SOL's and Diabetes

SOL...Standards Of Learning...the tests that tell how much a child has learned that school year in a particular subject. I dread these tests every year but my girls always end up doing well on them.

Kacey's first SOL test was back in March. It was her Writing SOL and we just got the scores back and she passed it. Then she had her 2nd one last Thursday, one today and her last one will be this Thursday. They start the testing not long after the kids arrive for school. For Kacey, that is not a good testing time. Even though she feels well, her blood sugars read different. She eats only an hour and a half before the test so her sugar was still climbing. I'm not sure what happened but she ended up hitting the 350's (thank you breakfast and nerves, I think!). I got a call from her nurse saying Kacey had a headache and she wasn't going to be able to test. So I picked her up and took her home to rest. Thankfully she was able to retest the following day in the afternoon. Her sugars seem so much better during that time. Today she has another SOL and I haven't gotten a call yet so I'm hoping she didn't have that spike again. When it comes to diabetes and tests, my brain starts to fry a bit. I sit and think about how diabetes affects Kacey's body on just a daily basis and then when she tries to test, how accurate is it? We all know what high blood sugars do to our kids brains....fuzzy, sleepy, not able to concentrate and the list goes on. So when it comes to big tests, how can we be sure our kids are getting an accurate score? We can't! We have to take those curve balls as they come. Something I thought about and I am really going to push Kacey to start doing is testing or checking Dexcom before a test and writing the number in the upper corner of her paper. Yeah, you're wondering WHY would you want her to do that? Well, when she gets her test back and she gets a bad grade on it, then I want to know what her blood sugar was before she took it. Did she get that grade because she doesn't know the material or did she get it because she was trying so hard to focus and just couldn't because of the havoc that diabetes was wreaking on her body? She hasn't gotten the hang of doing it yet but she will! I help her study before tests and I make sure she knows what she needs to going in for tests but if she gets in there and ends up with a 70 or below on the test then something went wrong. I just want to make sure that I'm staying on top of what needs to be.

How do the parents of older D-kids handle testing situations? How about college adults?

It's another one of those times when I don't know what it feels like to be high but I know I hear Kacey say, "I feel like crap!" so how do we handle those highs and testing?

As for Kayleigh's SOL tests, we've got it good with her testing schedule. She only reports to school for the days she has tests and only stays for the time she has those tests. Her SOL's started last Thursday and she only went to school from 11:12am-12:44pm and then I picked her up. Then she didn't have an SOL on Friday so she got a 3 day weekend! She has an SOL today from 9:26am-11:07am and then Tues & Wed she only goes in from 7:40am -9:21am. That's been REALLY nice! She eats before she goes and we don't have to worry about any blood sugar drops. So once Kacey gets to the high school then testing should be a bit easier for her.

Only 11 more days of school!! YAYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!

On an exciting note, Diabetes Dude made a road trip to surprise team Beta Buddies at their JDRF walk. It was so moving to see Reyna's reaction and I actually cried watching it. It was also GREAT to see all the D-kids rooting for them. WAY TO GO D-FAMILIES!!! We were blessed to be part of such an amazing day! Love you all!!! To see the video...CLICK HERE.

Outsmarted

"Mom! This makes me so mad!", as I turned to see Kacey looking at this book at the register, I saw the frustration on her face. It's the frustration we deal with on a daily basis.

"Can she eat that?"
"She shouldn't be eating that cupcake!"
"Her sugar is high because she ate that cookie you gave her."
"She will outgrow it so for now just watch what she eats."

Most of the time we just ignore the comments and Kacey gives an occasional eye roll. But now what she's getting older, it's magazines like these that frustrate her. She stuffed it back on the shelf, let out a sigh and said, "If only they said "Reverse Type 2 Diabetes With Food". Yep! She's right! And WHY in the world would they show a picture of chocolate cake? Ummm...reverse diabetes with chocolate cake? Dang! We're all over that! Shape up in 20 minutes with chocolate cake? Yep! We're all over that too! And how about....Surprising Stress Busters...eat the chocolate cake and feel tons better but then feel guilty you ruined your diet. This is just ridiculous!

Prevention Magazine...how about adding in Type 2 diabetes and helping raise awareness of the difference between the two so that way my child doesn't have to deal with ignorant comments like those listed above. Thank you!

As it's been said before....my daughter CAN eat those sweets because thanks to modern technology she is sporting a snazzy insulin pump and continual glucose monitor around her waist in that bright green belt!

