I know…as a parent of a Diabetic child we worry all the time… we wake up in the middle of the night to correct and fix and be there for our kids…but at some point… they will be on their own…so we also have the worry of making sure when that time comes…they are ready.
My son is 16. He is 100% capable and knowlegeable about his diabetes. If I wanted to just “stop” helping him…he would be able to do everything on his own. He is a great kid and most of the time…very responsible. I couldn’t be prouder of him and all he does. I help him when I can… I am his “partner” in all of this… if he has highs though out the night…I will set my cell phone alarms and wake and test and correct him…because he has school and I don’t work so it is better for me to be the one waking up all night. I try to “lift the burden” of this all however I can since I want him to lead as normal a teen life as possible.
Well… last night I was on “wake every 2 hr and test mode” because we went to Friendly’s for dinner and …well… he was very high from it.
He was also on a pump/pod that should have lasted till the next morning…but with all the corrections…it ran out at 2am. I was only a room away…I didn’t hear the alarm…he did. He found his PDM… and shut it off… and WENT BACK TO SLEEP. I had tested and corrected him at 1:30am…and my alarm was set to test him again at 3:30am. When it went off… I go to get the PDM and it said… ( need pump change…pump is off) So… I went o get the stuff to put a new pod on… I have never done the pod change on my own…he is the one that does that. I had to figure it all out…he was groggy and no help. Got it going… tested him and he was 300’s. He had been pumpless for 1 and a half hours! Good thing he had IOB from me testing earlier…good thing… I was planning on waking up to test again… IT is a weekend… normally I let him sleep in. OMG…the what ifs and Thank God’s that are running though my head right now have me shaky.
Has anyone else had an experience like this? He said… mom… I just made a bad decision… and fell back asleep. I read to him what the final point of DKA is… COMA. I hate to have to scare him…but OMG…this can never happen again.
As a mom of a diabetic child… diabetes is always on my mind… I research the heck out of it… talk here about it… read about it… I try not to make it overwhelm my son. I try not to show him all my fear…sometimes… I succeed…sometimes I don’t. I love him…and his brother more than anything. I hate that something like diabetes…could threaten my son’s life and I can’t make it go away! I can’t get this BULLY to leave my son alone. That is what I feel diabetes is…a BULLY… aways there waiting to hit him again.
bless all you moms. and all you must endure and go through for us the d children in your lives. i am a old d and i never see enough praise credit thanks or love given to you “moms”. dont be so hard on yourself if you can.it s lame to say things happen but i will say it any way.things happen.and you are only human.