So he tells me he wants an ice pop, so I told him to get his "tester" to test himself. (So proud of him that he takes charge and tests himself now!!!) Then he decides to play a little more first. "Not a problem," I told him, "Just test yourself when you're ready to eat one." "K mom!" he yells as his voice trails off while running to play outside.
So, there I am 20 minutes or so later outside chatting with neighbors when I guess Jimmy wanted the ice pop, tested himself and said quite casually, "Hey Mom, I think I'm low." Just like that!!!!! - just as if he was tellig me that the sky was blue or the grass was green - - I've got sirens and alarms going off in my head, and he's not got a care in the world... Maybe he was wrong - I was certain he read the meter upside down. He told me that he was a 61. I was sure that he meant a 91 - he couldn't be a 61!!! Right???
Well, he was!!! Yikes!!! Quick - get the juice!!! All he was concerned about was that he still be able to eat the ice pop (which are only 5 carbs each - not enough to bring his blood glucose number up...) Poor kid.
He has been so good about it all lately, but he seems to be getting "tired" of the shots and gives me such a hard in the mornings now... I might look into a "numbing" lotion to see if that could be a solution. I'll keep you posted.
Peace,
June
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Saturday, May 8, 2010
Skittles at 4 a.m.
We had skittles at 4a.m. this morning... Evidently the cvs emergency glucose gel is gross!!! We tried it and he cried that it made his mouth itchy (code for he won't eat it) He was too lethargic to drink juice, so we ran to get our emergency bag of skittles...
Let me back up to midnight -- he was at a 200, so I was confident he'd be fine for the night... I found out he was low when a car drove by my house (we live on a dead end, so rarely does a car come down in the middle of the night). It woke me up when everyone's sensor light went on, so I had to get up and check that all was good on the block...Thank goodness I got up! That's when I heard him do a strange snore type sound... I went in to check, and his eyes were a sliver open - quite eerie. I checked his blood and thought I had the meter upside down when it read 60.
So, he refused the gel, wouldn't drink the juice, but somehow got up enough energy to munch on some skittles. Nothing better than candy in the middle of the night when you're too tired to brush your teeth!!!!!
It's 9a.m. now and he's at a 144 still sound asleep!
Still wondering why that car drove down my block... It wasn't the newspaper delivery person, since no one had their papers when I looked out. Was it Jimmy's guardian angel trying to wake me up to tend to him? My kids do have a few of them up there, I'm sure!
Peace,
June
Let me back up to midnight -- he was at a 200, so I was confident he'd be fine for the night... I found out he was low when a car drove by my house (we live on a dead end, so rarely does a car come down in the middle of the night). It woke me up when everyone's sensor light went on, so I had to get up and check that all was good on the block...Thank goodness I got up! That's when I heard him do a strange snore type sound... I went in to check, and his eyes were a sliver open - quite eerie. I checked his blood and thought I had the meter upside down when it read 60.
So, he refused the gel, wouldn't drink the juice, but somehow got up enough energy to munch on some skittles. Nothing better than candy in the middle of the night when you're too tired to brush your teeth!!!!!
It's 9a.m. now and he's at a 144 still sound asleep!
Still wondering why that car drove down my block... It wasn't the newspaper delivery person, since no one had their papers when I looked out. Was it Jimmy's guardian angel trying to wake me up to tend to him? My kids do have a few of them up there, I'm sure!
Peace,
June
Friday, May 7, 2010
A Poem
Found the most beautiful poem from "Doug" on a website called Diabetes Poetry Room. I just think of Jimmy in place of the little girl... It's called:
My Angel
I tucked her in bed asking "How could this be?"
My beautiful daughter has come down with 'D'.
I kept asking myself "Why, what did she do?"
My sweet little girl had just turned age 2.
As she lay there asleep in her little soft bed,
I offered all that I could to have her 'D' instead.
So young and so small, and so full of life,
It's not fair that this happened to my little one's life.
At night I'm alone, my thoughts are on her,
Since 'D' came to stay, our life's been a blur.
I do all that I can to help her understand why,
When I poke her small body, we both start to cry.
Her numbers go low, her numbers go high,
We do everything right, and still I ask "Why?"
Some days it's so hard to just rest for awhile,
Then I realize the gift in my little girl's smile.
I think towards the future, and how she will be,
Will she be happy, will she marry, will she have a baby?
