Friday, June 19, 2009

Checks

Oh, how I have fallen off the blogging bandwagon.

I was reading some of my old posts last night and marveled at how frequently I wrote and how long the posts were. Clearly, those were my pre-child and pre-book days.

Things are the usual over here. Our son is two and totally keeps us hopping. He is a total chatterbox, loves to go to the ATM (which he calls the AEM). Every time we drive or walk by an ATM, or he sees the Bank of America logo somewhere, he shouts "AEM! Checks! Deposit!"

It's a big treat for him to walk with me to the ATM and watch me deposit a check. I wish I got as many as he seems to think I have.

Next week he starts two days of a local summer camp to go along with the three days of daycare he's already in. This is so I can have solid time every day to work on my diabetes and pregnancy book. It's moving along, but my deadline is fast approaching, and currently, I'm not writing fast enough to meet it. August is going to totally suck.

The book, when I finally sign off on a chapter, feels great. However, there's always something else I can be doing, and I always have something hanging over my head. Sort of like diabetes itself, I suppose.

Along those lines, I had a bit of a freakout last week when Baby L (who should really be called Toddler L now) slept really late one morning (I mean, 'til 9:30 am, which is unheard of). His diaper, no surpise, was soaked. Since I had such a great specimen, as it were, I took out a Ketostix and pressed it into the diaper.

The result was Trace.

Oy vey.

I immediately called his pediatrician's office and asked to speak to a nurse or a doctor about it. I explained my history, my reasoning for why I even have a bottle of Ketostix by my son's diaper changing area, and was promptly put on hold.

I did a quick Google search on Trace Ketones in Toddlers, but didn't get much back. Instead, the hold went on and on and I hung up. Toddler L was clamoring to watch Sesame Street on my laptop, his latest favorite thing. I set him up with Elmo and Abby Cadabby, changed the lancet out of my kit and gave everything a good swipe with alcohol.

I didn't want to do it, but I figured I could find things out quicker on my own.

I pricked his finger and tested his blood sugar. He cried and said "No More!" when the lancet went into his finger. I felt bad.

5

4

3

2

1

His result was 78.

I was thrilled.

I kissed his head and immediately called back the doctor's office and finally got a nurse on the phone. She assured me, as this office has in the past, that he didn't seem to be showing major signs of diabetes, and actually had the nerve to say the Ketostix for home use aren't always accurate. (But they're accurate enough for pregnant diabetic women to pee on them every morning, but I digress.) As long as his blood sugar was 78, the trace ketones could be explained away because he slept for so long, he hadn't eaten in a long while and ketones sometimes appear that way.

It seemed reasonable to me. But I will absolutely continue to check his urine if it's easy to do so.

Just as I'll keep writing with my eye on the deadline down the road. And with any luck, people who don't know me will actually buy this book.

And hopefully that will bring me some more checks so my son and I can entertain ourself depositing them at the AEM.

10 comments:

BigP's Heather said...

Glad to hear from you!!

Rachel said...

Yikes.

Always thinking of you and the boy who was born on my birthday. :) Two years already? wow.

Sending happy writing vibes along.

Minnesota Nice said...

What a hoot - Baby L enchanted with the ATM machine - the kid had got his priorities clear.
So glad his bg was ok.

Minnesota Nice said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Unknown said...

I can understand your panic attack with Baby L. At least you have all the testing stuff and can put your mind at rest. May he have a healthy pancreas his whole life, and may ours behave as well as possible under the circumstances - or maybe it's the rest of the body that has to pull through now.

Antropóloga said...

Oh wow, it already has a price! Very official!

Flmgodog said...

Glad to hear things are moving along with the book. I wanted to write and respond to your last e-mail but have been out of the country. If you still need more help let me know and I am happy to help.
I had a freak out before we left the country with Izzie and I ended up testing her BG. I was so releaved to find that her BG was in the seventies. Uhhh, it's nerve wracking though.

Scott K. Johnson said...

So good to hear from you. Glad things are moving along with the book - I'm sure it will be great!

Annie said...

I think it's an everyday worry that Moms with Type 1 have - I worry constantly that Patrick will one day wake up and have to live his life the way I do.

The day before he turned one, he came down with a terrible stomach virus. He couldn't keep anything down and it was awful. He had never gotten sick before, not even an ear infection, so naturally I was freaking out.

Eventually, I tested his BS, which was completely normal in the 70s, but the entire time I was prepping for it, I was scared out of my mind.

We all go through it, I think. I know I do more often than not.

Glad to hear from you - you are missed when you don't blog.

Dana said...

As a 37 (almost 38) year old newly diagnosed type 1, I'm dying to read your book! My husband and I don't have children, but we were trying right when I was diagnosed 6months ago and have had to put things on hold. There's not nearly enough information out there on pregnancy and type 1, in my opinion....so I'm really looking forward to reading your story. Good luck!