hospital

We spent three days at Legacy Emanuel Children's Hospital.  John spent the first night with Bryce in the hospital (we shared a room and I didn't want to be there alone with another child's dad)  John's parents came up the next morning to help us out with the boys so we could meet with the diabetes team to learn all we needed to before being sent home.   We first met with a Diabetes Educator to learn about diabetes and how to manage it.  She has Type 1 diabetes also so it was great getting her personal take on what we would encounter.  We learned how to test blood sugar levels and give insulin shots.  John and I practiced on each other.  My finger was sore for 2 days after John tested my blood....great, now how could I do this to Bryce?  I hoped he would be braver than me!   The second night, the other family had been discharged so I stayed the night at the hospital with Bryce.  Of course, Drew was with me as well.  At one point, I had both boys in bed with me...mind you, this was a little hospital cot!  I am sure the three of us in that little bed was quite the sight!  Anyhow, the next day we met with a Dietician to go over the nutrition/food aspect of diabetes management.  I feel fortunate that John and I understood nutrition and how to read food labels already.  Basically, Bryce needs to be on a meal schedule where he has to eat a set number of carbs for each meal and snack.   Who knew that some things had so many carbs in them?  This seemed like it was going to be impossible to feed him and we would need to find low-carb alternatives.  There was so much to learn in these two days and we were still in shock from the diagnosis.  I wasn't sure I ever wanted to leave the hospital and have to take on the responsibility ourselves.  

Overall, we were very impressed with our hospital experience.  I think Bryce really enjoyed himself (when he wasn't getting poked and prodded!)  There was a toy room where we could get toys, books, games, and movies to bring back to our room.  There was also a big playroom that during the day would have activities like craft projects (Bryce made a Halloween mask) and music time (the boys love to make noise).  The day before Halloween, they even came around each room and let the kids pick out Halloween costumes to keep.  Bryce choose a Buzz Lightyear costume and ran up and down the halls with it on.  So it seems he had a blast, though I am sure he was glad when we were able to leave...especially since we were out in time to still trick or treat for Halloween (and yes, he was able to have a few pieces of candy...we made sure we went over that before discharge)!