Blogabetes Sneak Peek - The Grape Conundrum
Here's another sneak peek into the soon-to-be launched Blogabetes! Today's post is from Blogabetes blogger Carey Potash:
The Grape ConundrumWe're constantly weighing things. Weighing grams. Weighing negatives. Weighing the lesser of two evils.
On the soccer field at halftime I weigh the effect grapes will have on Charlie when his blood sugar is 260. I weigh this against the sadness he'll have if he's the only kid unable to enjoy a halftime snack. This one's easy though. I'll never ever subject him to exclusion.
But, how many grapes? I don't like that he's 260, but he's running around like a wildebeest for two hours. He should come down. Right? Well, maybe. He may also go up higher with all that adrenaline pumping. He may just stay the same somehow and then plummet later. I can't bolus him and risk a low.
But there's that difficult decision again. The rest of his teammates are reclining on soccer ball pillows and popping grapes like Julius Caesar and I've allotted Charlie a measly three.
"There ya go, Bubba," I say, slowly dropping the grapes in his palm one at a time to create the illusion of several.
His sweaty pink face stares back at me with a "huh?" look on it. The three little grapes look pathetic in his cupped, grass-stained hands.
I'm a greedy pirate captain reluctant to share my gold with my first mate. A mob boss unfairly divvying up the loot to my top henchman.
"Fine! One more, but then scram!"
"OK, five more, but that's it!"
"No! Not the quivering chin! Dammit! Three more, but THAT IS IT!"
The thing that just stabs me in the heart is his sweet little voice that tails off with a lisp.
"Dad, can I please have more grapessssssshhh?"
Without knowing the situation, an onlooker might think my deep struggle and uncertainty over a single grape was peculiar at best. Appropriate perhaps if the question was "can I sleep over Eric's house?"
The kid who blows up fish.
Check back on Monday for another post from Blogabetes!
Comments
- At 09:25 AM on Thu, Jul 26, 2007 Carey wrote:
Lisa:
Laugh a little. This is a light humor piece on some challenges that MANY people face. Of course, not you though. What are you offering with this extremist and self-serving comment? Are you just using my piece as a platform to announce your daughter's A1c?
Got news for you. The 5.6 does not impress me. Nor would it impress our doctors. Like me, they would agree that it is unhealthy on so many levels.
But hey, why stop at 5.6? Maybe with one kidney bean for breakfast, one for lunch and one for dinner, you can get that A1c under 5. Maybe under 4 if you eliminate that third bean.
And for the record, why do you preface your comment with "not to criticize," when that's exactly what you go on to do? You did the same with Julia and Michelle. "Not being critical." "Not trying to be condescending."
If you feel the need to soften your comments in that manner, than yeah, there's a good chance you ARE criticizing, being critical and condescending.
Am I being defensive? Damn right I am!
Thanks for stoppin' by. :)
- At 06:28 PM on Wed, Jul 25, 2007 Susanne wrote:
This comment is in response to Lisa. I am Charlie's mother. It suprises me that you can dare assume/imply that my husband and I are not teaching our son how to control his disease based on one blog and zero familiarity of my family or Charlie's particular case. MY son got diabetes when he was 21 months old. A baby. He has had it for just about 4 years. We struggle every day, work just as hard as you claim you do, and his blood sugars are not defined by 2 extra grapes. He is fit, growing perfectly and my husband was merely describing our struggle with trying to keep his life as normal as possible, when anyone who has a child with diabetes should know this is anything but a normal life. Our son is only now understanding and asking questions about his disease. And unlike a 12 year old, does not understand the difference between 400 and 100 yet. And for the record, you were clearly critical and as it is your right to comment, it is my right to respond.
- At 08:28 PM on Mon, Jul 23, 2007 Lisa wrote:
Oh goodness. Not to criticize ... but, it's your job to teach this child how to control his disease. If you don't, who will? I have a 12 year old (diagnosed at 7) who has a 5.6% A1C. She didn't get that by having extra grapes. I hope you can read these comments objectively and begin to take a stand for the future of your child's health.
- At 06:13 PM on Sun, Jul 22, 2007 karen wrote:
My prior post did not show up (??). Your son's blood sugar, at 260, requires insulin now, not later. You or he also need to check his urine for ketones (sorry, but he has to). It may appear that a) he did not get enough insulin to cover his breakfast b) he needs more insulin because of the exercise (it happens to me) c) the adrenaline exacerbates the situation further, also requiring more insulin and d) if he has additional grapes, that also would require more insulin. You know your son better than anyone else and you would know how much insulin he would require to get him out of this pinch! I would not hesitate to give him insulin at this time. I would continue to monitor his blood sugars every 30 minutes.
- At 02:15 PM on Sun, Jul 22, 2007 karen wrote:
Hello, I am wondering, why not give your son .5 of a unit of fast-acting insulin to get that 260 down in the first place? I'm a type 1 too, and sometimes when I exercise, my sugar goes up...that is usually my clue that I need to inject more insulin, so I do. (As a result, my performance usually improves, too). Alternatively, why not give your son 1 unit and let him have 1/2 cup of grapes? You're singling him out, allowing him 5 or 6 grapes....
Karen:
Had I given my son insulin "now, not later" then this would be an entirely different story. It would be a story about how my son crashed on the soccer field due to severe hypoglycemia and spent the day in the hospital.
In this scenerio, the activity brought him down perfectly and the grapes (minus insulin) leveled him off nicely. That's my point. It doesn't always work out that way. Unlike you, he doesn't always have that adrenaline factor to deal with. There are so many factors with children and it's not an exact science. Giving him insulin at that time would have been disastrous. Also, per our doctors instructions, we check ketones after consecutive highs, not just one random high of 260. Thanks for your comments.