Cowboy Herbie

Herbie decided that he was gonna try and be a cowboy today. Kacey is home again today because she had blood sugars running in the 400's again. She finally woke up at 11:30am but she still wasn't hungry. Yeah, I know....weird! She's high, yet she's not feeling the need to stuff her face? Nope! She's actually got an upset stomach. By 12:30pm, I'd convinced her to eat a lunchable. She finished lunch and was on her way into the bathroom to potty before getting back in bed. Herbie decided to lasso her tubing around the bathroom doorknob and Kacey experienced a ripped out pump site. She had Herbie in her pump bear so her tubing was dangling free. I heard her scream and she came running in crying. I'm not sure which hurt worse....the pain from it being ripped out OR the fact that she was holding Herbie in her hand with her site attached to it. Poor thing! I calmed her down and explained we had to put in another site after just doing a site change yesterday. Ugh! I promised to get it over with as quickly as I possibly could. We moved her site back to her front tummy and she's gone back to bed.

***Lesson Learned***- When you're not laying in bed, put Herbie in a pump pack!!

15 Years Ago....

On this day, 15 years ago, I gave birth to a beautiful baby girl!

On 9-22-94, I went out of work on complete bedrest. My official diagnosis....toxemia. I still had 5 weeks to go and my OB doctor said "The baby just isn't ready yet, so we're putting you on complete bedrest until it's time." For a whole week, I layed on the couch and did nothing! I gained 13 pounds in water weight that week and I was one very scared 19 year old.

On 9-29-94, I woke up around 8am. I was still living at home and my Mom had gone to work. As I got out of bed, I realized I'd wet the bed (so I thought). I was upset because I'd never felt myself pee and I figured the baby must have pushed on my bladder. I went into the bathroom to clean up when I felt another rush of pee down my legs.....or was it? It was clear. It was warm. But this time it had a little blood in it. I started to cry and I called my Mom at work. She told me to call the doctor and she was on her way. Meanwhile, I called my doctor and put on a pad to keep myself from peeing all over my clothes. (hahaha...yep I still thought it was pee) The nurse told me to come on in because she thought my water broke. HUH?!? So I hung up, packed my hospital suitcase because I wasn't ready yet and then waited for my Mom. Within 30 minutes, she was home and out the door we went. I'd started to have some pain but it wasn't too bad. By the time we got back over to the OB, I was having some pretty bad pains. The nurse took my pad and tested the "fluid". My OB doctor walked back in and he clapped his hands together and smiled as he said, "We're gonna have a baby today!" I started to cry. NOOOOOO! I wasn't ready! I still have 4 weeks! I was leaning against the bed with my hands and rocking back and forth. The pain was all in my lower back and it was starting to make me sick. Thankfully the hospital was right across the street. We got into registration and they put me in a wheelchair. How do I breathe through the contractions? I'd only made it to my first lamaze class last week. It's too early! A million things were swirling through my head! I got registered in and they took me on to the elevator. I shouted out, "I think I'm gonna get sick!" and my Mom kept saying, "Use your shirt! Don't throw up in the elevator!" I managed to hold it back til I got into my room. Thank goodness they had a trashcan at the doorway. Ugh! I have NO pain tolerance! My Mom paged Kayleigh's bio-dad and then called my brother. Both of them rushed to the hospital. By now, it's nearly 10am. I'm REALLY feeling the pain and the nurse finally convinced me to get the epidural since I was only 4cm dialated. Don't let anyone ever tell you that getting the epidural doesn't hurt! It burned and I was so scared....BUT....I only had 2 more bad contractions and I was resting in "La-La Land" :) The nurse kept coming in to check me and by 2pm it was time to push! My doc came in and he was laughing and joking as usual. At 2:30pm, I was holding a beautiful baby girl, Kayleigh Breanne! She was perfect.... and at 4 weeks early....she weighed 6lbs. 12oz. and was 18.5 in long. She was so tiny and everything we bought was too big. I was released from the hospital 24 hours later and Kayleigh made her 1st trip to Walmart...haha! I had to buy her preemie sleepers.

