Monday, April 13, 2009

Site Success

The title says it all! Today was site change day...yep it's been 3 days already! Kacey had been telling me all day that she was doing her own site. I told her that it was fine for her to not do them but she kept insisting that "Today was the day!" and she was so right! After lunch she told me she was ready. We got all the supplies and she had the old site out before I could even fill the new cartridge. She had this smile on her face that couldn't be wiped off....or could it?

After I got everything filled, then she said she needed me to hold her hand while she pushed it in. Sure thing! So I held her hand....and this was the face she gave me.....
I asked her if she wanted me to do it? "NO! I wanna do this!", she shouted back at me. So I smiled and started chanting "Go Kacey! Go Kacey!" About 10 seconds later.....
SHE DID IT!!!!! And there were NO tears!!!! She was all smiles and we were all in near tears from the happiness. I am so proud of how well she's done with this. She set this goal with her CDE on March 20, 2008 when we went to pump training with Herbie and here we are not even one month later and she's done her first site...ALL BY HERSELF!

What have we learned with sites?
The first thing we learned is that Kacey does much better when she does the sites with a device. The manual insert sites are the ones I can do but she is much more relaxed with the automatic insert ones. We actually didn't have these recommended to us because when Kacey did her own injections, she used to put the needle in really slow. We were told that since she was a slow inserter then she wouldn't like the automatic insert sites. The Cleo is a combo of both. Kacey has control of the insert but it automatically retracts the needle for her. The only drawback we're having is the fact that they don't stay stuck to her for more than a day. We're using the clear IV stuff that goes overtop but when we do this, it means she can't disconnect so we're having to disconnect the CozMonitor so she can bathe or shower during those 3 days. The Comfort Shorts stay stuck (and then some! LOL!).

Another thing we were told was the straight in sets tend to kink more than the angled sets. Sure that may happen but it hasn't happened to us yet. I must say, the Cleo sets have given her nearly perfect blood sugars, whereas the Comfort Shorts she was bouncing around a bit. I wonder if it had anything to do with the angle it was in? I'll certainly ask when we go back to the Endo!

We go back to the Endo next month for a check up and I'm going to ask for some samples of some other sets. I think it's only fair to Kacey to let her explore the other sets out there and then decide on the one she really likes rather than limiting herself.

So....don't let anyone tell you that a 9 year old child CANNOT care for their diabetes because Kacey is now proof! She has the desire to be independant and the determination to do it and I must say....I couldn't be more proud of her than I am right at this moment!
This pic made me cry. Here is Kayleigh sharing one of the proudest moments in Kacey's life and praising her for a job well done. They hugged for about 5 minutes after this and Kayleigh kept telling her how brave she was. What a wonderful big sister to show the support that Kacey needs.
As for Kacey....she looked at me afterward and said "I told you I could do it!"
She sure did! :)

8 comments:

Wendy said...

GO KACEY GO KACEY -- can you feel it??? Great job, Guys :) You're doing AWESOME!!!!

Molly said...

Yahoo, Kacey! That is AWESOME that you did it yourself!!!!!!

I switched to Cleos about two months ago. I had been using Minimed Quicksets, but was having so many problems with kinked sets that I gave up on them. I haven't had a problem with them staying adhered. In fact, the one I'm wearing now has been in for 5 days. (I'm changing tonight!)

I thought I wouldn't be able to do the more "manual" insertion of the Cleo, and it took me about 10 minutes to finally push it in the first time. I don't think that the Cleos hurt as much as the quick sets now that I compare them.

I also tried the Inset, but I found them so complex and cumbersome to insert. (even though I really loved that they came in pink!)

It's nice to try a couple to see what really is a match. I think that it's good to use a variety. I wish I would have long ago, because it made the switch more traumatic.
Of course... I only have less than four years left to use Cleos... sigh.

Shamae (Ghost written by Loren her hubby) said...

Yay! Go Kacey!!! That is great! Tell her we are so proud of her!!

Rachel said...

Good job Kacey!!!!!! I can't wait for Tristan to get to that point! :) To help with Tristan's site, to make sure that it stick really well, we use I.V. Prep by Smith&Nephew. It cleans and makes the skin sticky. The site stays on great, we never had a site come out. Because it's under the site, no problems with connect and disconnect. However, unlike the Unisolve wipes, this one is not covered by insurance (in our case anyways).

Again, great job Kacey... sending you a virtual high five!!!

Scott K. Johnson said...

Way to go Kacey! I'm so proud of you!

Anonymous said...

Yay Kacey! We love Cleo and we use Mastisol after we put on a new site. It comes in a little spray bottle but is works so good that I apply it with a q-tip so that it doesn't get everywhere. It's liquid adhesive used by hospitals to keep tubing, dressings and bandages in place and man does it work. This way Nik can still disconnect to shower, etc.

I gotta tell you that I love the look on Kacey's face - both pictures :-D .

Amy said...

Yay Kacey! Good for you! Jill- you are doing such a great job with her! She wouldn't be so confident in caring for herself if you weren't there cheering her on!

Amy said...
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