The memories that come with that tiny little straw

(Day 17 of NaBloPoMo)


As I prepared dinner tonight I decided to let The Princess have a "treat" to drink.

A juicy juice 4 oz box to be exact.

You know, the ones used to treat lows for The Superhero and MANY other Diabetic children. I needed to mix in the probiotics that the pediatrician's office recommended.

And as I was squeezing the juice into the cup for The Princess (she is not allowed to have the box, I don't want THAT mess), I had major flashbacks.

Flashbacks to the week leading up to The Superhero's diagnosis.

Flashbacks of THE DAY he was diagnosed.

You see, that week, he was not interested in drinking from a cup. Not a sippy cup. Nope.

The only way I could get him to drink was through a straw. And not just any straw, it had to be that tiny little straw that is attached to those Juicy Juice 4 oz boxes.

But, he was staying hydrated. Or so we thought. He would suck down those sugary juice boxes one after another. ALL. WEEK. LONG. Who knew that the very thing that we thought was helping him stay hydrated, was surely making him more and more sick.

On that final day, D day, I remember very clearly standing in our kitchen squeezing his juice into a cup. Much like I did for The Princess tonight, to disguise his anti-nausea medicine so he would drink them through the straw.

Only this time I was holding him. I could not squeeze the juice box and measure the medicine one handed, so I attempted to stand The Superhero on the ground.

Only, he could NOT stand.

He started to fall down, and I had to catch him.

He was SO weak, he could not even stand up. He was barely staying awake. And all I needed to do was get him to drink his meds mixed with juice through that tiny little straw. I thought I was going to make him feel better.

It was only a few hours later that we found out how close we were to losing him.

And it is kind of ironic now to think that the very thing that made him feel worse that fateful week could actually save his life today.

The time has come...

for The Superhero to GO TO SCHOOL!

AND, it did NOT go well today!

Our day started ok. We woke up and got ready. He was looking pretty snazzy in his new shirt and shoes...







I dropped him off at school so I could take The Princess to daycare. His BG at drop off was 253 (via Dexie).

I came back about 20 minutes later. He was playing and having a good time. I heard Dexie beep. I had him tell his teacher that Dexie beeped (trying to train them). He was dropping, FAST.

We decided he needed to go to the nurse to verify what his BG really was. On the way to the nurse's office (me, Teacher #1, and The Superhero) Teacher # told me that if they had to take him to the nurse's office regularly it might be a PROBLEM.

That's right folks, she said it might be a PROBLEM! Seriously?!

Now, I know she did not mean The Superhero was a problem, or that she really minded taking him to the nurse. She was concerned about the ratio of kids left in the room with Teacher #2.

I get that.

Really, I do.

BUT a whole slew of emotions ran through me thinking my kid was a problem. Diabetes was a problem. Ugh! The day was going *ok* until then! She also told me on the way to the nurse that we needed to have a meeting with the pre-school director, herself and the nurse to develop a plan of care for The Superhero. She said it would not be a 504, just a plan they use for preschool.

***Please note that I requested THIS type of a meeting WEEKS ago before school started. At that time the teacher felt I could just meet with her and the nurse separately and we would work it all out. I developed a "health plan" using the 504 Wendy has listed on her blog. I reviewed it with the teacher and the nurse and thought everything was peachy. ***

We get to the nurse's office and I just lost it. I started bawling LIKE A BABY.

I started getting all of those post-diagnosis emotions running through me.

Why? Why MY kid? Why can't he just go to pre-school without THIS crap happening? This is NOT fair! Why can't he just go to school like the other kids!?

Tears, and MORE tears come out of me as I try to explain what the nurse needs to do. Check BG, 70. Fruit snacks, The Superhero was SO EXCITED, we don't normally have those, so he did not mind getting a treat. I on the other hand was still crying uncontrollably.

After The Superhero finished his treat I sent him back to class with his teacher while I consoled myself and told the nurse what the teacher had said. She did not seem thrilled about the teacher's reaction to taking The Superhero to the office. She told me developing a plan would be a good idea and that the district might be able to get an aide just to follow The Superhero around ALL DAY LONG.

I don't want to get my hopes up, BUT this would be awesome!

We continued the school day by re-checking The Superhero's blood sugar prior to him going to recess. He was up to 97 at that point. We gave him a granola bar to keep his BG steady while he played on the playground for 30 MINUTES in 100+ degree weather, with LOTS of humidity.



Dexie checked during playtime, 124 and steady. Woo Hoo.

We come inside and he is checked again, 127 and steady. Woo Hoo!

Snack time for the rest of the kids. The Superhero is offered snack but chooses not to eat it, though I think he drank some of the milk. (more than I thought, for sure!)

He ended the day ok, other than his mood being off because he was going UP, UP, UP at that point from the aforementioned milk he drank. He did not want to sit in the circle with the other kids. He finally participated around the last 5 minutes.

He is not sure if he likes school so far. He was very upset he did not get to paint or use scissors yet, but he did enjoy playing most of the time.


After coming home, Wendy stopped by to chat with me. I had texted her that school did not go well, and being the SUPER, AWESOME friend she is, she stopped by. Of course, it helped that she was down the street having lunch.

Since she has literally been HERE when Sugar was in pre-k a few years ago, I knew she would be able to help me. She is planning on coming to The Superhero's meeting, once it is scheduled. She convinced me that we need to push for the 504, since legally, they should be doing it anyway. I am sure she will be the best advocate we could have in this situation.

SO, I sent an official request to the school district. I WANT a 504, and I sent them a copy of the plan I want. I am not sure when the meeting will be, but I will blog about it afterward.


Also, a side note. I am working on re-doing this whole blog. But this post could not wait for the re-design. So, please pardon my mess.

Please PRAY this works itself out.

2 Years Ago Today (7/10/08)

Sometimes it feels like just yesterday when we made the decision to take The Superhero into the ER instead of the doctors office.

He had been SICK for days and no one could figure out what was wrong with him. Even the ER docs tested for other things before actually checking his BG.

Once they did, there was no turning back.

Our lives were flipped upside down in a whirlwind that would be our stay in the PICU and Peds room over the next several days. Our diabetes education consisted of about an hour each day with an educator. Then we were sent home to manage this beast on our own.

We became carb counting, insulin calculating, finger checking, shot giving, sugar forcing parents to our then 18 1/2 month old toddler.

We have gone through the many steps of having a child with a chronic, life threatening illness. Emotionally, this last two years has definitely been a roller coaster. We have had lots of good days and plenty of bad days.

This disease has brought LOTS of mental, physical, and emotional exhaustion. BUT it has also given us MANY, MANY, MANY close friends we would have NEVER met without this disease being in our lives. The people we have met virtually, have become instant friends.

We have ONE, HUGE common bond, the fact that we are keeping our children alive 24/7. And, we do this together. And those of us that live near each other, love to party together too!

Diabetes has brought a few trips to the hospital (October 2009 and February 2010), LOTS of finger pokes, and LOW blood sugar days.

We also have celebrations with our new found friends. We exchange cards at Christmas, have a secret Santa exchange and share HUGS for Hug a Diabetic Day.

So, even though I did not plan to go to Holland, I am enjoying the company while we are here.

Lots of love on our 2 year Diaversary to all of my AWESOME D Mama (and Dad) friends!


***Side Note: Here is The Superhero's Diagnosis story and the post from our 1 year Diaversary***