I Can't Remember

There are some diabetes facts (and  'facts') which are always readily available to me for instant recall.

I'm always able to remember that ritz crackers have 2 carbs each, that walking around a museum results in a steady decline in blood sugar, and that the total amount of insulin needed to fill the canula for a site change is 0.7 units. These and many other oft-used bits of information will forever be embedded in my mind.  I'll likely still remember them well beyond their usefulness to me.

Yet there are other bits and pieces which I am simply unable to retain.

We've had 12 Thanksgivings with diabetes, but every year I have to look up carb counts for squash and pie.  Similarly, corn on the cob doesn't stick with me from summer to summer.  Worse yet, I find myself looking up Italian ice if it's been more than 3 days since the last cup.

Doctors' visits regularly stump me with questions like, 'When was her last blood work/dental appointment/eye exam?'  Or 'What is your copay?'  If I could even remember ahead of time that I'd be asked, I could at least look them up and make myself notes. Instead I have to slowly work my way through the recesses of my memory to come up with an answer, or an approximation there-of.

When was the last site change?  Half the time we have to look in the pump's history to find out.  Did I call  to change the amounts on the order for pump supplies after the last box was delivered or do I still need to do that?  Did this bill for the lab work cross in the mail with my check or did I never get around to paying it?  When is nurse's day again? 

Fortunately, none of these are unanswerable questions.  I can turn to calorie king, the memories of our diabetes devices, my thoroughly annotated planner, the checkbook, and the internet. 

Which is good, because on the whole it is impossible to remember every detail about diabetes.  At least if I also want to remember anything else.

Teenage Thoughts Interrupted

This is only a sample of what I imagine is circling through my daughter's mind, on repeat, every day:

when am I eating next
4x+y=47...where do I start
what's my blood sugar
when is that English essay due
we're running in gym today so I might be low
I wonder if Molly can come over after school
I'm sitting for an hour and a half in the assembly- I'll probably be high at lunch
I love the new Nick Jonas song
the school schedule changed for the day so lunch is really early- that'll mess up my blood sugar
should I get a new mirror in my room
should I have dinner before or after tennis so I don't go low
my piano recital is on Saturday
is it site change day
which dress should I wear for 8th grade graduation
why am I high
I need to get something for grandpa's birthday
should I ask all my friends to stop and wait for me while I check my blood sugar
why are my friends arguing over where to go for lunch on Friday
how many carbs are in this dish of Italian ice
are the Red Sox on tv tonight
should I correct again or will I crash because I might only be high from being nervous about the quiz
when are auditions for the summer musical
did I silence the dexcom or is it going to alarm during the concert
maybe I'll call my cousins tonight
why are there no clean measuring cups so I can measure my rice for dinner
that panda video is adorable
should I go to the nurse for this 69 blood sugar or just eat a couple of glucose tabs at my desk
should I ask for a new phone case
I need more dexcom tape
maybe we could shop for shoes for the 8th grade dance this afternoon
I have to bring more juice boxes into school tomorrow for the nurse's office
does the library have the book I'm waiting for yet
where did I leave the meter
is it my turn in words with friends with grandma
I have to remind mom that we need to reorder the pump supplies
should I post a selfie on Instagram today or is it too soon since the last one
maybe I'll just have cucumbers and hummus for snack so I don't have to count carbs
I'm so excited about this ancient Egypt history project
I can hear the alarm but where did I leave the dexcom
this box of tic tacs is almost gone

Not Just Any Bag

We've spent the past six months in search of this gorgeous bag. 

In fact, it really didn't have to be this gorgeous.  It mostly just had to be the right shape and size, and not ugly. 

Our previous bag, purchased at Target, had served at least 2 years of hard time and was on its last legs when it succumbed to a juice box explosion and had to be thrown away.  Turns out cosmetic bag fashions change quicker than you might think, and so we were unable to simply replace our trusty tote with the same model.  We've since made do with make-up bags we had on hand, but none were quite right.  We spent the summer looking in all sorts of stores, to no avail.

The bag had to be the right size, primarily.  Big enough to comfortably fit the meter, lancet, strips, glucose tabs, a juice box, smarties, a spare battery and whatever other odds and ends live at the bottom in case of emergency.  But not so big that it took up an entire purse leaving no room for the other necessities of life.  It also, per its primary user, my daughter, had to stay open at the top.  When unzipped it needed to comfortably fall open so that a blood sugar test could be done in it, like it was a little nest.  This was the feature of the aforementioned Target bag which we couldn't seem to replicate.  Most of the bags we looked at were stiff and wanted to stay closed at the zipper even if it was unzipped.

We'd about given up hope when we stopped in a little local gift shop, for an entirely different purpose, and there it was.  The new bag.  In several colors.  Was it Target priced?  Not even close.  Was it worth it?  Absolutely.

There's even room for the Dexcom receiver, a few dollars for emergency snacks, and lip gloss. 

It's perfect.

Prepared

I spent some time emptying and organizing my purse before we traveled last month.  Apparently it the project was overdue.

In my purse, I was carrying:

2 juice boxes

3 boxes of nerds

2 spare vials of test strips

a bag of goldfish crackers

3 rolls of smarties

an empty glucose tab container

approximately 20 used test strips and

a glucagon kit.

I believe in being prepared with supplies for my child.  But this was a little too much.  Especially since as she's getting older she brings her own bag for day-trips and bigger adventures. The stuff in my purse is now just for quick local excursions, or as back-up to what she's packed.

But if I ever get stuck in an elevator, I'll be in good shape.