Houston . . . We have a Problem!: Tagged! Who's Next?

9:57 AM

This tag goes back quite a ways now . . . Let's see if I can get it right!

It was started by Kerri over at the fantastic Six Until Me. She describes it at as a blog meme just for those with wonky pancreases (and for the people who love us). The fabulous Penny over at A Sweet Grace tagged the beautiful Reyna over at Beta Buddies who then proceeded to tag Jen the Great at I am your Pancreas. Jen then tagged the lovely Lora at My Diabetic Child and that is how we got here to Houston We Have a Problem - o!

So, now you have to read my answers and wait until the end to see how will be tagged next!!

What type of diabetes do you have:

My son, Nate has Type 1 diabetes (not the kind that your grandma has {unless she really has T1} or your Uncle Bob that controls it quite well with his diet and exercise).

When were you diagnosed:

Nate was diagnosed on 9/17/09 (yep - 1 year on Friday) at the age of 14-months.

What's your current blood sugar:

Great! Why did I decide to answer these question right after a breakfast of waffles and whipped cream? Ugh! DexCom says 261 with arrow trending down. We ate about an hour ago so no correction at this time.

What kind of meter do you use:

We use the OmniPod's built in meter which is the Freestyle. We also use the Freestyle Lite on the fly (although, it just crapped out on us - - - hint-hint Freestyle --- hook a D-Mama up, please). LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the freestyle with it's little strips (requires such a small amount of blood) and super fabulous light on the end.

How many times per day do you check your blood sugar:

Anywhere from 8-15 times per day. Yesterday it was 8 but the day before was 15 and the day before that was 12. It just depends on how well DexCom is keeping up with my VERY active son!

What is a "HIGH" number for you:

Over 200 but I don't start freaking until 250 (he's only 2!)

What do you consider "LOW":

Under 70 during the day and 90 at night

What is your favorite low blood sugar reaction treater:

I can almost always get Nate to eat a banana so we use them a lot. I keep smarties and icing in my bag but prefer to use something a little healthier when I can. Nate loves banana and goldfish! We use juice for LOW lows and we do a yogurt/juice combo a lot at night.

Describe your dream endo:

We love our endo team! Our endo is wonderful but honestly we work very closely with our CDE and I am in love with her. Ugh - yea in a -- I love her and her mad CDE skills kind of way!! She is wonderful with Nate and he thinks she is pretty special too!! Nate thinks he's a rock star when he walks into our endo's office. We are no longer at a pediatric practice so he is usually the youngest patient in there by a good 50 years!! :) So, needless to say he gets A LOT of attention!!

Who's on your support team:

Jim is a huge supporter. He's been working out of state for a while now but he let's me bitch and moan anytime I need to. He knows how hard I am working to keep Super Nate healthy and I know when he gets home this afternoon he's going to let me take a nice, long nap!!

We are very blessed to have almost my entire family here in town so I have many, many people supporting me and Nate.

My mom and dad live 3 miles away and are super supportive!

I'm trying to keep this short but I want to give credit where credit is due . . .

My friend, Helen has been known to pop over here at midnight and sit with me while we wait out a high or a low. My friend, Amy is always ready to deliver a hot Starbucks after a long night of slaying Nate's crazy numbers.

My cousin, Brian and I have become super close since Nate's dx and I could not be more thankful for his love and support. He's T1 so he knows what I am dealing with on a daily basis. I believe he loves Nate (and the girls) as his own.

Almost done - I promise! Ok - I am not 100% sure how many walkers we are actually going to have in 2 weeks for the JDRF Walk but I ordered 125 Super Nate t-shirts! Now - - - that is a lot of support!!

DOC - enough said! :)

Do you think there will be a cure in your lifetime:

Honestly? No. It's something that I struggle with a lot - - - obviously I want a cure so much it hurts but I know there are a lot of people that have been waiting a LONG time. I am hopeful that there may be one in Nate's lifetime and I support all of the research being done because I know that where we are today is so much further than where we were yesterday.

