The Supplies...

The many, many supplies....

I'm not sure I realized how many supplies we needed to Savanna's T1D until we were sitting in her hospital room at CHOP and the Nurse Practitioner started writing prescription scripts for all the different supplies.  Even then, I don't think it fully registered until C went to the pharmacy for the first time and came back with bags - yes, plural - of medicines and supplies...FOR ONE MONTH!  (Well, to be fair, the NP wrote the scripts for a little more than we would need for one month so we would never run out, but still!).  I was completely shocked - and not just by the costs (that's a different post), but just by the sheer quantity of what is required to help keep our munchkin safe and healthy. 

Here's a list of everything we need on a DAILY basis for Savanna:

• Glucose Meter
• Test stripes for Glucose Meter
• Pricker thing (that's not the official name, but I'm drawing a blank - haha)
• Lancets for the pricker thing
• Alcohol wipes
• Blood wipers or guaze pads
• Syringes
• Insulin

Each of these things, she uses EVERY time she checks her blood sugars and needs insulin.  Those who know me, know I like things nice, neat, and in a little box - so, I'll admit, the first thing we did when we got home from CHOP was stop at Target for 2 bins for all the medical supplies.   A smaller one for daily use and a larger one for all the extra medical supplies. 

Here are some pictures of all the medical supplies in the smaller, everyday use bin:

And, here are our the supplies we keep in the "extra medical supplies" bin:

It still surprises me each month when I leave CVS with bags of supplies - and when we hit the end of what we have each month..."Did we really go through 150 syringes in 1 month?!".  Looking back over the last year,  I think we've used:

• 24 vials of insulin (12 of each kind)
• About 1800 syringes
• About 1800 lancets
• About 1800 test strips
• At least 6 or 7 boxes of alcohol wipes

 Lots and lots of supplies - BUT, it keeps Savanna healthy, so every single syringe, lancet, insulin vial, and test strip is worth it!

On another, brief note, November is American Diabetes Awareness Month.  Here are some diabetes facts from the American Diabetes Association website:

• Nearly 26 million children and adults in the United States have diabetes.
• Another 79 million Americans have prediabetes and are at risk for developing type 2 diabetes.
• The American Diabetes Association estimates that the total national cost of diagnosed diabetes in the United States is $174 billion.

You can help support the JDRF and the Cure of Type 1 Diabetes by donating to our JDRF Walk on May 5th, 2013.  Savanna has a personal page here.

Thanks for reading!  XOXO

Halloween Candy Carb Counts

So, Halloween is right around the corner…we’re excited!  It’s C’s favorite time of year – mainly because his birthday’s on Halloween…yep – October 31^st.  I like to tease him and say that’s when all the “freaks come out” – haha!  Savanna is excited to go out trick-or-treating and I handmade her Halloween costume, so it’s ready to go!

This is the first year we will be celebrating Halloween with the “Big D” in the background – Savanna’s diagnosis last year was during Thanksgiving, so she was a happy, go-lucky, eat all the candy I want type of kid last Halloween.  Fortunately “all the candy she wants” generally was one or two small pieces of candy a day.  I’m determined this year to make Halloween as *normal* (gosh, I hate that word!) as it was last year…and the easiest way to do that is by saying “yes” to a piece of candy.  However, with being Diabetic, I need to be able to figure out the carb counts for each individually wrapped small piece of candy – and did you know there are no nutritional labels on the small pieces of candy most people give out?  There is a label on the big bag, but of course, she’s not coming home with the big bag…

So, my girlfriend, Ginger, suggested I do a post about the carb counts for some common, popular Halloween candies.  I’m going to take it one step further and even include how much insulin (using a 1:20 ratio) Savanna will need.  This will help me when I’m trying to pack a school lunch, but also help put into perspective how one little piece of candy effects Savanna.  The JDRF has a GREAT list of Halloween treats here.  I’m just going to pull out some of our favorites:

Dum Dum lollipops (1 lollipop) 5 grams - no insulin	Hershey’s Kisses (6 pieces) 16 grams – ½ unit of insulin
Hershey’s Milk Chocolate bar (snack size) 10 grams – ½ unit of insulin	Kit-Kat Bars (3 piece bar) 10 grams – ½ unit of insulin
Peanut M&M’s (mini pack) 15 grams – ½ unit of insulin	Reese’s Cups (2 regular size) 18 grams – 1 unit of insulin
Snicker’s (fun size) 12 grams – ½ unit of insulin	Plain M&M’s (mini box) 10 grams – ½ unit of insulin
Almond Joy (1.4 oz bar) 25 grams – 1 unit of insulin	Reese’s Cups (4 minis) 16 grams – ½ unit of insulin

As you can see, Savanna needs insulin for just about all the candy…even the smaller fun-sized pieces have enough total carbohydrates to require at least a ½ unit of insulin. 

So, Halloween will still be a fun, crazy holiday for us – just a little different because this time we need to handle the request for “one small piece of candy” completely differently.  But, if there is anything to get her to check her blood sugars and get insulin, it will be a piece of candy!

Difficulties...

Savanna’s back at school this week – the virus has left the building and is not invited back!  I was hoping we would get back to some sort of “normal” here…and we have, for the most part.  Unfortunately – and I don’t know if it’s from being sick, or what – but, blood sugar checks and insulin injections have been difficult over the last few days.  For the most part, she’s usually so great about it.  But, this week (more specifically, this weekend) was a whole other story…

She woke up Saturday morning and we were snuggling on the couch watching TV.  I asked her what she wanted for breakfast and she said “I’m not hungry”…I let it go, because I figured she was still waking up and would let me know if/when she wanted something.  About 45 minutes later, I asked again…she said “I’m not hungry”.  I asked her to at least check her blood sugar because I didn’t want her to drop too low if she wasn’t eating – she refused. We argued about it for another 30 minutes and she finally agreed to check.  She was 130 – exactly where she needed to be…not too high, not too low.  I wasn’t concerned about her being too low, so I sent her upstairs to see if Daddy wanted to go out and get something to eat – in hopes that she would want to eat if we were at a restaurant.  We all got ready, got in the car and off we went.  We got there and immediately Savanna started saying “I’m not hungry”.  Now, I know my daughter well enough to know that, at this point in the day, she WAS hungry – and, more importantly, she HAD to eat.  So, we told her she had to eat…and she didn’t want to.  Long story short – we ended up leaving the restaurant without food, in tears and went home.

When we got home, I sat down to talk to Savanna about why she wasn’t hungry and her response broke my heart: “I don’t want to eat because I don’t want to get insulin and then make my blood sugars drop low”.  6-years old and THAT is what she is worried about…it just makes me so sad for her.  Now, we’ve had difficulties before, but she usually just doesn’t want to do what she needs to because she doesn’t want to take the time – this was a whole different issue.  And made me think…why would she be so worried about this NOW, all of a sudden…and, then I remembered:

We were at WalMart the night before, after she had insulin for some ice cream she didn’t finish, and she started to feel “low”.  For Savanna, this means her legs feel shaky, her stomach doesn’t feel well – she’s pretty good at knowing the symptoms and letting us know.  We immediately went to the checkout line and got a bottle of soda – as we were waiting in line, I opened it up so she could take a sip.  And, she was fine – a couple of sips of soda and she was smiling again.  We started to talk about how she had insulin for ice cream about an hour earlier and how she had to finish it all – and, then, we got unwelcome,  unsolicited advice from a nurse in front of us in line.  She turned about, looked at Savanna, and said “You need to be careful because if you drop too low you’ll get really sick.”  Now, I realize that maybe she was just trying to *help*, but after our day on Saturday, I realize that all she did was frighten Savanna – and now we were sitting on the family room floor on a Saturday afternoon, both crying because she was afraid to get insulin. 

We got through it – we had our discussion about how insulin was good for her and helps her, not hurts her.  We found a food (the go-to toast with Nutella) that she wanted to eat…and she ate 4 slices!  Shortly after she was smiling and playing outside…she was happy, which relieved me. 

It’s almost been a full year that we’ve been living with Diabetes, but every now and then we’re hit with something we haven’t experienced before…and we’ll get through it – sometimes there are speed bumps in our day that prevent our ride from being as smooth as we’d like.  This weekend, that speed bump was the nurse at WalMart…next week, I’m sure it will be the tons of Halloween candy floating around!