Now, 15 years later, she still makes me the happiest Momma in the world! I'm so proud of her and what she's becoming.

So today... HAPPY BIRTHDAY KAYLEIGH BREANNE!!! Mommy loves you!!

Back In Range

Finally after a few days, Kacey is back in range! It took a new site change and sugar checks every 2 hours and dosing to get her down...but we did it! She was a 136 at 2am this morning and then a 154 at 6am. It was really nice to wake her up and start the day with a smile. She got up out of bed...got dressed and made her own breakfast before I ever got myself ready. She was in such a great mood and she continued to hold steady through the day :)

I've noticed that a lot of the kids are running high and then Cara and my friend Tracy posted about their crazy highs on my Facebook and it made me really start thinking. It seems like Kacey is high when many others are high and then when we're battling lows, so are others. I blamed the moon on Cara's Facebook! Heehee! I hope all of them start feeling better. Cold season is in full swing!

***Moronic Mommy Moment***
Kacey usually packs her own lunch and I check behind her and usually stuff an "I love you!" note in there. This morning we were running behind and she packed up her backpack and I never checked her lunchbox. She got to school and when snacktime rolled around, she went into panic mode...LOL! She pulled her lunchbox out to get her snack and it was EMPTY! She'd forgotten to pack her lunch and this Moron Mommy forgot to check behind her! BUT...she knew that I'd put a basket of food in the closet in the nurses office. She had water, chips, crackers, cookies but I also have other things for lows. So she went to the nurse, gathered things for lunch and never even had to call me! So...just an idea for those other Moms out there that are always rushing around...take a container with extra stuff and stash it in the nurses office on days like these :)

I also wanted to let the gentleman that made the rude comment to my McDonald's post know...I responded to you and from now on if you can't say something nice on here please don't respond to my posts. I am not a doctor, I am not an expert, but the one thing that I am is a RESPONSIBLE and SENSATIVE parent that is controlling this uncontrollable disease the best way I possibly can. Oh, and BTW, I will continue to let my child eat McDonald's :) Thank you!

Pump Pack Giveaway

I have to start this post by thanking Cara for starting an addiction that is going to follow Kacey for the next few years. When Kacey first got her pump, Cara was so thoughtful and sent Kacey her very first pump packs. One with Tigger and the other with Jonas Brothers. Because Kacey found such a love for these packs, my Mom decided to use one of them as a model and make Kacey more. Last year, Kacey had about 15 different packs and she'd match them to whatever she was wearing that day. It became a "fashion trend" and her friends looked forward to seeing which pump pack she came in with next. So to continue the trend, my Mom doubled the amount of packs and got creative. She has been a sewing freak the last few weeks. She whipped out a whopping 30 pump packs for Kacey to start school with this year! She made her ones to match different outfits but then she even made a few for holidays! She's got one with fireworks, one with jack-o-lanterns, one with green swirls and one with hearts! She even made one with paw prints which is Kacey's school mascot logo!!! Thanks Nae for all your hard work! Below is a pic of what she surprised Kacey with.....
While she was on a sewing binge, she whipped out a few extra packs for me to use as "giveaways" on here. If you're interested in getting one of these packs, all you have to do is post :) Please do not put your address on here for privacy reasons. Just tell me you're interested, your name, your child's name, diagnosis date and most importantly....your email! On Friday, Oct 2nd, I will be putting everyones name in a bowl and letting Kacey draw them out. I've got at least 6 packs to give away so far :) So....POST!!! :) :) :) :)

Sorry that the packs are not in a boy print. My mom did these with extra material she had from making Kacey's packs. The packs that are made straight up and down will hold either a pump or a lancet and test strip bottle. So if your little one is going outside to play and already has a different way to clip their pump, then she can use this to carry her lancet, test strips or even a bottle of glucose tabs/gel.

One very special grand prize winner will receive a ***secret*** pump pack and another special surprise that will be shown on Friday Oct 2nd when Kacey does the drawing.

