Diabetes Expo

Last weekend, we attended the Diabetes Expo at the Convention Center.  The boys got to do crafts then watch a magic show while John and I listened to a speaker discuss where research is at on finding a cure or prevention for diabetes.  The boys probably had more fun than we did. After the symposium,  we walked around all the vendors at the expo.  I got info on insulin pumps and diabetes camp while the boys jumped in a couple bounce houses and ate samples of fruit sorbet.  TrialNet was there so we took the opportunity to have our blood tested to see if we are likely to get diabetes.  They run studies on close relatives of those with diabetes and if we show antibodies that can lead to diabetes, we can be in a study to prevent the onset. I absolutely hate needles, they make me faint.  But I was super brave during my blood draw because I think this is important.  Jaden really did not want to get his blood drawn.  He screamed and cried.  It took us about 20 minutes to even get him to sit in the chair by the nurse.  All this time, Bryce kept getting in the chair...maybe he wasn't scared because he wasn't getting his blood drawn or maybe cuz he gets pokes and shots all the time.  Anyhow, Jaden was a wreck!  Outside the little tent, other families were waiting with their children to get blood drawn and could hear Jaden's fearful protests. One boy was even hiding under the table because he didn't want to be next.  When we finally got Jaden to get his blood drawn, he screamed out "it hurts! it really hurts!!"  Yeah, sorry to all the parents after us!!!

the big FOUR

Bryce turned 4 years old on February 17th.  We celebrated at Bullwinkle's with pizza and cake, followed by lots of running and climbing around the play structure.  I can't believe how big my little guy has gotten!

stomach bug

Our house had a visit from a not so friendly stomach bug this weekend.  It started Thursday night with Drew throwing up all over me....multiple times.  A couple hours later, Jaden came running into our room saying he didn't feel too good and subsequently threw up on the floor by our bed.  I was dreading the fact that Bryce was inevitably going to get sick too.  We just had an appointment with our endo that said to call right away if he throws up because diabetes management gets tricky at that point.  I figured it was because the risk of going low due to not eating or keeping anything down.  Not the case really.  Well sure enough, 3:30am and Bryce was joining the other two throwing up.  I called the on-call doctor (I could tell I woke him up!) who basically said to check for ketones often and then call before breakfast.  We were up all night long, ended up just watching movies and tv shows with the boys. Not a fun night at all! In the morning, there was no way Bryce was going to be eating but he still needed to have his insulin...this is where it gets tricky.  Apparently the body produces excess sugars when it is stressed, like with an illness, so even though he was throwing up and not eating, his bs levels were high.  He only got half his usual dose in the morning.  I had to check his levels often to make sure he didn't go low and check his ketones also.  Normally ketones only form if blood sugars are high over a period of time but when sick, they can form with normal bs levels.  So when I tested him around lunch time, he had moderate to large ketones (ketones are the byproducts of the body burning fat for energy instead of sugars and they make a person very sick)  Apparently the only way to get rid of ketones is with insulin so Bryce needed another shot.  I was able to get him to drink some apple juice (though it took a couple hours!) and this kept him from going low.  We spent most of Friday sleeping on the couch and watching endless tv.  It is no fun having three sick boys to take care of....especially once I started feeling queasy too!!!  Everyone (except me) was feeling much better by the time John got home from work.   I am bummed that we missed the boys' school Valentine parties...especially after all the hard work we did making Valentines for everyone.  But I am so glad everyone was doing better for the actual Valentine's Day....well, that is except for John.

big cake

John and I were going through some old photos and came across this one from last year of Bryce eating a HUGE piece of chocolate cake.....It almost made us cry!  

Date Night

This afternoon, John took Jaden to the Blazers basketball game.  Thought it would be a good opportunity for me to do something special with Bryce, so my mom came over to watch Drew.  He was so interested in playing with his "robots" (he uses straws, legos, pipecleaners, anything he finds around to make these things) that I didn't think we would ever get out of the house.  We eventually left and just went to McDonald's so he could play on the climbing structure.  Okay, so not very interactive since I won't climb through those little tunnels but at least it was something active and fun for him.  After playing for a bit, I got him an ice cream cone as a treat (it was snack time for him and activity lowers blood sugars).  We chatted as he ate his ice cream cone and the whole time I am thinking about how many carbs it may have.  I looked online before we left and the McD's website said that a kid's cone was 8 and a "low fat vanilla" cone was like 26.  Not sure which he had since our only option was vanilla or chocolate dipped.  Anyhow, he didn't eat the actual cone (I got that...mmm) so maybe he got 12?, 20? who knows.  He then went back and ran thru the climbing structure again with some kids.  As I watched him, my thoughts were of if he was going to go low from all the activity, did he have enough carbs or was the ice cream too much and he still needed to run, and how long before I test him, etc.  Simple playtimes are no longer simple for us.  Luckily, he is a kid and just plays...I will be the one to worry and calculate carbs, etc.  My wish is for him to not miss out on the fun of childhood because of diabetes.  Even if it means having to make adjustments later to correct for an ice cream cone that we don't know the carb count for.