Thinking Back

As Kacey nears the 3 year mark with diabetes, I've really been thinking back. Because of the blog drama that I had, I was forced to sift back through posts over the last 3 years (to make sure I didn't mention any school staff by name or in any insulting way...ugh!). It forced me to read back through the challenges, the joy and the painful days. So much has happened in nearly 3 years and we've come so far....emotionally and with technology. Those early days were the most painful. I was lost. I was sad. I was scared. Kacey's 3 year D-anniversary comes in July but it was this time 3 years ago that those warning signs and red flashing lights were going off. I got the little local paper in the mail that tells the new upcoming sports sign-ups through our local Parks & Rec. As I sifted through the pages, it brought back even more memories. Kacey was signed up for softball before diagnosis. Those practices seemed to wear on her. She was tired. She was thirsty. She was hungry. She was cranky. She'd get hot and sweaty. She couldn't make it through a practice or a game without having to go to the bathroom. Her body was starting it's journey of shutting down. And....we never knew it! Yeah, you're thinking HOW can you neglect all those red flags, right? Well they all didn't happen at one time. When you have a chunky child, you expect her to be tired after running around for over an hour. When your child drinks 32oz of Gatorade, you expect her to have to pee during the game. When it's 90*-100*F outside, you expect your child to drink alot. When you're child spent over and hour running around, you expect her to be hungry, tired, hot and cranky. All these things made sense to us so they really weren't red flags until she was diagnosed. There are times I feel guilty for not seeing them before then but then when I look back, it all made sense to me. How could I know? I couldn't!  It wasn't until she started wetting the bed and throwing up....2 things that I KNEW weren't right. Two things that couldn't be explained away. She was sick. We just didn't know HOW sick until it was almost too late.

As we moved forward, those memories of those days were locked away into a file in my brain labeled "SENSITIVE SUBJECTS". I tried not to bring that file out but then there were certain things that would pull that file out and slam it down on my brain table like a mad attorney. REMEMBER! REMEMBER THE PAIN! REMEMBER THOSE DAYS! Those days helped make me who I am. Those days were sad, lonely and painful but they molded me into a better parent. A parent that doesn't take one single day for granted. I fight for my children. I fight for what I believe in with them. I fight for what I know is right and for their best interest. When you're faced with having a child with a chronic illness, your days become more meaningful. You stop and smell those flowers. You enjoy those family times. You take LOTS of pictures, pictures of some of the silliest things but you capture every possible memory you can.

In a way, I'm glad I was forced to read back through every single blog post from the last 3 years. I watched myself grow into a strong mother. I still plan to have these blog posts put into a book form for Kacey to read years later.

As I move forward, I have so much to look forward to...the first thing being....20 days of school left!!!! HA! :) I'll be sooooo happy when this year is OVER!

To everyone out there participating in D-Blog Week...YOU ARE AMAZING!! Sadly I'm not at a point that I could commit to it but I'm slowly but surely getting back to myself. Give me...uhmmm....say 20 days ;) LOL! Love to you all!!! <3

Thank You Dexcom!

Beep! Buzzzzzzzzzzzzz! Not again!

Kacey looked down at Daisy and it showed her at a 87 with double arrows down before bed. What does Goober say you are? She tested, "I'm a 76!" **crap!** How much insulin on board? "Ummm, it's not good Mom!" HOW MUCH? "I still have 5 units" **double crap!**  Within about 15 minutes, she dropped to a 46 and went into a panic.

She knew she had so much IOB and she was full from dinner. Juice, juice, granola bar, juice. She cried, she screamed she was going to throw up, but yet we made it through another nasty low. When she gets lows like this she completely shuts down and the juice makes her feel like she's going to throw up. She screams with stomach pains and several times before this one she has actually thrown up from the lows.

The waiting game.

I HATE THE WAITING GAME!

It makes me nervous and has always made me nervous BUT thanks to Daisy, my nerves are not as bad as they used to be! As soon as I see that little arrow coming up, I'm able to breathe a little better. I don't have to stick her fingers every 20 minutes to make sure her blood sugar is climbing.

The downfall to these nasty lows....the highs that come from overcorrecting! I'm the first to admit that I get scared and end up overcorrecting her lows sometimes because I want her blood sugar to come up fast. The worst part...the highs wipe her out as bad as the lows do! She wakes up exhausted, cranky, grumpy and feeling like she's been beat with a bat. Her poor body takes a beating with these sugar swings. Daisy ends up looking like the Rocky Mountains or some wacky EKG. It's tough!

So hows does she handle it? LIKE A TROOPER! She got up this morning dragging butt, got dressed, ate breakfast, got her stuff ready for school, took a 30 minute power nap and went to school with a smile on her face! She's MY hero!! <3

Diabetes....you STINK! ;)

Best Friends

Sometimes in life, some of our best friends are ones with 4 legs! In Kacey's case, this is so very true. Cricket has only been a part of our lives for a short time but she is everything we ever wanted for Kacey (and our family). We've had to learn her likes and dislikes, just as she has had to learn ours. When we got her, we didn't know much about her but over the last few weeks, we've learned so much!

