Just some rambles – 15 months on

Kia ora…

It’s been a sweet minute or two between posts, sometimes cos life is CRAZY busy (waaaaah) and sometimes cos there is nothing new to say.

We weigh then calculate food, we bolus, we correct, we treat, we prick, we wake, we stay awake, we wait, we turn off basals, we reduce them, we increase them, we ketone test, we basically work hard 24/7 to keep our youngest son alive – as well as his older brother that doesn’t require all of the above.

It’s an odd thing, just ya know, casually being an organ for someone. Especially on top of every day stuff!

Recently, Cooper had a super infected foot from an allergic reaction to some tape. Like, it was GROSS (if you’d like to see pics I have a whole album on my phone!) And honestly, it was so hard to keep on top of that (antibiotics and antibiotic cream) as well as Beau had an infected sensor site, so needed antibiotic cream, as well as normal every day diabetes management. Phew! PLUS did I mention their Dad had ‘manflu’ at the same time! Lol I must admit I can be very one-track-minded focusing on one aspect of caring mainly for one person for example – so I found all the above pretty challenging to remember to attend to!

Beau’s grommet and adenoid surgery went well, in fact just this morning we had his follow up with his ENT surgeon and he is all in tip-top shape now! So we will have another appointment in a year to see how he is tracking.

It has been exactly ONE YEAR since Beau got his pump! Crazy to think how fast that has gone! So that means, KW and I haven’t given ONE INJECTION IN A WHOLE YEAR!!!!!!! After giving 4 a day, now we wouldn’t remember how to do it! lol We just change the needle in his bum every 3 days, insert a sensor in his arm every 14 days and finger prick when needed. Sometimes not even once in a day, sometimes 8 times a day. Most the time somewhere in the middle.

It’s so crazy to think that he’s had that amazing life saving device attached to him and his wee bottom for a whole year! We are so bloody grateful we got it so early on in our diabetes journey and hope that our hard work will continue to help Beau’s HbA1c to stay in the green range. I am interested to see how our next clinic appointment goes, hoping that it has improved since last time – that’s for sure!!!

We have had some issues of late at preschool, which has been a bit of a shock, as I had almost got comfortable with having him there. A lot of the things that happened were bad luck and not caused by the people who primarily look after Beau and his condition, but – it was a huge exhausting deal for a couple of weeks and actually consumed me and seemingly all of my energy. I had a meeting with the team leader, outlining my concerns and what I felt needs to happen next – which has – and now I am beginning to feel comfortable again. The main thing, ALWAYS, is Beau’s health and happiness and I will do whatever it takes to ensure this is first and foremost. Yup. I’m totally THAT Mum. And better yet, I give zero fucks. No one is going to fight for my kids like I am. I will stand by that too and how I pretty much fought to have him tested for Diabetes when I KNEW something wasn’t right. (I might play that card for the rest of my life lol!)

So, now I am going to mention that C word everyone is talking about…

You knew it was coming right, I don’t even watch or read the news (I know, ignorant but I just can’t. And haven’t in years.) But every time I open a social media account, it’s there. Again and again.

Blog followers from the beginning will know my history with  PND (Post Natal Depression) and anxiety, being diagnosed with GAD (Generalised Anxiety Disorder) and OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder).

So where does this leave us now – with Coronavirus, an immune-compromised Diabetic and a mum with OCD in regards to sickness? Plus KW and Cooper!

Well, at this point things are ok. As it hasn’t yet reached Christchurch, or a community level. When this happens, things will change. Beau attends preschool 3 days a week, and I teach 7 days a fortnight. Both super high risk zones. This is far away from now (hopefully, or better yet, not even going to happen!) so I am trying not to think about it or panic, I guess I’m not sure how we will manage if it does…

Diabetics are immune-compromised, I am not sure on too much of this detail, or even if Type 1’s are more compromised than Type 2’s – or if there is even a difference. But I saw a wee video from an endocrinologist in the US talking about how when a diabetics BGLs are in range more often, the risk to them can be slightly lower.

Beau’s blood has antibodies, which means his Type 1 Diabetes is an auto-immune disease. This is why he is immune-compromised.

So, I’m trying to keep things as normal as possible for us all at the moment, but my anxiety about taking the kids to public places and things is more present at the moment – not that they know that. I’m annoyed to be using hand sanitiser again and my hands are sore already from using it a couple of times this week. But Beau has to be safe, and to keep him safe – the rest of us have to be safe.

Complications from other normal viruses are super scary when combined with T1D, so something as unknown as this is scary.

Reading what I’ve just said – it sounds like I’m panicking – which I’m not, I guess I haven’t been able to catch a minute to think all this stuff through and now I’m writing it – it is real, and a possibility. But keep on keeping on, not many children have had it? If any? (again, don’t watch/read the news) I know it’s more of an issue for older people and for people with pre-exisiting health conditions (ahem!)

I just had such a lovely bedtime story with him, all snuggled up in my bed – where him and his brother are now both sleeping beside me (soz KW lol wonder where you’ll sleep tonight!) and he was just perfect. Snuggled in, gazing up at me with his wee lisp and high pitched voice asking questions about his favourite book, even though we read it often – The Gruffalo’s Child. ‘Oooh, I know who that is, it’s owl!’ etc. Meanwhile, his big brother was having big boy time with KW in the lounge watching the rugby. ❤️

It’s all in these moments, the snuggles, the innocence, the hair stroking, the kisses, tickles and goodnight songs and ‘their words’ I tell them every night that I love. It’s funny how it makes you forget the wee challenges along the day.

And, he’s so deliciously adorably extra-specially handsome!

But LOOOOOK. Best friends. Such beeeeeeautiful babies and I couldn’t be prouder of them both.