd is home and that the bloodwork has been done. Please keep us up-to-date on what the end result of the testing is.

I LOVE your quote on courage. Thanks for sharing it.

LOVE YOU,

R

Crystall Young said...

Hope she gets better soon! Glad you guys are home now!

The Herrigs said...

Praying for you all...hang in there!

Nicole said...

WOW I just went on fb for the first time in like 2 weeks and I saw Wendy's update so I jump over here to take a quick read!! I'm sooo happy that Syd is back home and hope she is going to feel better really soon!!

The Lane Family said...

We continue to pray for all of you. Better number for Miss Sydney and strength and strength for you Shamae as her mom.

The quote on courage was awesome and certainly applies!!

Donna said...

What an ordeal you have been through - and what an impossibly brave and wonderful girl Miss Syd is!

I know this is something different, but when Jacob was first diagnossed he went into a wicked remission. He was actually totally insulin free for 7 days... which was great! We knew it wouldnt last, but it was still wonderful to be free of D for that time. Right before we took him completely off of the insulin, though we couldnt figure out why we couldnt get him above 70. It was very scary - and extremely stressfull, especially as we had only been at this for a couple of months at that point.

You guys are in my thoughts and prayers.

((((HUGS)))) and Love!

Jayson & Carrie said...

Loves...Loves....LOVES!!! Syd's my hero & so are you. Know you're in my prayers. loves...loves...and more loves... :)

Mel said...

GL Syd! You're one strong lil cookie!!

periwinkle4 said...

Hugs and prayers! You really are such an inspiration! Syd is awesome because she has an awesome family.

Stringham Family said...

You and your family are amazing! Such strong wonderful people! You are all such an amazing example to those of us who are lucky enough to know you! I hope and pray that things will change for Syd and that she will soon be back to more of a normal although I know that seems like a bit of an oxymoron as she has Type 1 and normal is not even possible for her! Love, hugs and prayers!

:) Tracie said...

Getting caught up on blog reading and I saw this.....OMGosh!

Good thing you guys are ironing this out. Glad to hear Syd is doing better! You too mom!

"Just keep swimming..."