Cat Knows?

Hello! My name is Miley and I live within the walls of the West household. I came to live with them on Christmas Eve 2007. Daddy West brought me home on his lap in a rough riding pick up truck, I was so scared! I was a scrawny little kitten and I barely fit in Momma West's hands. I was immediately greeted by some very excited children named Kayleigh & Kacey. They were so loving and kept picking me up. Over the last 11 months, I've been so loved and cared for. Momma West feeds me and gives me water. Daddy West is always chasing me off his side of the bed but I know he loves me. Kayleigh likes to rough play with me and I try to bite her but its really cuz I love her. But Kacey holds a special place with me. When I was just a kitten, I would get up in Kaceys dollhouse and watch her play. She never pushed me out. She would pet me and snuggle me...which I love! I'd purr and let her wrap me in a blanket and carry me like a baby. When Kacey got sick in July, I knew something was wrong but I couldnt talk to tell everyone she was so sick. When Kacey came home from the hospital, I didnt leave her side. I would go in and lay in her bed with her because I knew she felt bad. Every day she's been sick, I dont go very far from her. I watch over her and make sure I alert Momma West if something is wrong. One time I kept saying "Meow....meow...meowwwwww" until Momma West knew something was wrong and tested Kaceys sugar. It was high...and I knew it was....because Im smart! I think I know Kacey is getting sick before she even does! When she feels bad, I sit next to her and purr or I sit close to her and keep watch so no one bothers her. Shes so brave and we have fun playing together. I will always watch over her!

Unexplained Highs

High! Good Morning from a chilly (37 degrees F) Virginia!

OK...for 24 hours now Kacey hasnt had a reading under 200! We went nearly 2 weeks with readings in range and now we're back to fighting the highs! Diabetes SUCKS! *sad*

She woke up with a 204 and didn't want to eat because her tummy hurt and her head hurt *sad* She pulled the covers back up over her head and I knew she was gonna have a serious case of the "grumpies". I went and got the kit....sure enough...a reason to be grumpy! So... yesterday her readings were:

168 when she woke up and told me she felt bad

324 @ 9am

227 @ 12pm

262 @ 1pm and still complaining she felt bad

214 @ 5pm

331 @ 8pm

251 @ 10pm

209 @ 6:30am this morning

So...now what? Any idea what this means?

She still doesnt feel like going to school today. Since her castle project is due tomorrow, I told her we would take it to school and get her missed work from yesterday and today and then go back home. She started crying because she didn't even want to get out of bed *sad* I hate this! I hate the way this makes her feel! Go away Diabetes! We were doing so good for 2 weeks and now this...no reason for the high! Shes not eating anything different. The only sweet thing she had was the cupcake the day before yesterday and its been a steady rise in sugars since then. Surely a cupcake couldnt of stirred things back up....could it?

Any other advice other than water and rest?

We're still so new to all this! If I give her Humalog at a meal and 2 hours later shes still high...do we give more Humalog and risk a low or do we wait and give her more with her next meal? I'm guessing since we're still in the honeymoon that its a waiting game and you risk that serious low if you give too much. Grrrr! Ive never been good at mind games and this is definately like playing a game of checkers. The next move could wipe you out and take your king... or the next move could be victory with a jump. I guess I need to ask that question. We've just been told to give Humalog with each meal or anytime her snack is over 15 carbs....then give Lantus at night....thats it! Yesterday she ran so high she didnt even want a snack in between meals like she usually eats. She just kept saying her tummy hurt *sad*

I faxed blood sugar numbers to her doctor from the last week so they should be calling me within the next day or so. Maybe they have an explained reason for this?

Thanks for all your thoughts and prayers :)

~*~JILL~*~

Update

Well...Kacey must have known she was going to spike this morning and thats why she was feeling so bad. She hit a 324 at 8:30am!! I guess she really does know her body better than I thought she did! She did manage to eat some breakfast and shes back down to a 227 and its almost 1pm! She is getting ready to have some lunch so we'll see how the afternoon goes.

~*~JILL~*~

Diabetes....Please go back on vacation!