I try not to worry; I give her my best,
When my baby grows up, she will handle the rest.
I do all that I can to relieve all her strife,
She's my baby, my angel; I would give up my life.
I know I have done everything I could try,
But always I wonder "My baby, why?"
It's 20 years later; I stand by the rail,
Tears stream from my eyes as strong hands lift her veil.
My baby is grown, this small one I carried,
I cry deep inside as my baby gets married.
My daughter is grown; she's happy and smart,
She lives life to the fullest, despite the 'D' part.
As they both leave the church, she whispers to me,
I love you so much, we both beat my 'D'.
Gary2000
My Angel
I tucked her in bed asking "How could this be?"
My beautiful daughter has come down with 'D'.
I kept asking myself "Why, what did she do?"
My sweet little girl had just turned age 2.
As she lay there asleep in her little soft bed,
I offered all that I could to have her 'D' instead.
So young and so small, and so full of life,
It's not fair that this happened to my little one's life.
At night I'm alone, my thoughts are on her,
Since 'D' came to stay, our life's been a blur.
I do all that I can to help her understand why,
When I poke her small body, we both start to cry.
Her numbers go low, her numbers go high,
We do everything right, and still I ask "Why?"
Some days it's so hard to just rest for awhile,
Then I realize the gift in my little girl's smile.
I think towards the future, and how she will be,
Will she be happy, will she marry, will she have a baby?
I try not to worry; I give her my best,
When my baby grows up, she will handle the rest.
I do all that I can to relieve all her strife,
She's my baby, my angel; I would give up my life.
I know I have done everything I could try,
But always I wonder "My baby, why?"
It's 20 years later; I stand by the rail,
Tears stream from my eyes as strong hands lift her veil.
My baby is grown, this small one I carried,
I cry deep inside as my baby gets married.
My daughter is grown; she's happy and smart,
She lives life to the fullest, despite the 'D' part.
As they both leave the church, she whispers to me,
I love you so much, we both beat my 'D'.
Gary2000
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Day 29: April 29, 2010
So, I'm putting together a 90th birthday dvd for my mother-in-law, and I got caught up in pictures of my kids as little ones! Boy were they simply adorable and perfect!
They are both still perfect.
Jenna is my beautiful 10 year old, who is bright, funny, conscientious, polite, hard working and has become quite skilled in the art of rolling her eyes at me (LOL!!) She had a spectacular concert tonight at school - both in the band and chorus! Jim and I are so proud!
Jimmy learned how to ride a friend's "spark" scooter yesterday! He got his helmet on without having to be asked!! He loves school, playing outside, and making messes!!
I felt so bad yesterday when he confessed to me that he ate a banana without asking first. I wondered outloud why his blood glucose level was high, and that's when he confessed by showing me the banana peel that he forgot to throw away. Poor kid. Who can give a kid a hard time for eating a piece of fruit for heavens sake??? He felt so badly that he had done something wrong. I felt like such a bad parent for having to tell my kid that he has to ask before having a piece of fruit.
He's been SO great about telling us he's hungry and SO great about testing himself before he eats! But before April 1st, a piece of fruit was NEVER even a question!!!!!
We'll get there. Only one other night have I found him in the closet. It wasn't nearly as bad as the 1st night. I just think he needed some breathing room... Don't we all???...
He fell asleep in my arms tonight. Jim carried him up. He's a good boy. Keep on praying for a cure.
Peace, June
They are both still perfect.
Jenna is my beautiful 10 year old, who is bright, funny, conscientious, polite, hard working and has become quite skilled in the art of rolling her eyes at me (LOL!!) She had a spectacular concert tonight at school - both in the band and chorus! Jim and I are so proud!
Jimmy learned how to ride a friend's "spark" scooter yesterday! He got his helmet on without having to be asked!! He loves school, playing outside, and making messes!!
I felt so bad yesterday when he confessed to me that he ate a banana without asking first. I wondered outloud why his blood glucose level was high, and that's when he confessed by showing me the banana peel that he forgot to throw away. Poor kid. Who can give a kid a hard time for eating a piece of fruit for heavens sake??? He felt so badly that he had done something wrong. I felt like such a bad parent for having to tell my kid that he has to ask before having a piece of fruit.
He's been SO great about telling us he's hungry and SO great about testing himself before he eats! But before April 1st, a piece of fruit was NEVER even a question!!!!!