Things Cricket has taught or shown us....or is it things we've taught her?

1. She doesn't bark...nope not one single bark but if she whines she is either thirsty or you better be heading to the front door to take her potty.

2. She doesn't like being in a room alone. She will follow us from room to room and lay down on the floor but she won't lay in a room alone unless she is home all by herself.

3. She loves potato chips! She hears the bag rustle and shes sitting right at your feet.

4. She won't leave Kacey's side when she's upset or her blood sugar is low. She will sit there and lay her head on Kacey until she knows that Kacey is okay.

5. She likes me, Frankie and Kayleigh...but she LOVES Kacey!

6. A $5 Busy Bone from Walmart will only keep her busy for 15 minutes and then it's GONE!

7. She loves frizbee and football...football is her favorite but she doesn't care much for a tennis ball. She will fetch it if it's thrown but she loses interest in it fast.

8. When we first got her, we'd walk her on a leash to go potty but she earned our trust to be let off the leash to run around the yard and not go anywhere BUT .....fish pond BEWARE! She's wreaked havoc on my fish pond as she jumps in thinking it's a pool for her! She's even learned to turn and look to see if I'm watching before she jumps in now...LOL!

9. She has learned that when she comes in from going potty, she sits right on the rug at the front door and waits patiently for her treat. There have been a few times that I've forgotten and walked away and when I turned back she's still sitting there waiting with sad eyes. Yeah, I know they probably weren't sad eyes but I gave her 2 treats those times since she was such a good girl!

10. No matter how long you're gone from home....she WILL NOT potty in the house, chew anything, get into mischief or destroy a thing. She's AMAZING! There have been times we've come home and caught her laying in the bed with her head on the pillow like a person! Silly dog!

Who knew that having a 4 legged "person" in the house could bring so much joy? She's a great best friend, a fabulous ball player, wonderful company and such a blessing in our lives. We're so thankful for her! <3

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY MOM!

I LOVE YOU!

Theres NO Place Like Home

On April 29, 2011...we had a milestone happen in our family. It was my first time flying since I was 3 (I didn't remember it) and it was Kacey's first time flying ever! Imagine the excitement at 3am when we got out of bed to be at the airport by 4am. The nerves had hit me but Kacey was through the roof with excitement.

Once luggage was checked, it was time to deal with security. We had our doctor's note and all the diabetes supplies packed in her carry on but we were not sure what to expect with security. Can I just say....THANK YOU NEWPORT NEWS AIRPORT SECURITY for making this such an easy process! Kacey didn't walk through the detectors. We chose the pat down and she proudly showed off her insulin pump, CGM, and the sites to both. Her bag went through screening and she went through a very quick pat down. The lady was very understanding and she thanked me for making it an easy process for her. I was puzzled and she said most parents raise a fuss about the pat downs. Sad!

We boarded a plane bound for Atlanta at 6am. Kacey was over the moon with excitement as the plane took off. She ended up falling asleep about 30 minutes into the ride. Thankfully when we unloaded at Atlanta, we were only a few gates up from where we needed to be. After boarding in Atlanta, we arrived in Kansas City at 11:30am. Boy was I surprised when I found out that I wasn't able to pick up my rental car at the counter. We had to take a bus to the rental car place and pick it up there. Ugh!

By the time we got to the hotel, we were ready for a nap! The culinary team started to unpack the coolers and make sure everything was safe to check in since the coolers checked as "baggage" with the airline. (Don't ask!) The one thing Kayleigh feared was the eggs breaking. Three out of the four team mates needed eggs for their recipe. How the heck do you keep eggs from breaking in a cooler that is flung around? YOU DON'T! The eggs were packed several ways and Kayleigh even packed extra eggs just in case those got broke...out of about 10 eggs...ONE made it! The School Board didn't think it was necessary to rent a van for the team so guess who was running around getting the supplies that were needed? Me and another team Mom! Again, I won't go into all the details BUT you all catch my drift! After things were straight, it was time to go over for check in. From that moment on, the weekend seemed to fly by. Thanks to our State Coordinator, Kayleigh was introduced to some very cool and important people over the weekend. She got business cards and made some fantastic mentor contacts to help her further her career. We were blessed to witness some AMAZING talent at the competition and some FANTASTIC team spirit and support. It was great to see teams that were so together. The team that won was from California and the instructor from that team said that starting Jan 8th, they practiced every single day, sometimes more than once a day (with exception of weekends and holidays)...and that my friends is the reason they won! They were competing along side of us and I was mesmerized watching their team work skills and the dishes they produced could be in a NYC high class restaurant. FABULOUS! All that being said, Kayleigh got some great reviews on her dessert dish. They liked the "clean" look of it and they only wished there was a little more lime in the cheesecake filling. Well when we went to the state competition, they wanted it a little sweeter...ha! So it was a catch 22 on that one...but overall...she was 100% pleased with her plate. She finished 10 minutes early and she didn't even get on the burner til minute 16 and was off the burner by minute 30. So she rocked it!