Dear Diabetes,

I am writing this letter to please ask you kindly to go back on vacation. We've had a really great 2 weeks since you decided to pack your bags and let Kacey's body settle into good numbers. We've been doing just fine managing life without you rearing your ugly head at us. You decided to come back yesterday after Kacey ate a cupcake at school to celebrate Brandon's birthday. Why Diabetes? Why did you come back and ruin the party? She was only helping her friend celebrate his birthday and you decided to come home...make her feel sick...and kept her blood sugars up all night. Now she's laying on the couch and not going to school today because YOU decided to come home from vacation. Thats not very nice, you know? We didn't want you to come back and we really wish you'd back your bags and permanently keep your nasty butt as far away as possible! Ive heard those islands down south are beautiful!

Thank you so much!

A Loving Mommy

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Yep...thats right...diabetes has reared its ugly head and after 2 weeks of amazing blood sugars, Kacey had a cupcake at school for a birthday party...which we bolused for...and her sugars stayed up all night and she woke up at a 168. She hasnt been in the 200's in almost 2 weeks! Shes still feeling sick at her stomach and shes got a headache...so shes laying on the couch with her blanket and Rufus. Looks like we wont be making it to school today *sad* I shoulda known that the good numbers would come to an end sooner or later....just wish it was later!! For now...its just rest!

~*~JILL~*~

Walk to a Cure (Warning: Long Post)

41 people came out to support our team!

Rufus wasn't too far away!

Kacey & Madison...Our Sweeties!

Whew...what a journey the last 3 months have been! When we first came home from the hospital, we knew we wanted to get involved and be a part of raising money to find a cure. Since we chose the team name 3 months ago, we have been working hard to get sponsors and having bakes sales.

This week was full of excitement, worry and stress....but I didn't let that get in the way of a beautiful day! We had the radio interview, the newspaper article, the shirt dilemma and in between all the things that needed to be done to get ready for today.

My day began at 5:30am. Beep! Beep! Beeeeeep! I rolled over and shut the alarm off and then pulled the covers back up til 5:45am. I sat up in bed and rubbed my eyes. I smiled and let out a small sigh...today was the BIG DAY! Today was the day that we were going to walk...holding our heads high....knowing that we gave 100% in raising money to find a cure for this terrible disease called...DIABETES. I quietly got out of bed...washed my face...brushed my teeth...got dressed...and turned the computer on. Last chance to check and see what we raised.....OMG! OMG! OMG! We made our goal! We had set the goal at $500 to start with...then we raised it to $1000... then we went up to $1300. I wasn't sure if we'd make that goal or not, but I was hopeful! I sat here and watched the little ticker move...stars popped...OMG! We were now at $1415! If you had asked me 3 months ago if we'd raise that I would of said... I doubt it! But there it was...the goal was met! I smiled and turned the computer off. I woke the girls up...Kays best friend arrived at 7:30am....we left the house at 7:45am....picked up Kays boyfriend by 8am....and we were on our way! As I pulled into the parking lot of the school, I got butterflies! The excitement was building and I could barely contain myself. I looked over at Kacey and the smile on her face made my heart cry with joy. Mom & Brian met us there early and we got everything set up and ready to go! By 9am, our friends started to arrive! Each one greeted us with a smile...a prayer for no rain....and more donations began to roll in. I couldn't believe how generous everyone was giving! God IS good :) Ask and you shall recieve...yep I asked....and we were receiving! Before long, we had "Diabetes Sweeties" running around everywhere! We had a total of 41 people.... moms, dads, sisters, brothers, cousins, grandparents, aunts, uncles, friends (new and old) ...there they were...taking time out of their daily life to walk for our daughter. I stood there looking around for a moment trying to choke back tears. Why was I wanting to cry? Ohhhh for so many reasons! Everything we'd worked so hard for had finally come together, we met our goal and were now exceeding it by leaps and bounds, Kacey was sitting on good blood sugar numbers despite the excitement she was having, and everyone was pitching in to make this moment a memorable one for Kacey. Yep...I had a reason to cry...but I held the tears back and smiled! While there, we talked to pump reps, glucose meter reps, complete strangers that shared stories with us ...and most of all people that welcomed us with open arms to the "Diabetes Community". We actually felt "normal". As you looked around, you could see people bolusing for snacks, shots being given, blood sugars tested and we really did feel comfortable!