We'll get there. Only one other night have I found him in the closet. It wasn't nearly as bad as the 1st night. I just think he needed some breathing room... Don't we all???...
He fell asleep in my arms tonight. Jim carried him up. He's a good boy. Keep on praying for a cure.
Peace, June
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
Day 20: April 20, 2010
We met Molly!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The Molly Diabetes Center in Hackensack is where we will be taking Jimmy for a series of JD classes and who will be monitoring his highs, lows and insulin dosages, etc... "Molly" is a beautiful woman, who at 11 years old was diagnosed with Juvenile Diabetes. She wasn't invited to play dates, birthday parties etc... She couldn't have a cookie if she wanted to, and had to sneak sweets. Her and her family had NO formal support through her first years with JD, so from what I understand, her father developed the "Molly Center" to help families so that they could always have the support they NEED... Molly now has 3 children, and is quite a special individual. She was so open and caring and straightforward with the kids, and I think SO important especially for the 2 girls who were there - ages 10 and 11 (with whom Jenna got along so well!) Jimmy of course was in his own little world making shadow puppets in the way of the screen for the slide show (good luck to his kindergarten teacher in the fall...) But I sure did appreciate her! It felt like I had known her forever - I think she might be an angel on earth.
So, our first meeting was last night, and Jimmy met another boy his age who was diagnosed 3 days before him. They're both 5 and starting Kindergarten in September. They're both BIG boys who always get confused with being older, and get this - his parents are both in education (just like Jim and me!) They live close - 2 towns away, so hopefully it's a connection we can build on.
As we were getting ready for the class to begin, I was all set for a serious instruction session... Well, Molly walked in and introduced herself by saying, "Hi, I'm Molly" with a beautiful smile. Just like that, "Hi, I'm Molly." Well... remember what happened at church? There came the waterworks again! You would have thought I would be carrying around tissues after that, but of course I forgot... I thought this was going to be JUST a learning experience, I didn't expect it to be a life transforming! My sister came so she could be informed and help with Jimmy, and again, it was Julie to the rescue with tissues . I'm so lucky to have Julie who is always there for me and so many others!
I felt like Molly's message was that it's ok, you can do this, I'm here for you, reach out, he will grow up and have children and lead a productive life, and the JD will not define him. Thank God for Molly, a real angel!
Peace,
June
The Molly Diabetes Center in Hackensack is where we will be taking Jimmy for a series of JD classes and who will be monitoring his highs, lows and insulin dosages, etc... "Molly" is a beautiful woman, who at 11 years old was diagnosed with Juvenile Diabetes. She wasn't invited to play dates, birthday parties etc... She couldn't have a cookie if she wanted to, and had to sneak sweets. Her and her family had NO formal support through her first years with JD, so from what I understand, her father developed the "Molly Center" to help families so that they could always have the support they NEED... Molly now has 3 children, and is quite a special individual. She was so open and caring and straightforward with the kids, and I think SO important especially for the 2 girls who were there - ages 10 and 11 (with whom Jenna got along so well!) Jimmy of course was in his own little world making shadow puppets in the way of the screen for the slide show (good luck to his kindergarten teacher in the fall...) But I sure did appreciate her! It felt like I had known her forever - I think she might be an angel on earth.
So, our first meeting was last night, and Jimmy met another boy his age who was diagnosed 3 days before him. They're both 5 and starting Kindergarten in September. They're both BIG boys who always get confused with being older, and get this - his parents are both in education (just like Jim and me!) They live close - 2 towns away, so hopefully it's a connection we can build on.
As we were getting ready for the class to begin, I was all set for a serious instruction session... Well, Molly walked in and introduced herself by saying, "Hi, I'm Molly" with a beautiful smile. Just like that, "Hi, I'm Molly." Well... remember what happened at church? There came the waterworks again! You would have thought I would be carrying around tissues after that, but of course I forgot... I thought this was going to be JUST a learning experience, I didn't expect it to be a life transforming! My sister came so she could be informed and help with Jimmy, and again, it was Julie to the rescue with tissues . I'm so lucky to have Julie who is always there for me and so many others!
I felt like Molly's message was that it's ok, you can do this, I'm here for you, reach out, he will grow up and have children and lead a productive life, and the JD will not define him. Thank God for Molly, a real angel!
