Another Opening, Another Low

It's been a couple of years, and we forgot. Performing in musicals makes my kid low.

Except for an occasional adrenaline-induced high, especially on opening night. For which insulin should be dosed sparingly, not aggressively.

Exercise is the most obvious cause. This year's show was particularly dance intensive. At two and a half hours long and involving at least five quick costume changes, every performance resembled a marathon. Saturday's double-header was made possible by a giant between-shows order of Thai pineapple fried rice.

Being in a show also puts her off schedule. Diabetes likes to eat, move, sit still and sleep within the confines of a predictable routine. Dinner at 4:30 on show nights, 8:30 on dress rehearsal nights? Both unusual. Dancing and performing in the evening instead of sedentary homework? Unusual. Diner pancakes or cast party food post-show? Her insulin to carb ratios are set pretty accurately for regular mealtimes, not so well for midnight. There was lots of overnight juice.

Exhaustion is another probable contributor to the show lows. The weeks leading up to opening night involved long rehearsal days followed by late homework nights. Schoolwork didn't stop. Regularly scheduled music rehearsals didn't stop. She burned more energy than usual just to keep up with the long hours.

It's absolutely true that kids with diabetes can do the same things others do. They can even make it look effortless. Waking a couple of times per night for juice, calculated intermission snacks to improve the odds of stable second act blood sugar, checking and double-checking the backstage bag of supplies, and maintaining an overall high level of diabetes vigilance are invisible tasks, even to most of her cast-mates.  To her all those tasks are totally worth it to be able to participate in her high school's musical.

Wouldn't it be nice, though, if she could just do the same things other kids did without all of the extra effort?