Holiday Season

Scooter Power

What can I say my 5 little lovelies are all at home with me for the summer holidays!! Whilst life is even more demanding. In many ways life becomes a little easier. I can have Type 1 and Coeliac OCD and control to my hearts content !! Oh yes.........

No phone calls from schools, no packed lunches, no wondering what BG levels are, if BG tests have been done, if the right insulin carb/ratio have been given, hypo's/hyper's treated etc.
All the above has been traded for their favourite phrase "mummy can I have" ............. is now 24/7. Followed by please, please oh please mummy. Sound familiar?????

How to you keep 5 children in order and stay sane? My most effective one due to the rubbish weather in the UK is:

Weather report, they stand outside for 5 minutes to cool off.

As I am sat typing this, Darcy is on her balancing board, which helps her hyper-mobility, swaying in my direction.The baby is running wild outside with our giant house rabbit and ducklings. My teenager is sat watching TV,troughing pizza. Very predictable, although in her defence she is dressed. Felicity is playing trains and Diva Claudia is trying to see what I am writing about!!

We spent the first week of the summer in Felixstowe in a caravan by the beach. The weather was fantastic. Although Claudia has been diagnosed for over 4 years, it always amazes me how different each summer can be. Why I took spare insulin I don't know as she required so little during that week.

This is were her CGM was truly amazing. Her pump was on 0 and she was having free carbs. As soon as we could see her BG rising we put her back on small amounts of basal.

Teary moment walking down the beach with Claudia. Claudia turned to me and said "wouldn't it be lovely if I could have a weeks holiday from diabetes". Thank goodness I was wearing my sunglasses.
4 of my children were running round wild, Claudia joined them but its not the same when your mum is shouting whats your BG, test, have some carbs. I can see the look on her face sometimes, "mum just leave me alone". Yet, if she goes hypo she feels rotten. As a mother I don't want her to feel unwell. I really don't want the verbal whip lashing she can hand out when her levels are low or high.

Its such a fine, virtually impossible line we have to walk. Safety, healthy versus childhood freedom and independence.

Most people don't understand there is no break & no rest from Type 1 Diabetes even when on holiday. For me that is one of the most draining parts of the condition.There is no respite. I have to

constantly match:
food
insulin
exercise
excitement
stress
heat
illness
the unknown ( ahhhh so frustrating)

with insulin in order to keep Claudia to happy and healthy. Now if there was an exact formula/calculation life would be so much more simplistic! Instead its a case of following the school of thought and sticking your finger in the wind on many occasions. Oh and just as you think yes its working. It all changes ! and you hit the floor and have to start all over again.

I am now in the mad mother mode of buying school uniform with 5 children as my advisers on what they will or will not wear. I have the "you are having those"smile down to a fine art!

Claudia starts High School in September. Not sure how I feel at the moment. So many emotions going on inside me. Proud that she is growing up into a beautiful young lady. Claudia is ready for High School. However I don't think I am. I am scared and also in the back of my mind is a huge flashing warning light saying: TEENAGER on its way, run for cover.
I do know one thing High School are probably not ready for me and my OCD diabetes care.
I am currently putting my power point together for the training day at High School. A friend of mine refers to us mums as pit bulls, rightly so as God help anyone who doesn't take good care of our children.

What I wouldn't give for 1 day in our lives before Type 1 Diabetes and Coeliac entered. Praying for that cure. until then its chin up and onwards and upwards. Life is still lots of fun, just more challenging.

Oh yes, I can have ice-cream.