Back in the Saddle

Diabetes moved away September first of last year.  Sadly this also means that my son did as well. It has been a struggle for me. I have had to adjust to a new role and honestly, I am not always sure what exactly that role is.  I am a hands on Mom and being a mom from a distance has always been a challenge but with a soon to be 20-year-old living in another province, I am slowly learning.

 

With the Christmas holidays, I got to be a hands on mom again! It was wonderful to have both of my boys with me. There was baking to eat, meals to prepare and even the odd bit of chauffeuring to be done. It was great.

 

There was also reminding about bg checks, counting carbs and doing site changes.  Diabetes was back as well. I was worried that I wouldn’t wake up for night-time tests but I did with no problem.  I would easily wake numerous times during the night and get up and check on my youngest son. I knew that he most likely was not testing a lot during the nights on his own so I decided to help him out. I woke every 2-4 hours and tested to give us some great data to look at.

 

Since my son was here, there was no need for a Wednesday night phone call or waiting for him to upload data.  I have a cable here, as well as his pump and meter.  We could sit down together and discuss the many highs because of the constant eating.  We could talk about basal versus bolus and see what may or may not need tweaking.

 

With each night test and each dead test strip, I felt grateful.  It seemed weird to walk into his room and test, knowing how many nights I hated doing just that.  This time it was a privilege. I was helping my son. I was giving him a break and keeping him safe while he was under my roof. I wondered if his wife will one day help him this way? I have no idea. He told me that he has a girlfriend now. I wonder what she knows about his care? Knowing how private my son is, I am guessing that she knows next to nothing. That’s okay for now.  When she is important to his life and worthy of his deeper affection, she will learn.

 

Until then, I will test him at night when he is with me. I will be surprised how quickly we both fall back into old routines. I will remain amazed how quickly time flies and how much my children have matured. I will be grateful for the ability and the opportunity to help my son if only in small ways now.