Keep Calm and Carry On

Keep Calm And Carry On.

I'm not one to panic. Faced with problems, danger or stress, I'm almost always able to focus on the issue at hand without freaking out.  A former boss once commented, "you know I think if the building was on fire, you'd call me and say, 'Mary, I just wanted to let you know the building's on fire, but I've called 911 and started all the emergency procedures.  Everything is fine.'"

This quality has come in handy in so many diabetes-related situations.  My daughter seems to have inherited (or learned?) this trait as well.

The recent field trip incident included many obstacles to calmness.  My daughter's blood sugar was quite low.  We were in a public place with high security and had to stay with our group.  The glucose tabs weren't  bringing her blood sugar up and she was feeling worse and worse.  These elements and more may have sent many people into full-fledged panic mode.  We kept calm and carried on.

Calls from the school nurse about extreme low and high blood sugars often include a story that goes something like this:  "She tested, got a juice box from the fridge, waited for me to finish with another child, and then very casually informed me that she was 47."  She keeps calm and carries on.

I can't say I've never rage bolused (defined here as "the act of suffering from a high blood sugar for an extended period of time or for an unknown reason and the retaliatory insulin dose. Oftentimes results in a low blood sugar").  Ordinarily, though, I keep calm, and carry on with small doses to avoid the plummeting. 

I'm grateful to be able to calmly face the curve balls diabetes throws our way, and that my daughter is learning to do so as well.  It keeps diabetes from taking over the rest of life.  If every low, or high, or forgotten meter, or stomach ache sent us over the edge, there would be very little time or energy left for the rest of life.  The rest of life is really the important part, so where diabetes is concerned, we keep calm and carry on.

This post is my Tuesday contribution to Diabetes Blog Week.  The topic was 'One Great Thing,' an opportunity to celebrate something we do well in caring for diabetes.