Peace,
June
Sunday, April 18, 2010
Day 18: April 18, 2010
My husband, Jim, is the pitching/catching coach for a Varsity HS baseball team. When his team heard about Jimmy having been diagnosed with Juvenile Diabetes, they touched our hearts. They all signed a ball for Jimmy (which he proudly has displayed in a clear case from a friend) and gave him a team hat! At a home game, they let him sit on the dugout with them on the bench - and gave him "knuckles" as they ran off the feild to celebrate their WIN! The team further touch our hearts when a player set up the following fundraiser:
INNINGS IN RELIEF
PARK RIDGE HS BASEBALL is proud to introduce “INNINGS IN RELIEF”. It is our way of helping bring awareness to juvenile diabetes and to raise funds to help find a cure, by playing baseball!
As a sponsor of INNINGS IN RELIEF, you are asked to pledge a minimum of 10 cents for every inning that PARK RIDGE VARSITY BASEBALL holds it opponents scoreless, or if you prefer you can give a onetime donation now. To keep track, you can follow our team on the sports page or watch us in person. At the end of the season you will be contacted with the total scoreless innings and the amount of your donation. Last year PARK RIDGE VARSITY BASEBALL recorded 152 scoreless innings en route to our Group 1 State Championship. LET’S TOP THAT NUMBER!!
All money raised will be donated to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF.org), a 501c3 charitable organization in the name of Jimmy Karpowich, son of Park Ridge HS Pitching Coach Jim Karpowich. Jimmy was recently diagnosed with juvenile diabetes and we would to like help fund research to find a cure for juvenile diabetes.
PARK RIDGE HS BASEBALL is counting on your generous support for this endeavor. Please fill out the form below and return it to any PARK RIDGE BASEBALL player. For more information please contact InningsInRelief@yahoo.com, or www.JDRF.org Donations may also be mailed to PRHS, 2 Park Avenue, Park Ridge, NJ 07656 ATTN: Athletic Dept
INNINGS IN RELIEF
PARK RIDGE HS BASEBALL is proud to introduce “INNINGS IN RELIEF”. It is our way of helping bring awareness to juvenile diabetes and to raise funds to help find a cure, by playing baseball!
As a sponsor of INNINGS IN RELIEF, you are asked to pledge a minimum of 10 cents for every inning that PARK RIDGE VARSITY BASEBALL holds it opponents scoreless, or if you prefer you can give a onetime donation now. To keep track, you can follow our team on the sports page or watch us in person. At the end of the season you will be contacted with the total scoreless innings and the amount of your donation. Last year PARK RIDGE VARSITY BASEBALL recorded 152 scoreless innings en route to our Group 1 State Championship. LET’S TOP THAT NUMBER!!
All money raised will be donated to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF.org), a 501c3 charitable organization in the name of Jimmy Karpowich, son of Park Ridge HS Pitching Coach Jim Karpowich. Jimmy was recently diagnosed with juvenile diabetes and we would to like help fund research to find a cure for juvenile diabetes.
PARK RIDGE HS BASEBALL is counting on your generous support for this endeavor. Please fill out the form below and return it to any PARK RIDGE BASEBALL player. For more information please contact InningsInRelief@yahoo.com, or www.JDRF.org Donations may also be mailed to PRHS, 2 Park Avenue, Park Ridge, NJ 07656 ATTN: Athletic Dept
Imagine the tears when Jim handed this form to me - This team, and the player who dreamed it up will always have a place in my heart! Thank you doesn't cover it - we're honored!
Peace,
June
Day 17: April 17, 2010
We're hanging in there with Jimmy. Jenna is a huge help, and Jules has been so good to her - took her to the movies, brought down hand-me-downs (Jenna's favorite kind of clothes are Jules' old ones!) What a thing for these 2 girls to have in common. Both of their brothers have JD now... Jules really knows what Jenna is going through. I've already told Jenna to scream loudly to get my attention if she's feeling forgotten... I just got off the phone with the Molly Diabetes Center at Hackensack. They're adjusting his insulin to see if we can get rid of his "high trends." I sat there last night and just listened to him breathe because his blood glucose level was in the 500's (target is 150.) He's good today, but that's what the Molly Center is helping me with... We have to keep him back in the desired range. Jim and I will get a handle on this - Missy and Joe AND Joey have been awesome. I feel like I have my very own "cheat sheet" up my sleeve with them right up the street and with Joey via facebook & cell when he's at school! Jimmy really loves and adores Joey - he's been so great for him...
Peace, June
Peace, June
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