When testing Charlie’s blood sugar in public, there was a time when I would crouch down in a semi-secluded corner of the store and prick his finger to avoid full-on display of bloodshed. Not so much anymore. While using some gift cards at Best Buy the other day, Charlie said he felt low. The diabetes bag folds open quite nicely on the DVD shelving while curious shoppers look on. I had it wedged between Night at the Museum and Star Trek, I believe.
Maybe I should collaborate on the Zagat guide to the top public places to test your child’s blood sugar in.
Best Buy DVD shelving – Chest-high top shelf of DVD section provides a convenient easel for testing supplies and makes testing blood sugar a snap. Bottom lip of shelving catches items that would normally fall to the ground when unzipping a bag stuffed with juice boxes and extra snacks. Would most certainly come back to Best Buy to test blood sugar and would recommend to others. 3 1/2 stars.
Odd happenings around Christmas time. I took Charlie to the Hallmark store on Christmas Eve so that he could buy a Christmas gift for his little brother. When we got out of the car, something didn’t seem right. Hands were way too free. Charlie looked at me and said, "forgot the diabetes bag?"
It wouldn’t be the last thing I’d forget on Christmas Eve.
Being out without his supplies is not a comfortable feeling. Charlie quickly selected a cute stuffed animal alligator which he couldn’t wait to give to Ben. When Ben unwrapped the gift, his cries could be heard from two towns over. Now, the alligator is Charlie’s.
I also found myself forgetting to give Charlie insulin. Frequent lows caused me to hold off on immediate boluses for what Charlie ate. This is a recipe for disaster. When I attempt to delay the bolus for about 15 to 20 minutes, I almost always forget.
"Crap! I never bolused him!" I say an hour later.
I wasn’t done forgetting things. After a nice Christmas Eve spent at my brother-in-laws house about an hour away, I realized that I left both my camcorder and my regular camera at his house. This meant no pictures of the kids ripping open presents. No video of their happy faces. I did, however, record the sounds of Christmas morning on my little voice recorder. The audio minus the visual was actually pretty cool.
Believe it or not, Charlie had never had baked ziti before last Thursday. We’re not a big pasta family. But on Christmas Eve, Charlie went to town on a mountain of ziti.
"This is going to be disastrous later," I said to Susanne.
Two foods that send Charlie’s blood sugar soaring for hours are pizza and macaroni & cheese. To me, baked ziti is like a deadly combination of the two. We were playing with fire it being the night before Christmas.
Amazingly, baked ziti did not bring forth the wrath we had anticipated. Baked ziti was a most glorious dud. To make sure it wasn’t a fluke, Susanne made ziti yesterday and lo and behold, his blood sugar was fine. Anyone else find this with ziti?
Back in Best Buy, I was sniffling and wheezing as we left the store. Charlie asked me what was worse – my seasonal asthma or his diabetes. I had to tell the kid the truth.
"My asthma is much, much worse."
And one more note about testing blood sugar in the DVD section of Best Buy. If you want some serious privacy, try testing over by the movie From Justin to Kelly starring Kelly Clarkson and Justin Guarini. It’s pretty quiet over there.
Happy New Year!