GOOD LUCK!!! <3

Another SICK Day

So, we're out on another sick day. Kacey woke up this morning with a blood sugar of 315, sore throat, stuffy nose and she said her body was so tired and she could hardly move. Just a simple task like getting out of bed, took her over 20 minutes. She just couldn't get moving! When she finally got to the couch, I took this pic....
And then....10 minutes later....

I just can't imagine how she feels. I know what a cold feels like. I know what it feels like to be tired because of a cold. But the frustrating part is NOT knowing how it feels to have a high blood sugar and a cold. High's zap her body and then top it off with a cold and this is what we get!

So we're spending the day at home today!

And...on an exciting note....this is my 400th post!! :)

"DDD"

DAMN DIABETES DAY!

Thats what we're having today in the West household.

This morning, Kacey woke up at a 197. Not bad but not great. It took her 15min to move out of the bed and slowly grumbled as she got dressed. Ugh! "Please God don't let this be a sign of how the day is gonna go!" I asked her what she wanted for breakfast? Just JELLO, Mom. HUH? Did I hear her right? JELLO? She said her tummy wasn't feeling too good and all she wanted was JELLO. I convinced her to have 2 waffles and a scrambled egg instead. She ate but was s-l-o-w moving.

As we drove to school, she got tears in her eyes and said her tummy felt "nervous". I told her she'd be fine once she got to school. We walk in and she's more clingy than usual. Hmmm? Wonder whats going on? She's loving school. She adores her teachers. So I don't know why she's doing this? I kissed her goodbye and she went on to class. I scooted off to the gym after stopping to visit a friend. I walk in the gym, put my stuff in a locker, walk out to put my name on the board for one of the treadmills when.....*ringgggg* ~School Nurse~ shows across the screen of my phone. UGH! The nurse tells me that Kacey is in her office complaining of a sore throat, headache and sick tummy. Great! So she tells me that she is going to have her test her blood sugar and call me right back. About 5 min later....*ringgggg* "Hi Jill, her blood sugar is almost 300 and she really doesn't feel well." I asked to talk to her and she started to cry and tell me she wanted to go home because she didn't feel good. So I erased my name off the board and go pick her up. When I got there, she had absolutely NO color in her face! Eeep! Her nose is stuffy so I'm thinking maybe allergies are getting to her. We get home, I give her a dose of Zyrtec and within 40 minutes she's sound asleep! She slept til almost 1pm and when she woke up she was hungry. She ate and then went back to bed. About 30min later, she came out of her room holding her head. What now? She said she felt light headed and she had her meter and lancet in her hand but she was too "out of it" to do anything. I sat her down on the couch and checked her sugar...52! She ate a glucose tab and came up to a 95 in 15 minutes and then went to lay back down. Two hours later....292! WTF?!?! I give up! She's been on this stupid roller coaster and her poor body is ready to get off :( All she's done is lay around and watch movies because she says "My body is too tired to get up." I hate this!

Hopefully she'll start feeling better by tomorrow :(

She Continues to Amaze Me

I don't think there is a day that goes by that my daughters don't do something to amaze me. I'm so in love with the young ladies they are becoming and I couldn't be more proud of them.

Yesterday, Kacey did something on the D-side that really floored me. Since the school year has started, she manages her diabetes on her own. Unless she goes really low, the school nurse is not involved, her teachers are not involved, and what happens with her diabetes is between her and Herbie until she comes home from school. She's only had 2 lows at school this year. The first one was a 65 and she couldn't remember where her glucose tabs were. She got a new Vera Bradley Hipster bag and she didn't know where she put them. One phone call to me and she remembered exactly where they were! The second time she went low, she was getting ready for lunch and she was only a 72 so she just ate lunch and she did fine. But yesterday something really cool happened. She has PE once a week and it's midmorning after snack. She packed JELLO for snack.... 0 carbs...uhoh! She had snack and when it was time to go to PE, she tested....92. Hmmm? She knew that they were going to be playing flag tag. She made the decision to eat 1 glucose tab to keep her from going low. When she tested before lunch.... 80! She was so proud of herself because she said that she knew she was only a 92 and all the running would have made her go low and she didn't want to pass out on the field and she knew she could eat 1 glucose tab and it would bring her up enough so she could play. How cool is that? Only 9 years old and she cares for herself like shes 19! I praised her so much for knowing exactly how to treat herself. It's only been a year, but she knows her body so well now and she's so intune with what to look for! I wish there were times she didn't have to be so responsible but in the long run, I'm so thankful that she is :)

