Bad. Site. : (

I think she thinks it's my fault sometimes.  I got ready to change Mary Claire's pump site last night, and the first site (needle) I put in...slid right out.  They never do that. : (  Of course..it bled.  And she cried.  Then, I opened another (really expensive) package (wasting the set of tubing that comes with), and tried again.  This time, the needle bent straight down-I'm guessing she squeezed her bottom in anticipation, and when you hit muscle...forget it.  I couldn't get the needle out of the tubing to save my life..so we pulled the site again.

This time, I had to hold a tissue over the blood, and comfort her.  Bless her heart.  This is when the sadness comes out.  She asks the barrage of questions (the same ones I ask God about): Why does she have to have diabetes?  Why does she have to wear a pump?  Why does she have to change her site?  Why her?

Our medical waste.  For one site change.

We had to wait a while to try for the third time.  I had to convince her it would work, and we'd try something different (as opposed to the last 864 times I've changed her site).  She psyched herself up, and we opened another set, and got another site ready (had an IV Prep emergency: whoever stocked our last Medtronic shipment mixed up the new IV Prep pads with the old-and recalled-alcohol pads!!  Stress. and Guessing.).  Finally...we got a good site.  I also had to set her temporary basal UP after that awful drama, since adrenaline drives her blood sugar skyward.

Then she laid on the bed with me listening and feeling the baby move.  I knew she just needed some time and attention before bed-what we all need.  But today?  Most especially. 

I hate that those bad moments can overshadow our good ones.  We've had some sweet memory making despite all our bad lately (we won't even go there-I don't need the stress!).  She had her fourth grade musical (and I made her a shiny "M" shirt last minute to match her Eastside High cheer skirt-that's no longer so cool):

Right in the middle, looking at me! ; )

We made her an ornament to trade at Girl Scouts:

It was only about 2 inches after this Shrinky dink shrank!  LOVE these things!

And..she had a patch ceremony and got new patches for her uniform!

Thank you, God, for the good things we get to experience.  ..and Thank you for a pump to better control blood sugars, the supplies we need, a beautiful 88 this morning, and a daughter who'll let me try it-even a third time.

Medtronic Love

I promise to share that delish BBQ recipe, but life keeps getting in the way. : P

I didn't get to share the entire story yesterday, and it wasn't appropriate then.  Mary Claire has been pretty high (220+) but we are only keeping it there with lots of insulin.  (at least 165% basal all-the-time)  Anyway, she got her site (and reservoir and tubing and insulin) changed on Monday after running high (over 240).  We don't pull any punches, we change it all, and start fresh.  Yesterday, same story.  We were headed to the Evans for dinner, and at the last minute after not having come down enough to eat (under 240, ketone level), we changed it all again (new site, insulin, everything!).  (and we were late)  She only dropped to 180, but I was happy.  Then, high again.  And today..high.

We've also had this strange frequent beeping that we've totally disregarded.  Until Now.  All of a sudden, I am thinking the two are related.  It's the low beep-high beep-low beep alarm (low battery, low reservoir, backing out of a bolus, accidental button pushing, etc.)  The two are just too coincidental.  She PROMISES she isn't pushing buttons, or leaning on it, anything.  As I hear it, I ask if she pushed anything, and she swears she didn't (we've been doing this for 6.8 years, so she knows exactly what I'm talking about).  I've checked Alarm History-nothing.

So, I call Medtronic (and it always makes me super-emotional..why can't I keep it in check?  Seriously?  It's been years, and it still comes to the surface.).  They are their usual nice, "I understand how frustrating this can be", explain the situation, trouble-shoot, then she gives me two options: keep using the pump and just monitor it, or have a new (albeit refurbished) pump tomorrow morning.  I've done this before.  We've done it at least 6 or 7 times.  They look the same, they feel the same, work the same, (still pink), but it's not like having a new one, that you t-r-u-s-t.

So, I mulled it over (cried silently till I could pull it together under the guise of "thinking"), and decided to take the refurbished pump (after she told me they go through rigorous testing-more than new pumps) (is that possible?) since we are going on vacation next week, and getting one overnighted to your destination (yes, done that too..to Disney) is much scarier.

We just wait now.  And I'm cleaning exploded potato out of my oven in the Waiting.  I could not make this stuff up if I tried.  I have this great baked potato recipe:

1.) Wash potatoes, and poke on all sides with a fork (can't emphasis this one enough!)
2.) Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
3.) Place potatoes on rack (not baking sheet) and bake for 45 minutes for small 6 oz.  potatoes, and 1.5 hours for big bakers.  *When the yummy smell fills your house, they are ready.
4.) Cut an "X" on the top, and squoosh from the bottom to make the potato kinda pop out.

So...when they smelled all yummy, I went into the kitchen to get them out.  When I walked around the corner, I heard a loud "boom".  I've heard this boom before.  (It was a potato exploding in my microwave.)  Lotsa fun, peeps.  So, I opened the door and there is the evidence all over the wall, top, and bottom of my oven.  I turned off the heat and left the door open (so it wouldn't continue to bake to the walls..I don't love to clean dried potato).  Goodness knows it just wasn't hot enough in my kitchen in July.


Anyway, it's fine.  The oven is three-quarters clean, I'm thankful for the foresight to make six potatoes tonight, and I'm thankful for Medtronic being nice to me.  I can't complain.