Another obstacle she had placed in her way was...vegetable cuts. Part of the competition involves, 2 team mates cutting vegetables into the cuts the judges choose for them and 2 team mates breaking down a chicken into parts. Before the state competition, Kayleigh and I prayed daily for her to be chosen for chicken. At the state competition, they only chose 1 team mate to do the chicken and 3 to do the veggies. She got it! She rocked it! And she got 4 out of the 5 points awarded for it. So when it came time for Nationals, we were told they would be working on these skills weekly in class. Each time she had class, I'd ask her if they did the cuts and they weren't practicing like the schedule said they would. As it got closer to the competition, they practiced a little more but not like they should have been. I'm sure you can imagine Kayleigh's fear when we were at the competition and the judge said "You will do vegetable cuts." She knew her cutting skills were not what they should be do to lack of practice and proper teaching. She looked up at me with this look of "Oh crap!" and I winked at her and smiled. One of the judges stood right in front of her so I couldn't see if she was crying or smiling. As he moved to the side a little, I saw her smile and giggle and I was able to breathe a sigh of relief. She rocked it...again! She was pleased with the cuts she was given and she relaxed when the judge talked and laughed with her the whole time. After it was all over, she came to me and threw her arms around me and cried. It was like that final release of stress. It was all over...and no matter what the scores were...she knew she gave 100%. She was upset because we prayed chicken and she didn't get it this time. As we talked more about it, I used it as one of those "teachable moments" that we, as parents, pray for. I hugged her and began.... You know, God doesn't answer every single prayer, right? We pray all the times for things but God answers them in HIS time, not ours. Why did God not answer your prayer this time? Was there a reason? Absolutely! Sometimes we have to be pushed out of our comfort zone to show what we're capable of. She was in a zone where she knew she could do that chicken perfectly but she was scared of attempting the veggies in fear that she would "mess up". God knew she could do it! He knew her abilities. He knew if she was shoved from that comfort zone that she would have to figure out a way to get through it. She did! Isn't that what life is all about? We pray for things, yet we continue to be shoved out of our comfort zones and somehow we learn, we manage and we do just fine. Sure, sometimes we fall on our faces when it happens....but you know what....ITS OK! We get up and we march forward. I wanted her to know that it was certainly ok to fail but as long as she learned from what she did and gave it 100% then she'd done all she could do. She smiled the rest of the evening. What a wonderful teaching opportunity.

The weekend events were certainly busy and by Sunday night, I was completely packed and ready to leave. I missed home. I missed my bed. I missed our dog. And most of all I missed my hubby! :(  Due to finances, he was not able to attend the trip with us (it cost me $1500 for just me and Kacey!!) so he was a bit bummed that he missed out on some exciting "firsts" for Kacey...like her plane ride and her excitement with the escalators. Most of all he was bummed that he missed out on his big girl competiting. You can watch the DVD and you can see pics but it doesn't take the place of actually being there and seeing her. So...School Board...I hope you're happy and can sleep at night because NOT approving the fundraising for families REALLY sucked!

That all being said....it was nice to spend that time with my girls and enjoy the weekend with a great friend/team Mom and an amazing state coordinator but...THERES NO PLACE LIKE HOME! <3

Writing With Purpose



That cartoon made me giggle! Sometimes I feel like it's a struggle to put my words together and then when I finally do, it all goes to crap!

I've had some time over the last few weeks to really think about WHY I write? WHY do I blog? WHY do I write out my daily life for the entire world wide web to see?

A few simple things came to mind.

When I first started blogging, not one single soul knew I existed. I was in a secret space online where I could write out my feelings and frustrations without anyone knowing or seeing. It was my own diary. I was only a few days into Kacey's diagnosis and I was having a hard time channeling all the feelings that I was bombarded with. I blogged about my daily life as a parent of a Type 1 diabetic. I blogged about the struggles, the victories and the challenges. It was HARD! As the months went by, I began to realize there were other parents out there like me. There were other parents feeling those same feelings I did. Although I could only see them through pictures and their words, we connected. I began to build friendships with other Moms. They read my words. They felt my heartache. They got it! Although I didn't have any real life followers, most family and friends didn't even know my blog existed, I was connecting. Diabetes Sweeties became very real.

