Field Trips

Field trips are hard enough for teachers and parents just because going to a new place with a bunch of kids/ teenagers isn't most people's cup of tea. (Except for the other kids/ teenagers on the trip.) If you throw diabetes into the mix, you have a recipe for disaster.

Elementary school was full of so many restrictions when it came to my diabetes. I couldn't carry around my blood tester or insulin, I had to go to the nurse every time before and after meals, and if I needed to check my blood sugar because I felt low or high. I probably lost at least 24 hours of the school year sitting in the nurse's office. (Needless to say, I was friends with all of the nurses I had in elementary school. They still remember me when they see me out in public...)Whenever we went on field trips, a parent had to go because the nurse couldn't just take time out of her day to go with the one diabetic child on the trip. (Obviously, this makes sense because there were tons of other kids at school.) On the 5th grade field trip, my mom had to go with me because we were going to the Tennessee Aquarium, and elementary school kids with diabetes were NEVER going to go out of state without a parent.

In middle school, I got more freedom. I could carry around my supplies, but I still had to go to the nurse's office for lows, highs, and after lunch to cover it. BUT, for the first two weeks of school, I had to go to the nurse's office for every test, and etc, so she knew I could be trusted. I wasn't in the nurse's office nearly as much anymore, and the nurse and I weren't exactly friends. (I'll save the story behind that for another time.) I still wasn't allowed to go any overnight trips without my parents because I was diabetic. (SURPRISE! I bet you didn't see that one coming.) I went on two field trips during the day without a parent, and that was it.

High school came, and now I have tons of freedom. I met the nurse at the beginning of the year and I only go to the nurse's office when my blood sugar is really low, or if I need to do a site/CGM change in school. This year was also the first year that I went on an overnight field trip without a parent chaperoning, and it made me nervous at night. (It didn't help my worrying when my mom told me to pack a glucagon, for the first time ever, to bring with me on the trip.)  I was rooming with my friend I've had since 6th grade, so she knew I was diabetic, but she didn't know all about my diabetes like my parents do. I packed eight site changes for a three day, two night vacation. I only used one of them. I took a full bottle of glucose tabs and a box of clif bars everywhere I went. When my blood sugar was low, I would have mini panic attacks because of all of the possible things that could have gone wrong. "What if I faint and no one finds me?" "What if I need a glucagon and no one knows how?" Those were thoughts I had during my lows; they were obviously invalid because I was in a room full of people, so someone would see me. I had also told my friend how to use the glucagon, so that was irrational as well. I obviously made it through the trip and came back alive; it ended up being lots of fun. (I went to the FIRST Robotics regional competition in my state. I had tons of fun and cannot wait to go back next year.)

I guess the moral of this story is: I wish the schools gave me more freedom when I was younger, so I didn't freak out as a high schooler on an overnight trip only an hour away from home. I'm not sure how anyone can prepare for this, but I feel like if I had experienced leaving my parents overnight beforehand, I wouldn't have freaked out as much.

They're Here!

My Dexcom sensors finally came, after a week of waiting. It took a lot of high blood sugars, frequent testing, anxiety, and just a lot of anger towards my diabetes, but I made it through one week without my Dexcom. That week really opened my eyes to how much I take my diabetes technology for granted.

My Dexcom is basically the GPS for my life. It tells me whether I should eat a quick snack before I go somewhere or if I need to check my blood sugar because I am going up. I am also shown what happens overnight, so when I wake up in the 400's for days, * COUGH COUGH * Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday * COUGH COUGH* I actually know what is happening, and what I need to do to fix it. The magical Dexcom is basically my secret adviser when it comes to diabetes related things.

I've never been more thankful to see these boxes in my life.

Without my Dexcom, I was basically lost, even though I had only had it for three months. I forgot to cover lunch. (When I put in my lunch BG into the Dexcom, I am reminded to cover lunch.) I didn't know when I needed to have a snack after school, or just wait until dinner. I became anxious about my nighttime blood sugars because I couldn't just press a button and see what my blood sugars were, and I didn't know what was going on in between blood tests. I felt like I was blind, even though as my dad continually pointed out that I had lived without this handy device for nine years.

I guess my CGM shows how valuable the right technology for my health really is, and I am much more thankful for it now that have gone without it for a week.

Moral of Story: I am never wasting a sensor EVER again.

CGM-less

I used my last sensor for my G4 on Sunday night.

Sunday night, I only got one hour of sleep because I was worrying about not realizing I was low or this. (Yeah, that's enough to keep anyone up all night.) My blood sugar was actually pretty stable; I was 113 at 2:31 AM and 4:10 AM. I also forgot to cover lunch because my CGM's over 200 beep reminds me to cover, and I didn't have that to remind me.

Monday night, I went to bed and woke up on Tuesday feeling like I had the stomach flu. I tested my blood and I was 474. My CGM would have beeped at me/ I could have seen my blood sugar going up if I had checked my graph. Tuesday, I tested 8 times because of my paranoia about my blood sugars and not knowing where they were going. I went to bed at 287 and covered it. (I slept nine hours because I took 20 mg of melatonin.)

