two firsts

Long time, no type!  That must mean things are going well. Indeed, they are. I wanted to pop in quickly to mention two milestones we passed in recent weeks. First of all, there was L's first Halloween with the beetski/betski.  It went so smoothly as to almost pass without comment. We checked her glucose before she left the house for trick-or-treating, and while she was out and felt like she might have a low blood glucose, she just dug into her bag and found some fast-acting crabs. Everyone knows it's not about how much candy you can eat in one night anyway; it's more about the most profitable trades you can make with your friend's older sister and her posse. As a side note, the Children's Hospital Diabetes Clinic provided a list of the most common fun-size candies and their respective carb counts, since they frequently are not marked on the individual pieces. Rock on, Children's Hospital!

The second big event in recent weeks was that L turned 10. TEN I SAY! She woke up that morning and said, "Hey, I think I should start testing my own blood glucose". And so she did. And from then on, more times than not each day, she will be the one to set up the lancet device, sanitize her finger, prick it with the needle, and squeeze the blood onto the test strip. Rock on, you ten-year-old, you!

As far as those glucose levels are going, the story is pretty good at the moment. It seems like we have finally arrived at the appropriate calculation ratios to keep her pretty close to the target range. We still have our fair share of highs and lows, but that happens on a much less frequent basis, and we are learning not to freak out as much whenever we see those really out of whack numbers. L had her 2 month follow-up appointment at the Clinic recently and we were relieved to learn that her A1C level (which had been 14.25% upon her admission to Children's Hospital, and 12% at her one month follow-up) was down to a very respectable 8%. Rock on, much-improved A1C level!! [What is an A1C Level?]

And while I have you here, I'd like to just take a moment on this Veteran's Day to recognize all of our family members who have served our country. Thank you Poppo, Grandpa, Dad, John, Uncle Tim, Uncle John, Anthony, Pat and Damon.