Chase's Insulin Pump :)

Tomorrow is the day we order Chase's insulin pump. We decided to go with the Medtronic Minimed Paradigm Revel system (in blue lol). It includes the pump itself plus it has an integrated continuous glucose monitor (cgm). We are also going to start with the Sure-T infusion set. I am so excited and ready for this change, though I am a bit nervous. Mainly because everyone says it's like being diagnosed with diabetes all over again :/ Below are some videos about the system we will be using for anyone who is curious. The first is an instruction video for the infusion set we are going to use, the second is on the cgm, and the third show what we would do every other day with changing his infusion sets and reservoirs.

I am the Mother of a Diabetic Child

It's been awhile since my last post. I found this video on YouTube while watching videos about insulin pumps. This poem really shows everything I feel being a mother of a diabetic child.

The beginning

February 19, 2012 at about 2 a.m. our sweet little boy, Chase Jr., was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. It was a moment my fiance, Chase, and I had hoped would never come. Chase is also a type 1 diabetic, so we knew there was always a chance our children could develop the disease. We just weren't prepared for it to happen to Chase Jr. so soon and a mere 22 months of age. The night before he was diagnosed we had noticed that Chase had been drinking and peeing a lot. He was also uncharacteristically crabby. His crabbiness would subside if we gave him food and only food. We were concerned and decided to test him with his daddy's blood glucose machine. His blood glucose level was 590. After an hour it went down about 100 points. At that point we called is pediatricians 24 hr. line and were instructed to take him to Children's Hospital. Upon check in at the ER his blood sugar was 388. They took us back to a room, started an IV and bagged him for a urine sample. They drew some blood for labs and ran those along with his urine sample. His urine tested positive for glucose, thus the diagnosis of diabetes. The rest of his labs came back normal. His A1c was an incredible 6.5. The doctors and nurses were very impressed that we were able to catch his diabetes this early. After about 8 hours in the ER, Chase was given his first shot of insulin. The endocrinologists came in   a little after that and talked to us about his diagnosis, what it meant, and where to go from there. Because his A1c was good and he wasn't in diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) we were able to take him home. 


Yesterday was day 1 of our diabetes education. I must say we are truly blessed to have such an amazing diabetes center here in Denver. The providers at Barbara Davis Center for Childhood Diabetes are truly a godsend. We left feeling  incredibly informed and confident in the care our son would be receiving. We felt as if we became apart of the family there. Everyone was so warm, welcoming, and genuinely caring. Our second day of education is next Wednesday and I'm actually looking forward to it.


As for Chase's insulin intake. We had to up his dose of Lantus to 2 units/day and Novolog was upped by .5 units based on his blood sugar readings before meals.