Home Alone... Well, Not Exactly

My husband Ryan just left for a business trip.-- a week in Salt Lake City. I'm here alone with the kids. Joseph is down the street playing with his friend Zachary. Before he left he checked his blood sugar (it was 142), had a snack, and a bolus of insulin to cover it. My 2-year old daughter Evan is in the living room having a lively conversation with her hands while she sits huddled behind the couch. There seems to be an argument going on back there. I decide to stay out of it.

So I'm here, thinking about the week ahead. Evan still has a nasty cold. And Joseph's sugars have started creeping up again. He just started using an insulin pump two months ago. I'd read in several places that starting on the pump is like being diagnosed all over again.

Yes, it is.

We've been on a wild rollercoaster of highs and lows. But Joseph's first night on the pump was amazing. His blood sugars that evening were good. However, at midnight he dropped to 76. Normally at that time I would have to wake him up and give him a snack to prevent the inevitable low, but that night I adjusted his basal rate from .125 units /hour to .075. At 3am he was 102 and at 6am, he was 103... incredible!

And the fact that he didn't need a shot at dinner or bedtime or breakfast the next morning had me more choked up than I can say here. He loved his pump in that first 24 hours. Loved being able to put his carbs in and bolus himself. Loved not having to wait for the school nurse to draw up a shot before lunch.

And he still does.

I, however, have come to realize that the pump requires far more of me and Ryan than the syringe ever did. But-- and if you're not on a pump or have a child with a pump, then please take my word -- it is absolutely worth it.