Sick...

I had a whole post typed up about medical benefits and how we are generally a pretty healthy family...and then this week hit.  My muchkin is sick :(.  It started last Friday while we were camping, but we thought it was lunch at school that didn't agree with her.  Her stomach just wasn't write and C & her took several trips to the bathroom throughout the night - poor thing...and poor C - he lovingly woke up throughout the night to take her so I didn't have to walk in the dark with her.  She felt better Saturday, and even better on Sunday - we thought we were in the clear.  And then, Sunday night she started to feel worse - her stomach hurt and her throat was starting to get sore.  I let her stay home from school on Monday, and took her to the doctor's on Tuesday (we were told everything was fine).  She went back to school on Wednesday, but I can't say I was too surprised to get the phone call at the end of the day saying I needed  to pick her up - her throat was REALLY sore and she had a fever.  Needless to say, she stayed home the next day and we made another trip to the doctor's.  Unfortunately, this time, they said she had the virus that has been going around...which meant another day home from school today.  As the doctor was writing her a note for being out of school, I asked if he could write one for me so I could be "out" for a week - haha!  A week of sickness takes it toll on everyone!

Here's a picture of Savanna, cuddled up on the couch, watching a movie to help her feel better:

Through it all, she's been a pretty good trooper - especially with checking blood sugars (for the most part - we had our "moments" today...).  Being sick can have serious side effects in regards to the treatment of her Diabetes.  With flu/virus symptoms, the insulin doesn't always get absorbed into the body - especially if she's throwing up or other uncomfortable side effects (if you know what I mean).  As a result, her blood sugar numbers become high - causing her to have ketones, which in turn is very dangerous.  So, in addition to dealing with the uncomfortableness of being sick, we have to stay on top of the Diabetes.  

It's been a trying week, but I guess we're lucky this is the first time in a year we've had to deal with her being sick.  Thankfully, we are at the end of the virus and hopefully next week, all will be back to normal!

I didn't get to post this week as much as I wanted (you know, with the exhaustion from this week), but I have a few good topics in mind I want to share about, so hopefully next week!

XOXO

Camping...with Diabetes

We went camping this weekend - in a tent, with sleeping bags and every blanket we own, over night, in the cold, camping.  And we had a GREAT time!  Savanna, C & I went with friends - my girlfriend Ginger, her husband, Mickey and their boys, and Chris's good friend, Greg and his son Gabe.  It was great to have friends who like to camp and the kids had fun running around playing together.  

C & I have gone camping lots of times and have prep down to a science.  This year though, was different - this was Savanna's first camping trip and we had a whole other factor to think about...yes, the ever present Diabetes.  I wanted Savanna to have a fun time, without having to stop too often to count carbs, check blood sugars, and feel like she was missing out on what everyone else was doing...

Generally, when we go camping, we plan for meals and then have snacks to get us through the days.  In all honesty, we probably eat more snacks while camping than we do if we were home - but, it's all part of the fun.  To make it easy for Savanna (and C & I), I tried to buy snacks that were under 10 grams of carbs...Smart Food popcorn is PERFECT (9 grams) and Savanna loves it.  Anything that was over 10 grams, I portioned into individual snack backs and clearly marked how many carbs per serving.  That way, Savanna can pick a snack and would know if she needed insulin, or if she could just eat it.  I also figured out how many carbs were in 1 s'more (a camping MUST HAVE) and the pancakes we were having to breakfast.  This made insulin dosing quick and easy.  Here's a picture of all the snacks, portioned and labeled:

We had Smartfood popcorn, celery sticks with peanut butter, trail mix, beef jerky, strawberries, and homemade applesauce

.

I love my little snack bags so much, I'm thinking of doing this for daily use as well!  Once all the snacks, cooler, bags, and bins were packed, we were on our way!