The walk began at 10am. As we walked the nature trail, Kacey smiled and giggled with her cousin...I watched people on our team carrying on conversations...and I made friends with 2 Moms that are parents of 2 boys from Kacey's class. These 2 Moms didnt know me...they didnt know Kacey... but one of them has a niece in CA with Type 1 and the other just felt it was important to show her son how much he needed to support his friends. That mother went on to share with me how she'd talked to her son about how sick Kacey can get...how he whines about getting a flu shot yet Kacey takes 4-6 a day...and how he felt like he needed to come out and walk with Kacey today. Talk about feeling touched! It says alot about a person when they share something like that with you. So we're walking along and Kacey starts getting tired...we thought the walk was a mile...LOL well it was a mile ONE WAY...yep so we walked 2 miles :) Kacey tested her sugar along the way and she was falling so she grabbed a snack and kept going! Over the course of the walk...our team spread out and some walked faster than others. Kacey and I were one of the final ones from our team to come across the line...moreso because I wanted everyone to be waiting there for her when we finished. As Kacey and I crossed the finish line, I was a bit overwhelmed! I was forced to choke back tears again :( After all the hugs were done we got some lunch...joined in the raffle...and socialized some more! We stayed til the last of our team members told us goodbye and then we packed things up. Mom took all the donations with her so she could count everything up to send in to Lori.

While we were driving home, Mom called me to give me the total.... nearly $650.........WHAT?!?! OMG!!! $1415.... plus $650.... HOLY COW!!! Thats nearly $2100 ~faints~ I excitedly told Kacey and all of a sudden she began to sob. I hung the phone up and pulled the car over. Yep...she was crying real tears... I ended up in tears... and I still didnt know why she was crying. I got her settled down enough to ask her why she was crying? "Mommy, they gave all that money to find a cure for me! Its happy tears!" Well that just made me cry even harder :( "Yep, there were alot of people out there today that love you very much and that shows how much they care!" The rest of the ride home was pretty silent...both of us still sitting with tears streaming.

I just cant express how thankful I am for all the donations and to all the people that showed up...even with the weatherman calling for 80% chance of rain! All of you made this a day to remember! We are still getting more donations rolling in and I will have a final total soon :)

THANK YOU!

~*~JILL~*~

RUFUS....Her friend til the end!

My comment to Cara about Rufus got me thinking. I thought I would talk about him and tell how Kacey got him.

After Kacey was diagnosed at CHKD, we spent the 3 days there and when we got home I contacted JDRF about the Walk to a Cure. Since we weren't very familiar with the walk, I asked for some info about it. I got an email from Lori Camden. I felt such compassion in her email back to me and she asked me if Kacey had gotten her Bag of Hope while she was in the hospital. Bag of Hope? What's that? Ummm no I don't think she did. The Bag of Hope is a backpack with the JDRF logo on it...inside is some information for parents, an Accu-check meter with a coupon to get another free one by mail...a book about Rufus....and RUFUS! Nope I KNOW she never got that! Lori assured me that she'd send one out to us ASAP...well she wasnt kidding....we got it the very next day! When it arrived, Kacey screached with excitement! I opened up the box to reveal a cute blue backpack with the JDRF logo and inside.....RUFUS! Kacey took to him right away! With everything spread out across the table, we immediately read the book about how Rufus came to be. As she hugged him, we continued to read about his JDRF tshirt and his colorful patches that are placed in the same locations that you give injections...how cute! Most of all...Rufus proudly wore his Medical Alert bracelet. Since we'd only been home a few days, Kacey didn't have a bracelet yet. She kept worrying us til we finally got her one! Since that day....Rufus has made countless trips to Walmart....been drug around outside....tucked in a backpack with insulin and glucose tabs...hugged while watching countless movies....pricked by countless lancets and injected with water that was sucked into the syringe by a little girl that insisted if Rufus didnt check his sugar and get his insulin then he'd have to go to CHKD like she did. He's been there for her when no one else understood how she was feeling! Being able to care for Rufus, the way she was being cared for gave her the practice to finally be able to give her own injections and manage her diabetes. He's not been just a bear....he's a bear with Type 1 diabetes and knows how it feels to be a human pin cushion....just like her! Even though she is 8 years old....Rufus still gets tucked into bed with her each night...he folds his hands together as we say prayers...and most of all...he's her "friend". Im sure as time goes on, Rufus will take a back seat...but in the end...he was there when she needed that "friend" that knew how she felt and when she got the poke....so did he! He will always be a part of her life!