What is a "cure" to you:

A cure to me is Nate not wearing 2 medical devices to keep him alive and safe. It is a fully working pancreas that comes out of retirement and decides to work his little tail off to make up for lost time. It means no more horrid highs and lows for my baby boy.

Do you know how hard it is to watch your son not be able to move his feet? His lows are heart breaking - when he looks down and cannot comprehend why he cannot control his movements it is not only frightening --- it is down right gut wrenching!

The most annoying thing people say to you about your diabetes is:

THING? Just one THING? People say the most annoying THINGS all of the time! But if I have to choose just one . . . . I would say the worst thing that people say is "At least it's not cancer". I hear that a lot and although I do not wish cancer upon anyone --- Type 1 diabetes is no cake walk people! I don't want cancer but I sure as hell don't want diabetes either! Compassion people! Compassion!!

The most common misconception about diabetes:

That I somehow did something to cause Nate's diabetes or that things should be easy now that we have it under "CONTROL". Control? What the heck is that?

If you could say one thing to your pancreas, what would it be:

Oh good grief - - - It takes everything inside of me not to cuss his stupid pancreas out! BUT - I think I may just resort to begging. PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE get back to work!! PLEASE - my little boy needs you!! I need you!! PLEASE - I'm begging you Mr. Pancreas - PLEASE!

. . . and for the record . . . DexCom is reporting 185 still trending down!! :)~

Now for the TAG!

Drum roll, PLEASE . . . . . . . . . .

The Super Fabulous Mother of 4 . . . 3 of which have T1D . . . . Meri at Our Diabetic Life!

9 comments:

Unknown said...

Love your support team....and kind of envious too :)

PS -- I LOVED THE FREESTYLE STRIPS TOO!!!!! Our insurance loves the One Touch...oh, yeah, and then there's that Ping Thing....but I LOVED THE FREESTYLE STRIPS!!!!!!

September 12, 2010 at 10:42 AM

Hallie Addington said...

125?!?! That is AMAZING!!!

Can I get a shirt?!?

September 12, 2010 at 10:46 AM

Unknown said...

I think that is so cool that the Omni-pod has the free-style glucometer integrated with it. I did not know that.

125 WALKERS is fantastic!

And, I hate the "Cancer" comment...that is what I listed as the answer to that question too.

Awesome answers...and I cannot wait to read Meri's post.

September 12, 2010 at 12:31 PM

Penny said...

Great answers Laura - I love hearing everyone's thoughts. Thanks for playing Tag with us! I am amazed at the 125 walkers. If I was closer, I would SO be there sister! You sound like you have a fabulous support team too, it makes such a difference. And as I type this, I see my blog button to the left of the comment screen, and why does it have "/> after it???? Hmmmm.....

September 12, 2010 at 1:33 PM

Cindy said...

Great answers, Laura! This tag thing is so interesting to read and see the differences and similarities between people. 125 walkers for Team Nate! So fantastic!

Can't wait to read Meri's answers next!

September 12, 2010 at 3:17 PM

Heidi / D-Tales said...

How wonderful that you are surrounded by such tremendous support!

September 12, 2010 at 4:19 PM

connie said...

So happy that you have so much support...it sounds like you have some amazing people in your life!!!

And 125 walkers?! WOO HOO!!! That is AMAZING!

September 12, 2010 at 5:11 PM

Meri said...

You rock. I am in awe of your walk fundraising awesomeness!! I am also honored to be the next tagged in this meme-spectacular!! First thing tomorrow morning I will post...

Standing up! My name is Meri and I am so proud of Team Super Nate!
;L

September 13, 2010 at 12:28 AM

Anonymous said...

I'm with you on the "control" thing...not quite sure when that's gonna happen with my kids either!!!

September 13, 2010 at 4:53 AM