It is with tears in my eyes that I write this post.
I was sent a PM today on my Facebook account from a lady I do not know. "A friend of ours ~ their son, grade 6 is new to this and if I can help them in any way I would be so thankful for your help and knowledge thank you so much." I assumed it was regarding T1. She confirmed it. I accepted her friend request she sent me and then, naturally, creeped her Facebook page (Sorry Nicole!) and see that several of our mutual friends had commented on her status about who can help here with some T1 questions/information.
I cried.
I cried for the fact that upon us approaching our 1 year diaversary, another family is going through what we went through and it brought back all those memories and feelings. I then cried for the fact that as I have vowed to talk about the disease to educate others, my posts are being seen and some very sweet friends of mine have passed my name onto this family. It's what I promised myself and my son ... That I would educate others. So if I only help this family out by the little bit of information I have given them ... I've done my job. I'm not ashamed to say I'm proud of myself for that. I wish I could take away their fear and their confusion, but all I can do is sit here and guide them the best I can, through one of the darkest periods they will experience.
I've said it - Trey was given this disease for a reason. Just as Trey Bagwell was given the disease and ends up in Aberdeen South Dakota, of all places, to play hockey and inspire my own Trey The Hockey Player ... It's our turn. Maybe not for this particular family ... But we're on the right path, I'm certain.
I have to run ... Trey Bagwell is stopping by to pick up his energy bites, cookies and waffles I made him. T1's are a family ....
Wednesday, February 22, 2017
Tuesday, February 21, 2017
Confidence has been found
Typically I don't make adjustments to Trey's insulin dosages that are set by his care team in Sioux Falls, but I took matters into my own hands yesterday.
After seeing Trey's graphs that we can download from the pump, I see that at 5am his blood sugar rises pretty significantly. They all this Dawn Phenom. I call it "Piss me off". So I changed his temp basal rate that starts at 7am, to 5am, which means at 5am he gets a bit more insulin automatically from the pump. I also see that no matter how many carbs he eats for supper, his sugar goes up and doesn't like to come down. I adjusted his ratio from 1:35 to 1:30 for now. I can also see via his graphs that at 8pm he starts to trend upwards. I will keep my eye on this for a few days and make necessary adjustments if need be.
We are almost a year into this. Up until this point I have been afraid to make changes and have always asked the SF team for help. I feel confident now to make minor adjustments. I see what his activity level, sleep patterns, and food intake are ... and I can see these amazing graphs that Medtronic has built into the pump (seriously -- amazingly good graphs and technology!). I don't need to wait for SF to make any changes. I have them all logged into a notebook that I will take to his next Endo appointment in March.
He's been running higher. Not drastically high, but not really below 200. I know that the only fix for this is more insulin. His activity level and his food has been the same. We haven't had crazy highs or crazy lows which would point me towards an illness ... and it's very possible he could be growing which would raise levels. Whatever the reason -- we need to get back down into range, which is 150.
Hard to believe we're almost at a year. Hard to believe it's taken me this long to make adjustments as I see fit, but on the flip side, too little insulin can kill him and yet too much insulin can kill him. Diabetes is probably the only disease that a parent is left to judge how much insulin to give their child - several times a day - without a firm dosage from a doctor. Scary.
After seeing Trey's graphs that we can download from the pump, I see that at 5am his blood sugar rises pretty significantly. They all this Dawn Phenom. I call it "Piss me off". So I changed his temp basal rate that starts at 7am, to 5am, which means at 5am he gets a bit more insulin automatically from the pump. I also see that no matter how many carbs he eats for supper, his sugar goes up and doesn't like to come down. I adjusted his ratio from 1:35 to 1:30 for now. I can also see via his graphs that at 8pm he starts to trend upwards. I will keep my eye on this for a few days and make necessary adjustments if need be.