~*~JILL~*~

Thank You...Neal Steele!!

Kacey with Neal Steele from 99.1 WXGM radio

Kacey sitting in the interview chair with the mic (Rufus tucked on her lap)

I'm just getting home from the interview at the radio station this morning! Wowwwww! What a great guy! I must say that Neal Steele from 99.1 WXGM was wonderful this morning! He made Kacey feel very comfortable and she was prepared to answer all of his questions! ;) He asked her all about her diabetes...how she feels about it....and then about the Walk to a Cure shes doing on Saturday. He reached in his pocket during the interview and gave her $30 right on the spot!!! VERY COOL!! So now I have to keep watch on the JDRF Walk website and see if anyone registers and donates :) A HUGE Thank You to Mr. Steele and everyone at 99.1 FM for sharing their air time with us and letting us educate the community about Type 1 Diabetes and JDRF.

When we got to school, we had several teachers stop us and tell Kacey how "grown up" she sounded and how proud they were of her! Talk about a confidence boost :) I've said it before....and I'll say it again.... My Daughter is my HERO!

~*~JILL~*~

Pumpkin Patch

We took the girls to Pumpkinville on Sunday so they could get their pumpkins to carve this Friday at Nae-Nae's house. They had really good time :) It wasnt too busy and we walked out to the pumpkin patch for them to pick the pumpkins. They were able to ride the hayride and go thru the corn maze too.

We also had another bake sale on Sunday. It was only a high of 47 degrees and Kayleigh and I managed to stay out there til 2pm. OMG it was so cold! It wasn't busy at all either but we held out hope that as the day went on more people would come out....but sadly they didn't...so we only ended up making $47 for JDRF...compared to $108 last Sunday. BUT... thats $155 closer to a cure!

Tomorrow is the big day for the radio interview. I'm starting to feel a little nervous so I made some notes...just so I don't forget anything :) We have to be there at 7am so once I take Kacey to school, I will blog about it!

Also...for one solid week Kacey's blood sugars have been in range. I'm thrilled! She's still doing her own shots and doesnt want us doing them now...LOL!

Till later...

~*~JILL~*~

Call me.... C-R-A-Z-Y!!

OK...call me crazy...but I've decided to become an Assistant Brownie Troop Leader for the Girl Scout troop that Kacey is going to be signing up for! She wanted to do this last year and I just couldn't find the time. So now that hockey season is over and the meetings will only be once a week...I think Im ready! The troop will be a new troop and her cousin and a few friends are interested in doing it. Beacuse the troop is new, everyone will be starting out at the same level...which is nice because then the whole troop will fly up to Juniors together next year :) She is very excited about everything! We dug out Kayleigh's vest with all her patches and I was showing her what all the patches meant. I think this could be exactly what Kacey needs :) I do want her to go back to playing softball....but for now she needs that involvement with a small circle of friends. So I will know more soon about when the meetings are and how many we have signed up.

On another good note...I know I shouldnt say too much and jinx myself....but for the last 4 days Im pleased to say Kacey's blood sugars have been IN RANGE and she hasnt had anything over a 184 ~smiles big~ Shes felt better than shes ever felt and shes still giving all of her own shots. I just cant believe how shes taken over doing it all! Shes only had 2 lows and one was a 75 and the other a 78...both at dinner...and both times she didnt have an afternoon snack. So Im guessing thats what it was and Im not worried about it :) Im just thankful she's stayed in range and most of all....shes felt good!

Homecoming 2008

As promised, I am uploading some pics from Homecoming 2008. We ended up going to the football game on Friday night and even though we lost the game, it was still good fun! It was great to catch up with friends and watch the kids with their friends.