As the months passed, I started to share my blog more and more. I also opened up more and more. It wasn't just Type 1 diabetes I talked about. It was struggles at school. It was work. It was something called LIFE! I blogged happy times. I blogged sad times. I posted pictures for the world to see. My blog finally took on a purpose. I was getting emails and comments telling me how encouraging my words were. I got comments about how nice it was to know they weren't alone because they were struggling with the same things. I actually felt like my writing took on purpose. I can only count a handful of times where I ever got any negative feedback and it was mostly from someone anonymous that was nit picking. I never had any negative feedback from any local people.

So imagine my shock when I got a call telling me I offended someone with my writing. I couldn't imagine what I had written that was so harsh that someone was offended and insulted. Had my words REALLY been that bad? Even today, I still blog with purpose. I blog our daily life because I know there are others out there that struggle through the same things but they are too afraid to share them.

OFFEND- of·fend/əˈfend/Verb- Cause to feel upset, annoyed, or resentful.

INSULT- in·sult/inˈsəlt/Verb- Speak to or treat with disrespect or scornful abuse

These two words were being thrown at me and all I could do was sit there with my mouth wide open. REALLY? So as I took a step back, reread what I had typed, I still felt like I shouldn't have had to remove any posts I wrote. WHY did I do it? To keep peace for my daughter's sake. I probably could have fought things out, made jerks out of everyone involved, then walked away feeling terrible. But I do have a conscious and I don't try to intentionally hurt peoples feelings. I DO blog the truth about our daily life so if the truth bothers you then you probably shouldn't be reading my blog anyway. That being said, the people that I offended and insulted, get off easy. Yes, I know the Lord knows that things were done wrong. The whole way it was handled was wrong. The people that were offended and insulted couldn't even come to me and tell me how they felt about what I had written. They had two higher school officials call me....TWICE...and ask for it to be removed. Why should the truth be removed? Is someone afraid of getting in trouble? Are they afraid the whole world will see what happened and they will be judged by their actions? Sad, huh? Then they had the nerve to look me in the face and actually smile and try and carry on a conversation like nothing ever happened. How can someone do that? It just sickens me! Do you not feel any guilt? Do you not think my feelings were hurt that you didn't come to me and deal with it? Do you really think that I'm not thinking about what you did while you're talking to me? You took the easy road and let someone else handle your problem. The most important thing I've learned in church lately is, if you have a problem with someone then you go to that person and address the problem, deal with it and try and resolve it. That's what I did! I guess there was just no resolving it with these people.

So what do I do? I continue to blog! :)



I'm Back!

After a few weeks of my blog being private, I've finally got it back to public viewing. I'm sorry to my regular followers, D-Moms and D-Peeps. Unfortunately I had to take some time to edit and delete some previous posts. I got a phone call from someone within the school system telling me that I offended someone else within the school system with a few of my posts that talked about the TRUTH of what happened with Kayleigh's recent hypoglycemia episodes. The person that actually contacted me was totally unaware that anything had happened until she heard MY side of the story. That opened another can of worms which I'm still not done with yet but unfortunately I can't talk about it on here anymore. It seems that my Facebook became an issue as well which meant I had to do a major delete on there. Funny how you think some people are your "friends" and they turn out to be otherwise. It's all good now! Since I was asked to delete the posts, I did so willingly but it will still never excuse the fact that I posted the TRUTH about what happened that day. I find it sickening that someone would pick apart my daily life because they don't have anything better to do than sit behind a computer and cause trouble. If they walked the last few weeks in my shoes then they would understand EXACTLY why I posted my experience. Now I feel like I have to watch my words and what I post on here. This is MY blog....MY place to vent....and I feel like if you don't want to read the TRUTH about what happened in our daily life then click the little red X in the upper right corner. It wasn't like I was writing a bunch of lies. For the person that picked my blog apart and sent it to school officials...I hope you're happy now. For those people that I offended...I'm sorry you had a hard time reading the truth, please forgive me. For those school officials...I will NOT stop blogging about my daily experiences but I will use names like Mr. X and Mrs. X from now on. My daily experiences with hypoglycemia and Type 1 diabetes are very helpful to other parents out there and sometimes the truth hurts AND there are always 2 sides to every story! So I'm glad you listened to my side, however I still have a few things to address so you haven't seen the last of me yet. I'll be making an appointment soon!

Until then....I will catch everyone up on whats been going on soon!