We are almost a year into this. Up until this point I have been afraid to make changes and have always asked the SF team for help. I feel confident now to make minor adjustments. I see what his activity level, sleep patterns, and food intake are ... and I can see these amazing graphs that Medtronic has built into the pump (seriously -- amazingly good graphs and technology!). I don't need to wait for SF to make any changes. I have them all logged into a notebook that I will take to his next Endo appointment in March.
He's been running higher. Not drastically high, but not really below 200. I know that the only fix for this is more insulin. His activity level and his food has been the same. We haven't had crazy highs or crazy lows which would point me towards an illness ... and it's very possible he could be growing which would raise levels. Whatever the reason -- we need to get back down into range, which is 150.
Hard to believe we're almost at a year. Hard to believe it's taken me this long to make adjustments as I see fit, but on the flip side, too little insulin can kill him and yet too much insulin can kill him. Diabetes is probably the only disease that a parent is left to judge how much insulin to give their child - several times a day - without a firm dosage from a doctor. Scary.
Tuesday, February 14, 2017
11 Months ~ Valentines Day
Happy Valentines Day! I personally have always hated this holiday. I've often said, send me a dozen roses on a Tuesday in June and it will mean more than getting me a single thing on Valentine's Day.
Trey gave stickers instead of candy to his class today. Funny, it should be the other way around. Everyone give Trey stickers instead. Ha! There isn't a party in his class but they are allowed to eat some of their candy today, so his wonderful school nurse is keeping tabs on his intake and we've put a limit at 25 carbs and she will dose insulin to cover it. I'm beginning to hate holidays! Thankfully Trey is so good about having a few special treats and then foregoing the rest. I'm sure this won't always be the case, but so far it is.
Today is 11 months of this dreaded disease. I feel like we've come so far. I also feel defeated many times a month. I try to celebrate small victories - such as today when his low carb waffles didn't spike his sugars. We give high-fives when we get a dosage right for a food like pasta or pizza. We shed tears together when sugar is 300 and we feel frustrated together. We get angry when mom accidentally throws away the plunger to insert his new pump tube (yep .... I did.) but we then are thankful that Uncle Jeff has this damn disease too and we are able to use his plunger until ours arrives in the mail. $40 for that sucker ... Might as well have flushed $40 down the toilet when I accidentally threw it away. So mad at myself.
Next month marks 1 year. I don't know how I feel about it. My message board I am part of for mom's of diabetics suggests you celebrate it. They often treat it almost like a birthday -- buying gifts, having a good meal and even cake. Diaversary they call it. While it's not something I want to celebrate, (C'mon ... It was a terrible day) you celebrate a year of life. You survived the entire year with diabetes and that, truly, is a victory. Trey Bagwell's birthday is March 17th so I am going to see if we can possibly take him out for supper that week and we will celebrate both Trey's special days.
Just got a message -- 5 Hershey Kisses and a small sucker was Trey's treats of choice today. Now we watch Dexcom.
Trey gave stickers instead of candy to his class today. Funny, it should be the other way around. Everyone give Trey stickers instead. Ha! There isn't a party in his class but they are allowed to eat some of their candy today, so his wonderful school nurse is keeping tabs on his intake and we've put a limit at 25 carbs and she will dose insulin to cover it. I'm beginning to hate holidays! Thankfully Trey is so good about having a few special treats and then foregoing the rest. I'm sure this won't always be the case, but so far it is.
Today is 11 months of this dreaded disease. I feel like we've come so far. I also feel defeated many times a month. I try to celebrate small victories - such as today when his low carb waffles didn't spike his sugars. We give high-fives when we get a dosage right for a food like pasta or pizza. We shed tears together when sugar is 300 and we feel frustrated together. We get angry when mom accidentally throws away the plunger to insert his new pump tube (yep .... I did.) but we then are thankful that Uncle Jeff has this damn disease too and we are able to use his plunger until ours arrives in the mail. $40 for that sucker ... Might as well have flushed $40 down the toilet when I accidentally threw it away. So mad at myself.