Kay & Kacey at the game

The Freshman float

Kay & Stephen

Kay & Stephen

Kayleigh

Injection Pic

Kacey giving herself a shot

She did her first one yesterday!

We're going LIVE!

I'm so excited I can barely contain myself!!! I just talked to Neal Steele from our local radio station. I sent him an email about Kacey and the JDRF walk and asked him to help us get the community involved and he asked me to call him at the radio station. So I called and he is putting us on the radio LIVE next Wednesday at 7:05am!!! OMGGG How cool is that?!?! We get to go on and talk about the walk next Saturday and hopefully get help from local businesses and people in the community that make up the "tens of listeners". Now I have to get some notes together to be able to talk about 10 minutes....wooohoooooo! What a wonderful way to get the donations rolling in :) So far our team has raised nearly $1100 and the donations are still rolling in! I originally set our goal at $500 and then I raised it to $1300 on October 1st and it looks like we're going to bypass that before the walk! I'm thrilled with the outpour of support we've had just from family & friends....THANK YOU!!! Also, we're having the team shirts printed within the next few days. A good friend of mine, who happens to be a screenprinter, is donating his time, ink and all the screenprinting fees (thanks Chuck @ Brainstorm Productions!) Im so excited with the way the logo turned out and I'm looking forward to getting the shirts :)

Details on the walk:

JDRF Walk to a Cure

October 25, 2008

York High School

9am- Registration

10am- Opening Ceremony & 1 mile Walk

11am- Finish & Fun

If you're interested in donating to our team you can visit the walk website at http://www.walk.jdrf.org/ and our team name is Diabetes Sweeties and you can donate under Kacey's name. With every donation of $25 or more you will get a team t-shirt with our logo on it.

Thanks again to everyone for the donations and prayers! We appreciate them all from the bottom of our hearts!

~*~JILL~*~

Exciting news!!

OMG...I can't believe its been 5 days since I blogged last. This past weekend was so busy and I never had time to get on here. Sorry :) BUTTTTTTTTTT....I do have some really exciting news!!!

First... Happy 3 month Dia-versary to Kacey.

It's been 3 months today since her diagnosis and Im pleased to announce that this morning ..... SHE DID HER OWN SHOT!!!! Yep...thats right... shes 8 years old...and she put the needle together as I figured up her dose and she dialed it up on the Kwik pen and did her own shot right in the top of her leg :) Im soooooo proud of her and how she's handling her diabetes!! She's my hero!! I was so wrapped up in watching her do the shot that I didnt get a pic so I'll get those tonight :D

I'll update about my weekend later....I just had to get on here and share the good news :)

~*~JILL~*~

504 Update

I'm very pleased to say that we now have a 504 Plan in place :D I met with everyone yesterday at 2:20pm and finished at 3:00pm. The meeting was with the Principal, Asst Principal, 2 teachers, the nurse and the guidance councelor. They used a check off sheet to determine if Kacey was eligible...of course she is! She met all 3 questions with a YES! Everyone was REALLY nice and very helpful. The nurse brought up several points that needed to be included and the Princial went along with all of it. Kacey's teacher did bring up one concern about her always getting a headache when she changed classes. She wasnt sure if it was really her blood sugars affecting her of if it was the stress of leaving her room. Kacey's gotten very attached to her teacher (so have I!) Her husband has T2 diabetes and Im not sure if Kacey feels safe and secure and knows that Mrs. M is going to take care of her the right way if something happens or if it is in fact her blood sugars rise and falls that are causing them? Whatever the case, it was noted on her 504 that she was having to miss class to test or because she was ill and that special accommidations needed to be made for her in those situations.

So in the end, I was VERY pleased we did this! Now it's in place and there are no questions as to what is expected of any of us. Kacey's Health Care Plan was also put with it. We will review this each year and make changes as needed.

