When the ground isn't solid underneath you one gets pretty good at balancing and adjusting. You have to keep moving because staying in one place will cause you to sink. When constant change is one's norm it is easy to forget what that would feel like without it. And then when you get a brief glimpse of that solidness and you embrace it, slamming back into that change is hard. Transitions are never easy and life with Type 1 is a life of transitions.
The boys got back yesterday from T1 diabetes camp where each cabin has two counselors (both with the disease) and a doctor and nurse taking care of them while they experience typical camp life--archery, horseback riding, wall climbing, silly messy games, fishing, bb rifles, rain, sunshine, bug bites, camp food, etc....of course their camp is a little different, all the kids have to check blood glucose and give shots of insulin or change pumps and treat high blood readings and low readings appropriately. Drago even told us one night he had to eat peanut butter sandwiches because of falling blood glucose in the middle of the night and somehow would fall asleep in between bites on to the sandwich. Camp life can be challenging with a disease like T1. But there are so many benefits. The boys feel "normal" at camp. This year both the boys went to camp on pumps and with Dexcoms (cgms). When we picked them up yesterday only Drago had his pump on and neither had their cgm on. I was a bit surprised SugarBear decided he wanted to do shots all week (that means a shot with every bit of food and for corrections of highs as well as the stinging long acting lantus shot every night which at minimum is four shots a day). Anyway, the boys had a terrific week. They are covered in bug bites and too much sun and came with very smelly clothes! SugarBear even said "maybe" to going back next year where in the previous two years he has always said no right after camp. Drago said it was the best year so far.
Hubby and I had a super fun week chock full of seeing friends, sleeping as much as we could, and generally doing the things we don't normally get to do. The ground was solid underneath us.
Transitions: before we even left the campground we had the boys check their blood glucose levels because without that CGM window you feel like you are flying blind. Drago was on the lower end of range and SugarBear was high. We talked and laughed and the boys regaled us with camp stories about contraband like food in the teens cabin and one about one of the teens breaking his wrist at camp! Smiles and happy to have them back with us. And the monsters crept back in. "How are you feeling?" "Check your blood sugar, please?" "I know you want to shower but you have to check first?" "Did you bolus /give a shot for the food that you just ate?" "How much did you give?" "When do you want to put the Dexcom back on?" "SugarBear, we have to put your Omnipod on at 10pm." Etc...etc...etc...and then part way through the slam back into this life yesterday I realized something. SugarBear had no devices attached to his body for the whole week! Neither boy had to carry a kit the whole week! For a moment they had "freedom". They had solid ground. And I stopped. I told them we could wait to put the Dexcoms on. I gave SugarBear a choice-we could put the Omnipod back on at 10pm or we could do Lantus and he could have another night and day without another device added on to his body. And Drago showered without checking his blood glucose first and put off changing his pump site out until the next day. Both boys ended up with their Dexcoms back on and SugarBear decided to put the Omnipod back on but it was their choice, I stopped pushing for my solid ground, I gave them theirs.