Savanna was a trooper with her Diabetes while camping!  Yes, we had our moments where she didn't want to stop for insulin, but her numbers were great all weekend - and she chose snacks that were lower in carb counts if she didn't want to take the time to get insulin.  Of course, we still had to check sugars and get insulin for our big meals.  My girlfriend, Ginger, took some pictures of Savanna being a trooper and doing her check and shots before her pancake breakfast the first morning:

There's an actual picture of Savanna getting her shots, but she asked me to "delete" it when she saw it, so I figured I wouldn't post it here either :)

The best part about this weekend (well, in regards to her Diabetes) was that Savanna's numbers were almost perfect!  Even after our 3-hour scavenger hunt/hike/fishing expedition in the woods on Saturday afternoon, her numbers were great.  It makes me feel good about taking the extra time to pre-portion snacks, count carbs before we left, and having her stop what she was doing to check her numbers.  We now know that camping (for our family) with Diabetes is possible - and we look forward to many more camping trips in the future (when it's warmer out - did I mention it dropped before freezing our first night?!).

When it comes to new experience, I say Aker Family - 1, Diabetes - 0!  And, I can't wait to go again!  (yes, partially because I like the way all my portioned snack bags looked on the counter!)

The Nurse Gods are Smiling Down On Us...

I am reminded every day how lucky we are to have such wonderful school nurses to care for Savanna since she was diagnosed.  Last year, prior to her DX, Savanna had only been to the nurse's office once...for an upset stomach that had more to do with being hungry than anything else.  The week after we got home from CHOP, I remember walking into her old school (we have since moved) and asking to speak with the nurse.  Mrs. E was the kindest, most attentive nurse I have ever met!  She could immediately sense how nervous I was about leaving Savanna's D (diabetes) care in someone else's hands - especially when we weren't 100% sure how comfortable we were with it at the time.  She told me she had previous experience with a student with D, but that student had a pump, so insulin injections were not given.  After going through everything we had learned at CHOP with her (looking back, I think she was just being nice and knew it made me feel better to explain it to her - she's a nurse, after all!), she assured me that everything would be fine and that she would call if she had any questions.  At 10:15 am (snack time was at 10:30 am), I pulled my phone out and made sure it was sitting on the counter, fully charged, and working...I didn't want to miss a phone call that was this important...and I waited...and waited...around 10:45 am, the phone rang - it was Mrs. E. calling to let you know that everything (blood sugar checks, insulin injections) went well and that Savanna skipped off back to class to have her snack with no problems.  When Savanna came home from school, I asked (okay bombarded her with questions) about going to the nurses office, what she did, did the nurse make sure to wipe the site before using the meter, etc.  After several exhasperated sighs, Savanna said she loved Mrs. E.  I knew immediately that the rest of the year would go smoothly and that she was in good hands.  Of course, we had our share of phone calls - her blood sugar is REALLY high, she doesn't want her insulin, etc - but we got through the year.  I'm not sure I would have survived the first several months if not for Mrs. E. - I needed to know Savanna was in good hands when she was not with me and that is a hard order to fill...but, the Nurse Gods were smiling on me and we got Mrs. E.

Fast forward a few months later - we moved into a new house and with this move came a new school district...as soon as we knew where we were going, I started calling the elementary school to leave messages for the nurse, Mrs. S.  I wanted Savanna to meet her (after all, she wasn't Mrs. E, who we had come to love), I needed to meet her (again, after all, she wasn't Mrs. E), and we needed to discuss Savanna's care for school.  She is in 1st grade this year, which means she eats lunch at school - and this added a whole other level of care for the school nurse.  Last year, as long as her blood sugars were within her range, Savanna could go back to class with no insulin, if her snacks were low enough in carb count.  This year, there was no avoiding a daily insulin shot - she would get at least one each day while at school.  So, we (C, Savanna, and I) all went to the school to meet Mrs. S.  We sat down, discussed what we needed from her, what she needed from us, and hoped for the best when school started.  And the best, we got - Mrs. S. was attentive...she called me every day at snack and lunch times for the first few weeks of school to make sure we were on the same page with how much insulin she should get and what actions should be taken for highs and lows.  I felt comfortable knowing how Savanna was doing throughout the day and that the decisions that were being made were mine, as well as Mrs. S's.  And Savanna got to know and love Mrs. S - in fact, she loves her so much she was making excuses to go see her throughout the day...little stinker!  Mrs. S has again made us feel comfortable with the care Savanna needs to receive in school.  She created a smaller, private area just for Savanna, so that she could check her sugars and get her shots without other kids watching her, and even has a basket full of treats Savanna can pick from when she has good days at school.  And so again, I thank the Nurse Gods for giving us Mrs. S - because, without her, I would be that crazy lady in the parking lot waiting for snack and lunch time each day ;)

 

Welcome!