On another note...Im pleased to note that Nurse J is finally comfortable with dosing and injections :) Kacey still calls me each day at lunch to make sure the dose is correct...but thats because she is being given the chance to practice figuring out her own dose...so thats a bonus! She did have her first "low" in weeks yesterday...she dropped to a 75 at snack time! Its a good thing we're still doing mid-morning snacks. Scary thing is...she never felt it physically. She asked her teacher to go test for snack and she went all the way to the nurse on her own and tested. So that worries me a bit...because she's not feeling those lows coming on.

Today is Homecoming for the high school! We were spose to go to the Homecoming Parade and then to the football game tonight but it will all depend on how Kacey is feeling as to what our plans are. Hopefully she'll start to feel better and we can go :)

~*~JILL~*~

Only Daddy's Side Will Do!

Kacey has always been a "Daddy's Girl"...from the time she was a toddler that followed him around like a baby duckling...til now when she wants to be right by his side with whatever he is doing. When she was a baby, she slept between us and finally at the age of 2, I kicked her out of our bed. During that time, is when she was having the febrile seizures and we were afraid to let her sleep in her own room so we kept the toddler bed in our room so we could hear her. Finally when she turned 3, I knew it was time for her to be in her own room! They told us that she probably would never have anymore seizures (she only had 2...but they were VERY scary!) So I moved her bed to her room, with much resistance from Daddy, but it worked :) When she would wake up, she'd come barreling into our room and get back in bed between us. But then we started to notice...days that she was sick...she wanted to be in our bed and particularly on "Daddy's side of the bed". It wasn't until she was old enough to tell me WHY that I really understood. One day when she was home sick from school I asked her why she always wanted to lay on Daddy's side of the bed when she felt bad? She replied with "Cuz the pillow smells like Daddy and I love him and I know you will lay next to me and take care of me like you do Daddy." Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh! ~light bulb goes off~ LOL! So I explained to her I'd take care of her no matter where she was laying but if laying in "Daddy's spot" made her feel better then she could lay there as long as she wanted! So now, every single time shes sick...thats where she wants to be :) This morning she woke up, after a rough night, and she said she was sick at her stomach. Sugar check... 156. Hmmm ok... its not really high...but she woke up at 11pm with nightmares and I checked her at a 219. Could she have gone higher during the night and thats what made her feel sick? I guess Im going to just have to get used to doing 3am checks. Thats the only way I know to get those accurate results. So... guess where shes at? Yep... on Daddys side of the bed...watching cartoons and just feeling "miserable"! Diabetes is winning today and she's given in and just let it go. She's got a headache now so I'm not making her go to school today. We're just gonna take the day and rest :)

~*~JILL~*~

The Big Day...504 Meeting

Today I have my meeting for the 504 Plan for Kacey. I wrote the formal letter and sent copies to the Principal and Asst. Principal on Monday and within 30min of dropping them off, I got a call from the Asst Principal thanking me for my letter and telling me they were going to schedule a meeting THIS week! Well...that day has arrived :D I'm feeling a bit out of whack though. I know I have a case...I know she qualifies...but I have to go in with the Principal, Asst Principal, 2 of her teachers, the nurse and the Guidance Councelor. I have everything prepared and Ive written down some notes for those "just in case" moments that I draw a blank...lol! I'll be glad to get everything in writing though :) I just hope it goes smooth!

Update on the meeting to come later....

~*~JILL~*~

High, How Are You?

When I went into Kacey's room this morning and gently shook her to wake up, I knew she was going to be "Judy Moody". She turned and gave a grumble...which usually means its going to be a rough morning. She sat up in bed and said "I feel woozy!" .... What? Woozy? She's never used that term before! OK...Kacey, how does "woozy" feel? Mommy it feels like I cant get up. Hmmmm...so was she feeling light headed? Had she sat up too fast? So she gets up and stumbles to the potty and calls out for me. Mommmmmmmmmmm I really feel woozy! I grab the kit on my way to the bathroom. OK Lets test and see whats going on.....beep....beeeeeep..... 245! YIKES! She hasn't woke up with that high of a blood sugar since we were in the hospital!!! OK...so why was she woozy? Was she sick at her stomach because her sugar was high? Was she hungry and needing to eat? I dont know! I hate that I feel so helpless sometimes! So I got her dressed and she couldnt decide what she wanted for breakfast.

