Last week I suddenly had to fly out of the province for an unknown amount of time. My brain was mush. I didn't know what to pack or what instructions to leave behind. I double checked with Larry to ensure that he would be okay with my youngest son's diabetes care until I got back. I then went to my son and told him that I had to leave. They both fully understood the emergency.
I went over everything one last time with my son. I explained all of the tasks that he would have to step up and do for the next few days. Suddenly he looked at me in complete horror.
"I will have to make my own breakfast!?"
Yes.
"I will have to make my own lunch!?" he asked, with fear growing in his voice.
Yes.
"I will have to get myself up and test during the night? You mean every night? Until you get back?" I could see that he was weighing the benefits of packing himself in my suitcase versus staying home.
I explained that Larry had agreed to get up each night, make sure he was up and testing. He would be fine. I would be back. He could handle this. He was fourteen.
He looked at me like he was not exactly sure but again, he understood that this was extreme circumstances and he had to do his best.
I arrived back home on Monday, exhausted, drained, and somewhat at peace. I had spent close to a week with family, sharing stories, memories and lots of love. I had told my son that he must be overjoyed to have me home because he no longer had to worry about his own meals and testing!
"Actually, having Larry around was almost like having you here but he fed me more. He made me lunches and had my breakfast on the table each morning. The only difference is that with you home I can finally sleep through the night again!"
Well its nice to know I was missed...a little!
I waited a day to go through his readings for two reasons...first I was tired and second, I didn't want it to be my main focus. I had let him fly on his own. He was alive when I came home. The nitty gritty details could wait.
Last night we sat down to look at the highs and lows of the week. I must say that I was quite impressed. There were mistakes. There was a low at 3am that was rechecked at 10am. Not good but he was okay. There was a test at 5pm with no two hour after test until 11pm. In all honesty though, virtually every other test was there, including tests while he was off on a quad ride for a day. That was great.
The week went quite well for a man with no diabetes knowledge until we moved into his home, a teen who would really rather pretend that diabetes does not exist and lives to have Mom do as much as he can con her into doing, and a Mom who was physically out of the area dealing with grief and unable to really focus on diabetes when she was five time zones away.
I am so grateful that they were able to take over at a time when I simply could not be the pancreas I have been.
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