Wednesday, August 31, 2011

The Water park

After finally figuring out how to bolus for food in the US, we headed north once again.  The final stop on our journey was my mom's to pick up our dogs and visit with family.  My parents were back from their trip to Alberta and my brother and his family had dropped in during their own cross-Canada adventure.

As we got closer to my mom's, my brother began texting me...
"I am at the grocery store.  Will you be here for supper?"
Unfortunately we still had eight hours to travel so I had to tell him no.  A few hours later I received another text....
"I am at the grocery store.  Will you be here for bedtime snack?"
Bedtime snack? Does he live in the grocery store? No snacks for us.  We were still too far away and would have to get a hotel one last time before we arrived.  Because I was driving at this point, my son began texting my brother back. We decided to meet for breakfast the next morning.  My brother then asked my son if he wanted to go to the water park with them the next day.

I really wanted him to go.  My brother lives on the other side of the country and we don't get to see each other very often. He is my son's namesake and it would be great for him to spend the day with his young cousins.

I was terrified of him going.  Who would watch his pump? Who would remind him to test? My brother really hasn't been around him enough to know a lot about diabetes.  He knows its a big deal but...my mind continued along this track with the "let your son be a kid first" blaring over top of the insanity.

My son was going. They would head out after breakfast. I had an hour to prep my brother between bites of food. I had a night to prep my son.  They had to remember to test.  The pump had to be put in a locker if everyone was in the water (its water-proof but with all of the cracks that he has in it, I knew it would not be able to handle water anymore).  He had to use the "disconnect" feature. He had to bolus for the missed insulin.  He had to have fun but he had to test. 

The next day arrived. I ran over things with my son. I gave him money for a locker. I talked to my brother. His girlfriend didn't plan on being in the water. She would watch the pump and the meter.  I tried to breathe. I let my son head off and tried to remember that he was going to be a kid with his uncle. He was going to be fine and any errors could be corrected when they returned.

A few hours later I received a text from my brother...
"Just finished at the water park, getting pizza, L### took his insulin an hour or so ago.  I think it said 11.9?"

I laughed a little. I breathed a lot easier.  First, my son was testing.  Second my brother got it.  He may not have the terms right but he had confidence in his nephew and was still keeping on top of things. I could relax and deal with the rest of my day knowing that they had everything under control. 

We all met up a few hours later.  They had enjoyed water slides, pizza and even chocolate.  The only problem that my son had all day was that I missed his shoulders with the sunscreen and he was burnt.  I will try to do better next time!


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