Gerard has been sitting in this glass pitifully unused.

This morning, I woke up at 440. I would love to see what my blood sugar is doing at night, so I could fix my basal rate, but I can't. I just lowered it because I was going low every night at 4 AM, so I don't want to change it back and risk sleeping through a low.

I am so reliant on my CGM, it isn't even funny. After my CGM trial, I had a nervous break down and started crying because I thought I was going to sleep through a low or worse. This little device is my life line, and I hate having to go without it. My insurance company only allows three boxes every month, so the new sensors can't ship until Friday, an they won't get here until Monday or Tuesday.

Moral of the Story: I hate this with a burning passion.

Longing for Camp

I'm one of those people that hates waiting; I'm probably one of the most impatient people you will ever now. Right now, I cannot wait to go to camp in June. I'm constantly telling myself that today is one day closer to Camp Kudzu. I'm ready to start wearing Nike shorts and t-shirts every day, put on bug spray and sun screen all the time, go canoeing and kayaking, (They are the best, and build arm muscles!) walk until I feel like my legs are going to fall off and then some, never have to worry about whether I need to make something for dinner or not, smelling the outdoors right when I wake up, dancing until my legs are about to fall off and I'm about to sweat out an ocean, and not being the only diabetic person within a ten mile radius. (Except for my sister, of course, but she's family!)

My cabin picture from last year; I'm the 4th from the left on the 2nd row.

If you are a kid/ teen or the parent of kid/ teen that doesn't go to camp for diabetics over the summer, I urge you to sign up. It might be late for this summer's session(s), but you should really check out your local camps. Camp is absolutely amazing because it let's people realize that they aren't the only one with diabetes and it lets those same people know that they can have tons of fun at a camp without having to worry about whether your diabetes will be understood. (One time I want to Girl Scout camp for a week, and the nurse that "knew" about diabetes made me stay in the nurse's building for two hour instead of going back to archery after a mild low. She wanted me to wait and eat lunch rather than doing one of the things that I love.) At camp, all of the counselors know about diabetes, some are even diabetic, and there are clinicians and endocrinologists there at all times.

The week of Camp Kudzu is the best week of the year for me because it is the one week where I can do whatever I want (in reason, of course) and not have to worry about my diabetes at all. I can be myself and have fun, worry free. If you are thinking about going to camp/ signing your kid up for camp, check out the Diabetes Education and Camping Association's camp directory to find a camp for diabetics near you!

One More

I was told at the tender age of five that there would be cure for diabetes by the time I was sixteen. It left me hoping that I would eventually get rid of this tumultuous disease. I've been asked many times, "What would you do without diabetes?" The weird thing is that I have never said, "I would be ecstatic," or "It would be the best day of my life." Instead I have always answered along he lines of this statement, "I don't know." And that is the truth about it. I don't know what I would do without this disease.

Diabetes is a constant part of my life, and I cannot ever see it going away. When I wake up, I check my CGM and test my blood. What would be my morning ritual like without these crucial steps for my well being? I go to school and when I eat lunch, I test my blood before lunch. (Or sometimes in the middle if I forgot...) How would I eat lunch without automatically counting carbs and trying to remember what I ate? And after lunch, I am always greeted by the slightly annoying beep of my CGM telling me that my blood sugar is above 200. What would I do if I never heard that bothersome, but reassuring beep of the device that monitors my blood sugar at all time? And what about bedtime, when I am always nagging myself to check before I fall asleep. I may forget earlier in the evening, but I can guarantee that every night, I will remind myself to check my blood sugar. What would I do when that nagging feeling takes over?

And what about all of the experiences I have had because of this condition? Diabetes caused me to go to Camp Kudzu, one of the best places I could ever go to. Camp is one of those places that makes being diabetic completely normal, while the few non-diabetic counselors are the weird. (Weird in a totally fun and affectionate way, of course.) Diabetes has also introduced me to blogging on this very website and a plethora of supportive friends in the diabetic online community. Diabetes has showed me that social media can be a great way to get my thoughts out, and a way to connect to people similar to me in many ways!

A cure for diabetes would be wonderful, but I don't think I would be one of the first people to get in line for the cure. Diabetes affects me in my daily life and has introduced me to so many amazing places and people. Without this permanent condition, I have no idea about how I would live without it. Diabetes has been with me since the beginning of 2004, and it is still with me in the year 2013. It has been in my genes since the day I was born. (These genes are said to be on chromosomes 6, 7, 11, and possibly more.) Diabetes has and will always be with me for over half (64% at the moment) of my life. Diabetes and I have survived the Mayan "apacolypse," middle school, and we are almost finished with my freshman year of high school. We have been to Camp Kudzu for six years, and we plan to become counselors in training, then counselors at Camp Kudzu. Diabetes has been with me since before I can remember, and even if there was a chance of getting rid of it, I don't know if I would; luckily, I still have one more year to decide.