Another exciting note....we're still having to do site changes without the numbing cream. Yesterday was also site change day and I dread those days. I've got the "bribery" thing going so I was hoping that would still work. Herbie beeped at her to tell her it was site change. She just gave me this look and I told her to press ignore and I'd give her an hour to get herself together. She smiled and said she didn't need an hour cuz she wanted to get it over with and then asked me if I had a dollar ready? HAHAHA! She took her old site out and I stared at her speckled tummy. Each scar a reminder of where I'd stuck her. Since it's just me and her when we do site changes, she always takes her clothes off so she's not having to hold her shirt up. I turned her around and her hips were just as scarred :( She turned back to me and I asked her where she wanted it? She ran her fingers over her scars and told me that she thought we needed to try a new spot. NEW SPOT?!?! I held my breath as she looked over her tummy. All of her "speckles" are on her sides. She then said, "I think we'll try....there!" and she pointed to a new spot on her tummy that was closer to the front. ***gulp!*** There? She confidently shook her head yes and then told me to hurry before she changed her mind! LOL! I told her that if we did it there and there were no crying fits then I'd give her $5! She smiled as I prepared her site. 1....2.....*deep breath*.....3- *stick* .....waits for tears.....huh? No tears? Nope! She said she never even felt it go in. Wowwwwwww! Then she smiled and asked for the 5 bucks. Ahhhhh! You know, some people might not agree with me giving her money to build her confidence with these site changes but until you're the parent of a diabetic child on the pump and you have to manually stick those needles in while your child is screaming "Please Mommy! Don't hurt me! I'm scared!" then you don't know how graciously I hand over that dollar....or in this case...5 dollars! And where does this money go? Right into her JDRF jar that we throw all of our change into and donate it when it's time for the Walk to a Cure. Sure, she knows that this money isn't hers. Those dollars are a reminder of how much we want that cure! Every site change is a dollar (or $5) closer to a cure! If you add that up over a year....$1 for every site change...$10 a month x 12 months .... $120 for her JDRF team that she will donate in her name! Nope! I don't mind giving her that dollar :)

On the flip side, Kayleigh floored me this week when she asked to join the Spanish Club at school this year. She's taking Spanish 3 and has the same teacher she had last year (thank goodness!). She said she knew it would help her get through the class! She's really buckled down with her grades and she's loving all her classes this year. She is going to apply for a catering job with her Culinary class and she's really excited about that! She will actually get paid for working and she'll gain the experience she needs to further her career.

Both girls just amaze me!

From One T1 to Another

The giggling and excitment running through my house is uncontrollable right now!

Thanks to my Mom, Kacey just received a package from Hollywood! She's been in contact with Elliot Yamin's staff and they graciously sent out this package to her. I knew what was inside, but neither of the girls did. The anticipation of what was in the FedEx envelope was almost too much to bear. Imagine the scream as Kacey pulled out an autograph picture of Elliot Yamin along with 2 CD's!!! Her eyes welled up with tears as she tore the wrapper off the CD and immediately put it in the stereo. She gazed down at the picture as we listened to the CD and she looked back up at me and with the most compassionate look on her face she said, "Mom, you know he has diabetes too and he is famous." *sigh*
Just more proof that diabetes doesn't limit you! Your child can be whatever they want to be.

I just want to take a moment and thank the kind staff member that put this package together for Kacey and sent it overnight mail. You have no idea how much you've made her smile! She's one very happy little girl :) God Bless You!

Also, Thanks Mom! Without your efforts, she wouldn't have gotten this!