Diabetes Olympics

Diabetes Olympics is the creative masterpiece of Joanne at Death of a Pancreas.  (Sometimes our best thoughts come out of a really tired, fried brain don't they?)  She has compared the care of diabetes to Olympic events.  Read on to see how I fared in the medal categories, then give these events a try for yourself!

Shooting (up) - Thankfully, we are not delivering Ally's insulin by injection 5 (or more) times a day anymore.  We totally stunk it up at giving her shots!  She would get herself worked up with anxiety before we even got close to her with the needle.  We had to hold her down.  Sometimes it took 2 of us.  Other times I was doing it by myself.  I cried, I got frustrated, I yelled at her, I threatened her that I would have to take her back to the hospital if she didn't let me give her this shot.  I am ashamed of myself for this...Diabetes was new to us at the time.  I was tired.  I was pregnant.  I was MAD!  I hate that I took it out on her :(

Result: Bronze, at best.


Synchronized Living - (This is the ability to balance carbs, insulin, exercise, growth spurts, illnesses, and hormones; and still achieve reasonably good numbers.)  Wow!  I am a total novice in this event.  I know that it has been a year and a half since Ally's diagnosis, but things change constantly.  I don't know if I'll ever rank at the top of this category.  I guess the skills necessary for competing in this event are stamina and determination.  I want to hear our National Anthem for this event as much as any other.  I will keep training.

Result: Silver


Speed Getting Ready - OMG!  I am SOOO good at this, don't even bother entering this event...I've got the GOLD in the bag!  This is a daily event at our house...sometimes we even compete in this one more than once a day.  Drag Ally out of bed.  (And this usually brings little sister Jessi out too.)  Get them dressed.  Make their hair look pretty.  Get baby out of bed.  Change her diaper.  Test Ally's blood sugar.  Make breakfast.  Count Ally's carbs for breakfast.  Tell her how many carbs to enter into her pump.  Give Lexi food in high chair to keep her occupied.  Pack Ally's lunch, including index card with each lunch item and its carb count listed.  Pack her snack, again including carb count.  Tell Ally to hurry up and finish eating.  Remind her to brush her teeth.  Shoes on.  Coat on.  (Now, she can put her own shoes and coat on, but I am usually supervising this to make sure that she doesn't wear flip-flops in the middle of winter - she would!)  Rush Ally out the door and to the end of our driveway to wait for the bus.  60 minutes, or less!  Although, we missed the bus this morning, so maybe we need to increase that time allowance :)

There is a similar chaos that takes place anytime we go anywhere....All this packing goes on no matter how long the trip will be for.  Diaper bag.  Diabetes bag.  (Probably in reverse order!)  Snacks for baby.  Snacks for Ally to treat low BG.  Snacks for Jessi because how fair would that be for her to watch the other 2 snacking?

Result: Gold!


10 Meter Dash (Also known as Distance from our bed to Ally's.) - Not so great at this event.  I do get additional points, though, for leaping up the 7 stairs from our bedroom to Ally's in one bounding leap!  (ok, maybe 2)  Also, bonus points are awarded for setting the midnight and 3 am alarms to check her BG. (Do I get the points if hubby does this?)  Between the two of us, we fare pretty well at waking at these times on a nightly basis.  The point deductions come from not actually hearing the CGM alarm.  And you see, this is not entirely my fault.  Ally wears a MiniMed Revel insulin pump and CGM.  The pump is also the receiver for the CGM.  The alarm on this thing is sooo soft that, with her pump tucked inside her pump pouch, under her pjs, under her covers...and often under her body when she sleeps on her belly, I can't hear the alarm.  Still warming up in this event...I have hopes for most improved in this category.

Result: Silver


WAG-ing - (stands for Wild Ass Guessing)  Now, my husband gets the GOLD for this one!  I swear, he remembers this stuff...but not where we keep the extra toilet paper rolls!  He remembers the last time we were at a party and had a similar piece of cake and so-n-so carbs worked with such-n-such dual wave bolus.  I did not even qualify for this event.  I second guess myself so much and I find myself looking up items that I KNOW the carb count for, just to make sure.

Result: Keith-Gold
           Me-DNQ (Did Not Qualify)


Juggling - Gold medal juggler here!  In fact, you'd think I was a trained circus clown.  With three kiddos, it would be unusual if I was attending to just one of those kiddos needs at any given time.  Poor baby Lexi was born just six months after Ally's diagnosis, so she has been juggled more than any baby should be.  So grateful that she is easy-going (and likes to snack - I can distract her with a snack anytime!).

Result: Gold!!


Biathlon - (Which, of course is the combination of two sports.) Just tonight, all at the same time, I put Ally's numbing cream on for a site change, cooked dinner, counted carbs in my head for said dinner, fed Lexi and kept an "overseeing eye" on the homework situation going on at the table.  Sure glad I didn't put the numbing cream in our dinner and feed Lexi the girls' homework!

Result: Bronze, because tonight was a rare occasion.  I usually get myself all worked into a tizzy when I try to do that many things at once.  This makes me sad, because I used to be really good in this event.  Possible lack of sleep to blame here :)~


Accuracy - Again, I have to award the GOLD to Keith.  He tries to guess what Ally's BG is going to be before she checks it.  The CGM has given us a lot of trending information that helps him.  Me, on the other hand, I just want to know the number darn it...hurry up and give me that number already! 

Result: Keith - Gold
           Me - DNQ


Wrestling - So thankful that we are not wrestling Ally to give her shots anymore.  Can I tell you how much we love our insulin pump???  What we do wrestle with is the emotional roller coaster that she is on.  Is it just a 7 year old girl thing?  Or is it D?  Does she whine and cry or yell and scream because she is testing us or because she is experiencing a high or low blood sugar?  I try to note her most recent BG when she has a melt-down of sorts.  I really try to take this into consideration...but how does it look to my other two kids if I overlook this behavior?  Not sure I'll get this one figured out very easily.  Ugh..a never-ending grappling.

Result: I'm gonna say Gold though, because I give it my best fight!


Swimming - (As in "just keep swimming".)  What other choice to we have?  It would be so easy to say "I don't feel like swimming today."  I get tired.  I get frustrated.  I get sad.  Sometimes it is hard to keep my head above water; sometimes I feel like I'm just floating by.  But Ally doesn't have the option to stop swimming for a day, so as long as diabetes is still in the picture (you know, until there is a CURE!), we will keep swimming together.

Result: Gold.


Now, for which events will you take the Gold?