Me: Kacey you need to eat...what do you want me to make you?
Kacey: I dont know?
Me: Well I cant make that ... you need to tell me something! How about cereal?
Kacey: Cereal doesnt fill me up!
Me: OK...how about eggs & toast?
Kacey: No I dont feel like eating that.
Me: What about eggs in a tortilla?
Kacey: I dont want that either
Me: OK well you need to tell me something so I can get it done! Are you even hungry?
Kacey: YES Im hungry but I dont know what I want to eat!
Me: What about a cereal bar?
Kacey: No that doesnt fill me up either!
Me: OK then...how about you make your own breakfast then! Im tired of playing this game!
Kacey: ***huffs***

So I leave out of her room and go get dressed. I come back in and shes in the kitchen...getting ready to turn on the stove!!!!!!!! YIKES!!!!

Me: WHAT are you doing?
Kacey: You told me to make my own breakfast!
Me: I didnt tell you to use the stove!
Kacey: I need the stove to cook my eggs for breakfast!
Me: Well you need to tell me next time and you never use this stove without me in here!
Kacey: But Mom you SAID for me to make my own breakfast and I decided I want eggs!
Me: ***sigh***

LOL...ok so within 10 minutes she'd decided she wanted eggs and was going to cook them herself since thats what I told her to do....hahaha...how could I get mad at her? After all, I did tell her to make her own breakfast! So I ended up taking over for her...making her breakfast...got thru her shot and she's full and smiling and ready for school.

That still doesnt explain her morning high. She went to bed with a 146 and woke up at a 245...Im guessing we will see that Lantus increase when I fax her blood sugars in tomorrow! Am I selfish to pray she is thru her honeymoon? It's almost bitter-sweet. On one hand Im hoping she is because that means she can go on the pump and our lives can be back to normal....but on the other hand...is it selfish for me to pray for that because then it means the last of those cells that were kicking out insulin have been killed off and she is now totally dependant on the insulin to live a long and healthy life. Its a catch 22!

It's time for her to go to school.... more later :)

~*~JILL~*~

Air is the Problem....Vent is the Answer!

The power of the internet can be an amazing tool! We just had our first problem with the Humalog Kwik Pen. When Kacey first came home from the hospital we used the vials and used the syringes to draw up her insulin and once we were done with those we started on the kwik pens...which was much easier and Kacey really liked instead of the individual needles. Well we ran into 2 problems... the first one being...last month we wasted 180 units of insulin!! Because she is in school, we had to have an open pen at school and one at home. We used most of the one for home but because she was only getting insulin at lunch during school hours...it meant we lost all that insulin because its only good for 28 days after you open it!! Her dose was 1 unit per 30 carbs so she wasnt getting much insulin either! So that REALLY sucks! So I just opened 2 more pens...since its been 30 days...and when I went to prime the pen it wasnt shooting the insulin out. Hmmmm.... ok so I went online to trouble shoot...LOL you'd of thought I had a new electronic device in my hand! Well...it seems that the pen had too much air in it and I had to use a syringle and vent it...just like you would the bottle. Who'd of thought?!?! Once I got the air out then the pen started shooting out just fine!
As far as sugar numbers... her dose was changed last week and she is STILL running high. I cant seem to keep her in normal range and I thought for sure she'd drop since she was getting more insulin. So it made me think....wowww...if shes getting more insulin and she's still staying in the higher range...I wonder what in the world her numbers would be if she didn't have the insulin? Scary to think!!! I've also noticed...when she's active her sugar goes UP not down! She will shoot up to the 300's and then come down fast and get a headache. Also...as much as she loved plain Ramen noodles...she just can't eat them anymore because they send her sugar soaring high and then she gets sick at her stomach :( I did get her some new pasta to try this week and see if that works better for her :)

More later!

~*~JILL~*~

Poke Proof

Kacey's been saving her test strips to make pictures with them (gross to some yes...but worth it!) Every little strip is proof of a poke she's done. Poke...prick...fingerstick....each strip with it's own story of a low, normal or high blood sugar. These pictures are priceless! To some people these pictures may look like something a child created with little strips of paper...but they mean much more to us! They hold no value to anyone except those suffering with diabetes. Only they can know what each one of those strips means. It means... the joys of a normal blood sugar....the scare of a low blood sugar....and the worry of a high blood sugar. As a mom, I wouldn't take a million dollars for these pictures! To me, they are the pain my child deals with every single day....the struggle she goes through to get her blood sugars in normal range...and the hurt she feels with each one of those pokes into her tender skin.