Next month marks 1 year. I don't know how I feel about it. My message board I am part of for mom's of diabetics suggests you celebrate it. They often treat it almost like a birthday -- buying gifts, having a good meal and even cake. Diaversary they call it. While it's not something I want to celebrate, (C'mon ... It was a terrible day) you celebrate a year of life. You survived the entire year with diabetes and that, truly, is a victory. Trey Bagwell's birthday is March 17th so I am going to see if we can possibly take him out for supper that week and we will celebrate both Trey's special days.
Just got a message -- 5 Hershey Kisses and a small sucker was Trey's treats of choice today. Now we watch Dexcom.
Thursday, February 2, 2017
A Promise to Myself
Momma's got something on her mind so she comes to her blog, where she can lay it all out there.
I am not a perfect mother. We are not the perfect family. We eat McDonald's more that I'd like to admit. My kids are grounded more than THEY like to admit. I yell. I sometimes add some Captain Morgan to my Diet Coke at night. Jordan sometimes ignores the kids while he plays his PS4. My kids talk back and don't use their manner as much as I would prefer. We are flawed ... Every one of us. BUT ...
I love my kids more than anything in the world. I mean it when I say that all I have ever wanted to be is a mommy and that Delanie Kae is my dream come true (and yes, Trey Thomas too). (Please, keep reminding me of this as she has 10 years left in my house!!) Sometimes I allow my children to drink soda, sometimes I allow my children to get a toy from the store, sometimes I spend too much money so my kids can have something like a Kindle to play or a hockey game to go to. (Those Wings season tickets aren't cheap!!)
Where am I going with this ...??
I have often thought about being a billet parent to the Wings players. A billet family, aka Host family, houses a player. I love taking care of people. It would be fun, and challenging, to have a teenage boy in the house. I have heard heartwarming stories and have seen great bonds formed between billet families and hockey players and I have also heard some ... Well, let's just say not so fun stories as well. After having my own two kids and having a basement full of other's people's kids all day long, my thoughts of having a player have been absent. Until now.
Enter Trey Bagwell. An 18 year old kid living with Type 1 Diabetes, 1,100 miles away from his parents, just "Living the dream" as junior hockey players like to say. I've been in touch with his parents, Bob and Betty Bagwell and have asked how Trey's billet family handles the T1.
While the family knows that Trey has T1, they don't do anything about it. Betty's words to me were, "Trey has learned to adjust." This, to me, is not OK. Yes, we all have to learn to adjust to different things in life. But your job as a billet family is to take care of the kid in your household like he is your own son. If your own son had T1, would you perhaps make low carb meals? Would you switch out your white bread for whole wheat bread? Would you get on Pinterest and find low-carb recipes to make? I would like to think the answer to all of this is "YES". I know when my son was diaganosed the foods I bought every week at the store changed drastically. I never in my life would've bought Agave Nectar. Seriously. I have it now! Coconut flour?? Disgusting! Worse yet, coconut oil?? Barf. I hate everything and anything coconut ... Even tanning lotion.
Let me be clear. I do not personally know the people Bags lives with. I know they have always hosted players so I am certain they are good people. I need everyone to know I am not bashing or hating on these people. I'm simply saying, T1 moms know T1 struggles.
Let me be clear. I do not personally know the people Bags lives with. I know they have always hosted players so I am certain they are good people. I need everyone to know I am not bashing or hating on these people. I'm simply saying, T1 moms know T1 struggles.
Diabetics are tough to figure out. They pride themselves on being able to eat anything they want ... And it's true, they can. But it doesn't mean they SHOULD. Yes, Trey can eat white bread. He can eat white rice and eat McDonald's and have a DQ blizzard. He CAN ... But he SHOULDN'T.
I also know, and understand, that if you don't live the T1 life ... You don't understand it. You don't understand just how deadly it can be. You don't understand what too much exercise can do or what a simple hot dog bun can do to a person. Because you don't see the ins and outs of the disease. That's where this mom comes into play ... I have promised Trey that I would forever educate other's.