Welcome!  I want to start by saying that I am not doing this because I want people to feel sorry for us - I found an awesome Type 1 Diabetes blog earlier this week (The Princess and The Pump) that was so helpful, educational, and inspiring.  I read Hallie's ongoing story about her daughter, Sweatpea, and it made me realize that there are so many people out there affected with this disease that Savanna, Chris, and I deal with on a daily basis.  I also think it's important for family and friends to KNOW what we are dealing with - especially as Savanna gets older and wants to have play dates, sleepovers, go to parties, etc.  Yes, they know that Savanna has T1D, but aside from close family and friends, they don't KNOW.  I see an opportunity to educate and inform and hopefully that's what I can do!  That being said - don't get me wrong - I do not pretend to be an expert in all things relating to T1D...this is a learning experience for me, and I hope that, in trying to help others have a better understanding of T1D, I'll become more informed and educated as well.  So...there you have it - WHY I decided to start this blog...

Now how about we meet the characters in our story?  (and yes, most of the time, they are characters!)

We wouldn't be on this journey if not for Savanna - currently 6 (going on 16) years old, she is the love and light of our lives.  She's a fun, happy, sassy, silly, funny, and smart 1st grader...and she was diagnosed with T1D in November 2011.  You can read more about her diagnosis here.  The last year has been tough for her, yet through it all she continues to inspire and amaze me.  She is brave and strong - much more than any other 6-year old I know.  Yes, we have our days of "Why me?", and "When will it go away?", but what 6-year old (heck, what 32-year old) wouldn't feel that way if they  have to have their finger pricked 6 times a day, and get shots in their legs and arms just as many times a day?!  She has learned to live with Diabetes - not just to deal with it, but she doesn't let it keep her from the things she loves.  She LOVES horses - she had the opportunity to take some lessons last year and has been asking to go back ever since.  Hopefully once the weather warms up, she can get back in the saddle.  And, then there's tae-kwon-do - we signed her up right after she was diagnosed and we think it's helped so much.  The one big benefit we've seen is that she is more confident in herself.  She's not afraid to check her blood sugar when we're out in public, she shares that she has I1D with people she doesn't know - she doesn't hide who she is and that confidence came from tae-kwon-do.  Savanna is many things, but above all, she is my HERO - I look at her and I see a strong, brave, independent little girl who is going to take on the world head on!  I couldn't be more proud!

Next up is Daddy (or C, here).  If there ever is a Daddy's Girl, Savanna is it.  He likes to tell the story about the day she was born - she was in the nursery, screaming her head off, when he walked over, and put his hand on her chest.  She stopped crying immediately - it was as if she knew "this is my Daddy".  From that moment on (well, probably before) she had his heart.  He has taught her how to be strong, independent, and to fight for what she believes in.  C is hands-on with Savanna's T1D management as I am - we know how important working together is and when it comes to her management, we are on the same page.  He loves anything outdoors - camping, fishing, hiking - and is excited she is old enough to experience these activities with him.

Finally, there's me...Mommy.  Savanna's my little buddy - we spend most of the time when she's home from school together, just the 2 of us (C works nights).  One of my favorite things to do is snuggle up with her on the couch to watch a movie or the Food Network.  We like to find recipes that look tasty and make them during the week or weekend.  I'm in school to be a high school Math teacher and I play Roller Derby - yes, you read that right - Roller Derby :)  <<Insert shameless plug for the ROCKSTARS here>>.  I love having so much time with Savanna - the first 6 years of her life have gone by so fast and I feel lucky to have the opportunity to be with her as she grows.

There are many more characters in our story, but these are the 3 you will hear about the most - we'll introduce the others along the way!  I hope you sit back, enjoy what I have to say, learn something new about T1D and come back again!  Thanks for reading!