11 Months and Counting

I don't think I have blogged much about Chance's diabetes lately becasue it has become so much part of our everyday life, but I decided to use this entry to provide some details. It has been 11 months now, coming up on his one year anniversary.

For the most part, I think we have great control over Chance's diabetes. Of course, I say this on a day when he woke up at 348, then dropped to 54 by lunch time. However, this is typically not the norm AND we were able to identify both of the situations and act on them quickly. We are making the right decisions now, which feels great. There are many days when we can keep Chance in range or close to being in range all day and night.

One thing I have come to grips with though over the last few months is that there are just going to be times where Chance is high and we have no good explanation. That, we couldn't have done anything differently. It is just the nature of this crazy disease.

On our recent vacation, week one Chance's numbers day and night were awesome. Week two, we saw big surges at night primarily due to growth hormones. As a result, we had to check him EVERY night on our vacation in Massachusettes. I think Chance may have had a surge last night, which brings to mind the second thing I have come to grips with. Until Chance gets MUCH older, his treatment and insulin levels will be a moving target us us. We'll always be testing and adjusting since so much is going on inside his tiny body. It is our job to stay on top of the trends and make insulin changes.

Speaking of tiny body and our vacation, Chance can hike and hike with the best of them. He is extremely strong. I believe he will be very athletic and not let his diabetes stand in his way. Tas likes to hike, but prefers at times to be a lap child and have us carry him, which we deny.

Heath and I have been asked to speak at the JDRF Triangle Walk for the Cure luncheon to inspire new captains. There will be about 350 people there. We have five minutes. I will really need to think about this becasue there is so much I want to say. A lot of the people in the room will have walked in our shoes so don't want to dwell too much on the tragic beginning but rather on the stride we are making thanks to advancements in technology thanks to JDRF.

Heath and I think a lot about how different things will be when the first release of the artifical pancreas comes out. Hopefully, we'll all be able to sleep at night. We look forward to this day! Thanks to our co-Captains' outstanding efforts - Aunt Lala and Mark the OB, Team Chance's Champions have raised $3,525 of our $6,000 goal two months in advance of the Oct 30th Walk in Raleigh. We will fundraise hard in the next two months becasue every dollar will make a significant different in Chance's life and the lives of other diabetics.

Lastly, I would like to say that I am learning to give myself a break. I don't beat myself up when something goes wrong with Chance's diabetes and I have increased my personal time activities. This week, Heath and I will have three nights out (one thanks to Ladonna and Charles). We saw Lyle Lovett, went to the NCMA last night to see the The Great Labowski (hysterical movie with lots of profanity) and tonight game night with dear friends. I also went and did the Saturday morning yoga class this morning - a class I haven't done since before the kids were born. Before I left, Tas asked me if I was going out with my friends. To which I replied, "I am going to do yoga". Then, Chance said "Mommy is going to do yogurt". He is such a foodie.

In September, I am going on a business trip to San Francisco, one I would not have considered just 3 months ago.

Namaste.