House, Person & Sun (55 pokes)

Happy Halloween (minus the O) haha! (68 pokes)

btw.. thats a heart, smile face & skeleton

Yep this one speaks for itself! (50 pokes)

Freestyle Lite test meter....$50.00

300 test strips a month.... $15.00

1 used bloody test strip....useless

3 pictures made with 2wks of used test strips....PRICELESS!!

30....25.....20

I got a call yesterday afternoon from the CDE and they are changing Kacey's insulin to carb ratio ...again! She was just back down to 1 unit per 25 carbs and now they want her 1 unit per 20 carbs. Thats the ratio she was at when she was in the hospital 2 months ago. So what does this mean? Well...her body is needing more insulin for sure. So does this mean that its possible her honeymoon is ending? Yep quite possible! The only thing that scares me is...when she was on this insulin to carb ratio before she started getting tons of lows. I'd rather her be high than low...especially dealing with school!!

In reference to the 504 stuff....
I did do my formal letter to the principals. I'm sending that in on Monday and I got a friend of mine at JDRF to send me the School Toolkit so I had the info with the laws on it and then if I'm denied again I know what route to take :)

As for me...
I've got the cold that both girls got the last few weeks ~gives a miserable look~ Yep...we teach our kids to share...and mine decided to share their germs! LOL! Oh well! I'm "Super Mom" remember...and Super Moms cant be sick! :D So I will smile... and breathe thru my teeth since my nose is so stuffy that I cant breathe thru that and hopefully these meds will kick in soon and I can finally taste the crap Im trying to eat!

Tomorrow I am taking the girls to Howl-o-scream at Busch Gardens :) It should be a spook-tacular time! (Btw, Caitlin we're gonna miss seeing you dance)

Have a great weekend!
~*~JILL~*~

Super Mom knows best!

As a child I always remember hearing... "Listen to your mom, she knows best!" and I used to roll my eyes and tell myself I knew what I was doing.... pffffft! NOT! Now I'm sitting here realizing how true that statement really is!! Yesterday the CNP called me...yep the same one that told me she was going to ask Dr. R when we could start the pump... well she was calling to let me know she finally talked to Dr. R about it. Whoaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa! ~pause~ I thought the CDE that called me on Fri told me NO PUMP til we're thru the honeymoon! ~play~ So she goes on to tell me that Dr. R said right now is a little premature to start her (duh! I knew that! Its only been 2 months) but he doesnt see why we cant start thinking about pump classes when she sees him in January. AHHHHHHHHHHHHH! Thats wonderful news!!! I told her what the CDE said and how she basically told me I was wrong for doing my research now. She said that I was RIGHT in being proactive and that is exactly what Dr. R likes to see because that shows him we're gonna manage Kacey's diabetes as best as we can. Whew! Ok...so a little light lit back up inside me and I felt like I saw some hope again :D Yay!! So then I told her about the 400's we got and how scary they were. We weren't faxing weekly blood sugars til today but I thought maybe she wasnt getting enough insulin for the carbs she was eating. So I asked for her permission to lower the insulin to carb ratio... back to 1:20... she said that since Kacey dropped so much on that dose that she would do it 1:25 and see how she does :) and then she told me I was doing a great job seeing those signs and trying to tweak things already. (puts Super Mom cape back on and ties it around my neck) I felt that boost in confidence again! So last night her numbers were 123....134....143 ...wooohoooooo how's that for GREAT numbers?!?! She woke up this morning at a 156!!! So Im pleased with myself for speaking up and saying something!

Its gonna be a good day :)

Ohhhh and yesterday Kayleigh won her hockey game again! ... 5-1 !!! So that means they are still UNDEFEATED!!! Im so happy for her :) Only 2 more games til the playoffs :D

Until later...
~*~JILL~*~