I need Trey Bagwell to live with me. I would make him the proper foods to keep him as healthy as he can be. To give him the energy and strength he needs to be a success both on and off the ice. Yep, he is 18, a legal adult, but he also is a T1 person who needs all the support and knowledge he can get. I Find myself wondering during hockey games "Wonder if he's high?" When he looks sluggish on the ice. I see him come off the ice and head to the locker room to confirm my thoughts of him either being high or low, but obviously not right. No one else would notice that. I've gotten messages from him that he's running high or low and we bounce ideas and reasons why off one another. We compare his numbers to my Trey's numbers. I've given him GrifGrips of Trey's to try out and sent him links to other diabetic supply pages that he might find useful. My brain is programmed for diabetes. I loved making Trey special cookies tha this mom used to make him because I knew he could eat them without worrying about his blood sugar going out of whack. I wish I could do more of it ... Because I get it.
So I promised myself this. If there is ever another Aberdeen Wing's player who has T1 ... He WILL live with me. I will see to it. There is no one that can care for a T1 kid like a T1 parent. That's a fact.
Thanks for reading.
Wednesday, February 1, 2017
Recipes
If you follow me on Facebook, rather, if you're part of the T1D Trey Facebook page, you will have noticed that I'm back to cooking better for my little guy. I guess, to be honest, December took everything I had in me - out of me. It was a very busy, stressful month and while I was not oblivious to the fact I wasn't making the proper meals for Trey anymore, I was flat burnt out of cooking. Excuse the pun. Is that a pun? Mrs. Nyberg?!?
I'm back now though ... I'm ready to tackle this low-carb lifestyle again. It's true that diabetics CAN eat anything they want, but is it the smartest thing??
Here are some of the recipes that I've recently tried and posted on Facebook for all of you non-Facebook - people. (And if you ARE on Facebook and wish to follow Trey's page, I have made it a public page now and it's T1D Trey - search for it and join)
Homemade Cheese-It's
Ultra Thin Sargento Cheese slices (any flavor you wish)
Cut each square into fourths.
Place on parchment paper lined baking sheet
Bake at 300* for roughly 12-15 minutes (depending on oven times and baking sheets).
That's it. Yep - seriously. 0 carbs!!! They taste delicious and I can't make it any easier for you.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bonanza Salad
Bag of broccoli, cauliflower and carrots mixed (not frozen!)
1c Real Mayo
1 Tbsp vinegar
Salt/Pepper to taste
3 packets of Splenda sweetener
Done. Well, mix it up and keep it in the fridge of course :). You could add bacon bits and cheese to it if you wish, but it doesn't need it.
This was one of my favorite salads I remember from when Bonanza was in Aberdeen. I loved that place and I really loved this salad!
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Breakfast Bowls
(Trey loves Jimmy Dean breakfast bowls. You can get different varieties and they start at 16 carbs. Instead of shelling out $3/bowl, I can make a bunch for that!)
3-4 cups shredded hashbrowns
2c shredded cheese
Bag of bacon bits (you could use fried sausage if you wish)
6 eggs
1/2-3/4c milk
Spray 8x8 pan with nonstick spray. Preheat oven to 350*. Mix hashbrowns, bacon, cheese together in a bowl. Put in pan. Whip eggs with milk and pour over hashbrown mix. Bake for 25-30 minutes. Makes enough for leftovers! *** Hashbrowns are about 16c per cup
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Chicken Fried "Rice"
Bag of shredded cauliflower
Half bag frozen peas/carrots mix
Garlic to taste
2 eggs
Pre cooked diced chicken breast
Oil
2T Butter
Soy sauce
Heat skillet. Add butter. Pour in cauliflower, chicken and peas/carrots. One heated through, add Garlic. Make a hole in the middle of the pan and add whipped eggs (with 1T oil) into the pan. Once eggs start to scramble, toss with rest of ingredients in the pan. Add soy sauce before serving.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bagwell Cookies
(We changed the name of these as this recipe comes from Trey Bagwell's mom. If you recall, Trey Bagwell is the Aberden Wings player who also has T1. His mom sent me a few of Bagwell's favorite recipes that don't mess with his sugars. 0
1 stick soft butter
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup Agave nectar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp baking soda
Pinch of salt
- Mix together with mixer. Then add:
3C quick oats (more or less)
Semi-sweet chocolate chips (1/2 - 3/4 bag)
Bake at 350* for 8-10 minutes. They will be soft, must let set up before removing from pan.
