Also a new mom and also feel as guilty as hell about missing the signs. Max was DKA and 27 when the penny finally dropped for me. Luckily our GP is a friend of mine because Max looked fine and any other doc would have said "flu" but Stephen, despite telling me i was way off base tested max's sugar anyway and then went the colour of the wall with shock. Max was immediately ambulance transferred for 2 hours to the paed endocrine unit and there we stayed in High Care for a week. I will never as long as i live forget driving behind that ambulance in the pouring rain all the way to the city just praying non stop. And every day, the 4 hour commute crying my eyes out back and forth.
The first 2 weeks at home were quite challenging, but we got through it and Max astounds me with his courage and his good humour. Joe, my eldest, has shown me a side of him i never saw before, compassion and care for his little brother and a maturity that leaves me breathless with pride. The boys have settled into our new rhythm really well and now that i am dealing with my shock/grief/anger reaction, life is not too shabby at all.
This forum has been and is amazing. My only wish is i wasn't a whole world away and we could all get together for tea/coffee/something stronger!
As far as picky eaters and snacks are concerned, I pack a variety of goodies in small containers that Max can choose from. Cheese wedges, mini pepperami's, good old south african biltong (available in UK and a fantastic fast/slow snack) sliced fruit, crackers, and another SA favourite and a godsend, Marie Biscuits. I also pack yoghurt, sandwiches and frozen bottles of water, zero sugar soda and a red container full of pre portioned jellybabies and sparkles. One plastic packet to fix a low. Max doesn't have a sweet tooth thank goodness so he can be trusted with the sweeties. i try and involve Max in his snack choices and explain how each food works so that he can make the best snack decision for where his sugars are and the oomph he needs from each choice. again, the kid blows me away. We pretty much eat normally, we just add more roughage for Max much to Joes horror and we did have a full tools down strike with 100% family attendance the night we tried wholewheat spaghetti. Fruit and veg, we always managed the 5 portions daily anyway so the changes have not been too hectic to accommodate at all.
The only real change is being more organised and routined than we ever were before and that's really not a bad thing.
I have very much embraced "one day at a time" and not taken on too much or overloaded myself with info. The facts will present as they present and for right now we are doing great. Tomorrow, we take the next step and so on and so forth. We aim for 5-8 for tight sugar control and we hit the limits set by our Endo which is 4-10. This for right now is good for right now.
Cuddle lots. Allow yourself to recover too. You have all been through one hell of an ordeal and settling into your stride might take a few days more at home just getting into the swing of things. Your children will astound you. And this is not the end of the world. It's ******, but its not the end of the world.
Always here if you need a commiserating shoulder to lean on.
Much love
Philly
x
