On Our Own

'Snow will change over to a wintery mix this morning after accumulations of 6-10 inches.  Freezing rain will change back to snow mid-afternoon which will taper off around the evening commute.  The national weather service has issued a flash freeze warning beginning at 4 p.m. and continuing through the night.'

That was the weather situation which prompted me to cancel yesterday afternoon's endo appointment. We undertake a drive averaging 45 minutes into the city through heavy traffic to visit the diabetes center.  There are multiple hazards on a sunny day in June.  The new-to-me concept of a 'flash freeze warning' convinced me we'd definitely be better off at home with a jigsaw puzzle.

When I called to reschedule, the receptionist was very understanding but the next available appointment was in mid-March.  So it's not until then that we'll head in for a face-to-face professional assessment and help. Our usual 4 month interval between appointments will turn into more than 5.

Four months is really the right amount of time for us. As we approach each appointment, we inevitably start to build a list of problems for which we need solutions.   Maybe the after dinner lows discussed at the last appointment, which were perfectly resolved for a while, have turned into highs.  Or the afternoon basal rates seem way off but we haven't been successful in tweaking them ourselves.  Perhaps we're considering a new type of infusion set or want to talk about a new technology coming down the pipeline. We always need a prescription or a school form or a lab slip.  By three and half months, we're running out of ideas and enthusiasm.  We could do some research, try new tactics, or call the diabetes center for help, but a visit is so much better.

A visit allows us to take the sum total of all of the diabetes problems we're facing and hand them over to someone else.  'Please fix this,' we say.  While our endo does not have a magic wand, and therefore can't make it all go away, he can look at it with a fresh and well educated eye.  His suggestions work, and are often beyond what I could have come up with on my own.  He's able to put the pile of data downloaded from the diabetes devices together with the information we give him in an incredibly helpful way.

For just a part of an hour every 4 months, someone else worries about my daughter's diabetes.  Someone else struggles with the countless numbers, the trends, the mysteries of it all.

For the next month or so it's still ours to think about and do the best we can with.  If we're stuck with an issue that's particularly challenging, or if we need a prescription refilled, I'll call.  Otherwise we're still on our own.  March can't come quick enough!