As some of you know, my son Nathan was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes when he was 20 mths old. We’ve had to fight with him to get finger sticks and shots daily since then.We’ve changed his insulin formula at least 4 times that I can remember right off hand. All this time his HbA1c (a test that basically tells if his sugars have been decent for 3 mths) has been high, usually in the low teens when a normal person’s is below 7. We’ve never had a good control, no matter what we did, over his sugar levels. One minute it seemed that he was sky high (the monitor only goes to 600 and he’s gone over that) and then the next he’s in his 30’s. For those who don’t know, a sugar level is supposed to be in the low 100’s. We’ve done this for about 3 and a half years now, very trying on him and everyone he’s in contact with.
Enough history… About 3 months ago we started talking with his Endocrinologist about the possibility of a pump since we’ve heard that smaller children are going on them.When he was originally diagnosed we were told he was too small, yet here were smaller children doing just that. The doctor agreed that since his sugars were all over the chart that he would be a good candidate and started the paperwork. About 6 weeks ago we were told Nathan was approved to get a pump and we had to go to a few pump related classes before we could actually start him. 2 weeks ago we went to our first class and actually got to take the pump home, albeit not attached to Nathan. Our next class is a week later and we get to see how to attach the pump. The nurse asked for volunteers to try the infusion set sans insulin. Out of a class with 5 future pumpers and their parents (12 people) only 4 wanted to try it, including me and Nathan. To tell you the truth, the waiting for the set to be inserted is a lot worse then the actual insertion. About 10 minutes after the insertion I forgot about the line going into my side. When we got home I could actually pull on the line and only feel the tugging of skin, no pain, no stinging, nothing.
Yesterday we had to get to the doctor’s office first thing. We drop our daughters at my mother-in-law’s house and run up to the office as soon as we can. We sit through about 20-30 more minutes of instruction on how to prime the pump and fill the reservoir and everything. Then, the moment comes. We’ve set everything up on the pump and have the line primed and ready to go. Nathan holds his shirt up and closes his eyes, ready for the expected pain. I gently hold his arms and shirt from behind and put my mouth next to his ear, all the while whispering words of encouragement. Kristin asked if he is ready and if he wants her to count it out or just do it. He responds that he wants her to just do it, don’t tell him. He takes after his mother in that respect, when giving blood she always tells the nurse to just do it, not tell her when she’s going to do the stick. Nathan grits his teeth and prepares for the worst. Kristin clicks the insertion device and pulls away and it is all over. Nathan is still standing there with his shirt up, looking down at his stomach in disbelief that it’s over already. He gives a little laugh and then goes over to draw in a coloring book he found in the classroom.
As a treat for being so good while in the classroom for the last couple of weeks we took Nathan to the mall and let him pick out a couple of toys. We walked around the mall a little bit and just enjoyed the time out. On the way home he fell asleep, we immediately thought his sugar had dropped to below normal, so on the highway Kristin turned around and checked him. He was fine, must have been the excitement of the new toy action figures and getting up early, but it still scared us. Kristin and I stayed out of work yesterday and Nathan stayed out of school so we could watch him incase his base-line rate was too much or too little and that he had no adverse reactions. We did notice that his sugars were running a little higher then we expected, but we were told that was normal and that we were going to have to prepare and adjust for it in the next few weeks.We are going to have to stay in constant contact with the doctor’s office faxing sugars, calling and working on basal (base line) insulin rates, working on bolus rates, and just general check ups. Also, for the next few weeks we will have to check his sugar at midnight and 3AM, doctor’s orders. This is in case he starts dropping in the middle of the night while we are working on getting his basal rate smoothed out.
After the initial headaches of getting everything set and ready on the pump, this will be a life changing event. No longer will Nathan be tied to a specific time to eat. No longer will he have to take shots (except in extreme cases). No longer will we have to worry if the shot was big enough or too big as the pump has a wizard that automatically calculates how much he should get. No longer will we have to worry about his sugars bouncing around (if we stay on top of what he eats). Our life will be easier, he can spend the night with family and friends if he so chooses, he can sleep late and not be tied to eating a meal at certain times. Thank goodness for technology.