* we tried these last night and they taste like monster cookies. Delicious!!!!!
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
That's what I have for you to try out for now. I'm going to be trying quite a few new things in hopes of keeping my T1 hockey player as healthy as possible. He needs me to be on top of my game -- I cannot let him down!
Keep reading! Keep educating! Keep praying!!
I'm back now though ... I'm ready to tackle this low-carb lifestyle again. It's true that diabetics CAN eat anything they want, but is it the smartest thing??
Here are some of the recipes that I've recently tried and posted on Facebook for all of you non-Facebook - people. (And if you ARE on Facebook and wish to follow Trey's page, I have made it a public page now and it's T1D Trey - search for it and join)
Homemade Cheese-It's
Ultra Thin Sargento Cheese slices (any flavor you wish)
Cut each square into fourths.
Place on parchment paper lined baking sheet
Bake at 300* for roughly 12-15 minutes (depending on oven times and baking sheets).
That's it. Yep - seriously. 0 carbs!!! They taste delicious and I can't make it any easier for you.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bonanza Salad
Bag of broccoli, cauliflower and carrots mixed (not frozen!)
1c Real Mayo
1 Tbsp vinegar
Salt/Pepper to taste
3 packets of Splenda sweetener
Done. Well, mix it up and keep it in the fridge of course :). You could add bacon bits and cheese to it if you wish, but it doesn't need it.
This was one of my favorite salads I remember from when Bonanza was in Aberdeen. I loved that place and I really loved this salad!
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Breakfast Bowls
(Trey loves Jimmy Dean breakfast bowls. You can get different varieties and they start at 16 carbs. Instead of shelling out $3/bowl, I can make a bunch for that!)
3-4 cups shredded hashbrowns
2c shredded cheese
Bag of bacon bits (you could use fried sausage if you wish)
6 eggs
1/2-3/4c milk
Spray 8x8 pan with nonstick spray. Preheat oven to 350*. Mix hashbrowns, bacon, cheese together in a bowl. Put in pan. Whip eggs with milk and pour over hashbrown mix. Bake for 25-30 minutes. Makes enough for leftovers! *** Hashbrowns are about 16c per cup
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Chicken Fried "Rice"
Bag of shredded cauliflower
Half bag frozen peas/carrots mix
Garlic to taste
2 eggs
Pre cooked diced chicken breast
Oil
2T Butter
Soy sauce
Heat skillet. Add butter. Pour in cauliflower, chicken and peas/carrots. One heated through, add Garlic. Make a hole in the middle of the pan and add whipped eggs (with 1T oil) into the pan. Once eggs start to scramble, toss with rest of ingredients in the pan. Add soy sauce before serving.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bagwell Cookies
(We changed the name of these as this recipe comes from Trey Bagwell's mom. If you recall, Trey Bagwell is the Aberden Wings player who also has T1. His mom sent me a few of Bagwell's favorite recipes that don't mess with his sugars. 0
1 stick soft butter
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup Agave nectar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp baking soda
Pinch of salt
- Mix together with mixer. Then add:
3C quick oats (more or less)
Semi-sweet chocolate chips (1/2 - 3/4 bag)
Bake at 350* for 8-10 minutes. They will be soft, must let set up before removing from pan.
* we tried these last night and they taste like monster cookies. Delicious!!!!!
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
That's what I have for you to try out for now. I'm going to be trying quite a few new things in hopes of keeping my T1 hockey player as healthy as possible. He needs me to be on top of my game -- I cannot let him down!
Keep reading! Keep educating! Keep praying!!
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