Inspired by Conversation
I enjoyed having Kristina and Greg on my podcast so much that I asked them if they'd be interested in contributing a blog post to Arden's Day. It suffices to say that the topic Greg chose to write about warmed my heart! After you read his piece you can listen to their episode with the link below on iTunes, Stitcher or via the player that I've placed at the end of the blog post. Enjoy! - Scott
Time to Get More Aggressive!
Last week, my wife, Kristina, and I had the great pleasure of being featured on the 9th episode of the Juicebox podcast. It was a lot of fun and we both loved listening to it!
For parents of a child with type one diabetes, it’s fairly common for one parent to assume the majority of the diabetes management responsibilities. In our case, we pretty much split the duties (although, in full transparency, my wife does way more than I do!). We thought this would make for an interesting and entertaining discussion. When Kristina pitched the idea of an interview to Scott Benner at the Juicebox Podcast, it went like this….
“We'd love to be a part of one of your upcoming podcasts! Not sure if you've had any D-mom/D-dads reach out as a team to chat with you but we thought it might be fun. We have VERY different styles of managing Isabella's diabetes but it works.”
But, I’ll be honest; the podcast was completely Kristina’s idea and I really didn’t have much of a choice in the matter. My wife is extremely outgoing (understatement?) and jumps at the chance to speak in public forums. I, on the other hand, have always been a bit more reserved and would prefer to avoid being the center of attention, if possible.
So, for me, the thought of being interviewed is somewhat anxiety-inducing from the start and more so when my wife informs me that the interview very well may include some “newlywed style” questions to see how well we know each other. While I think know my wife very well (for years she has been preparing me for the off chance that we might someday appear on a famous live TV game show….I can’t count the number of times I’ve heard ”honey, remember this for when we’re on the game show!”), needless to say I started to get slightly nervous.
Kristina went first while I sat in the other room pretending as if I was completely calm, cool and collected and not at all anxious about the interview. All I could hear was Kristina’s muffled voice followed by her seemingly uncontrollable laughter, most likely telling one of her favorite “Greg stories.” Oh boy. Here we go…
It was finally my turn to join in on the fun. Scott immediately made me feel at ease; my nerves started to melt away and I actually started to enjoy myself. We spent quite a bit of time talking about the team-based approach that Kristina and I use for managing diabetes, which works very well for us.
While Kristina and I do act as a team, we have quite different approaches in the way we prefer to manage Isabella’s diabetes. Kristina tends to have a heavier hand with insulin (often generously “rounding up” carb counts), which helps to avoid highs. I, however, prefer to take a more conservative approach with insulin to avoid very low lows, especially overnight. The thought of what could happen to Isabella as a result of too much insulin absolutely terrifies me.
Scott seemed to be intrigued by the fact that we work as a team but with very different approaches. As a veteran type one diabetes parent, Scott shared some stories about his approach to managing diabetes. He talked about how technology, especially Arden’s Dexcom CGM, has enabled him to get comfortable with taking a very aggressive approach to insulin. This approach has led to very tight control (I still can’t believe Arden’s last A1C!).
This part of our talk really hit home.
While I’ve known that getting a bit more aggressive with insulin is likely to lead to better outcomes, I am completely terrified that I might kill my daughter with too much insulin. Our conversation helped me realize that I need to get over this fear. We have amazing technology at our disposal (including Isabella’s brand new Dexcom Share2, which is an amazing game-changer in my book!) that I can more fully leverage to help me get comfortable with becoming more aggressive with insulin, which will ultimately result in lower A1Cs, better overall control and a healthier little girl.
After finishing the interview, I believe one of the first things I said to Kristina was, “I’m gonna get more aggressive!”
It’s time to get over my fear. Thanks, Scott, for pushing me over the edge.
Greg Dooley
InspiredByIsabella.com
I'll take Insulin Pump Site Change for the Win Alex
What's not as hard as it may seem? Letting go...
Arden was diagnosed at such a young age that it was impossible in the early days for her to have any real responsibilities regarding her day-to-day care but it has always been our goal to transfer tasks to her as she is ready. We do so all of the time. I like the slow matriculation because it allows Arden to take on more without feeling as if things are being dumped on her. I pass on a new role in her care often without her noticing, things normalize after a little time and then that level becomes her new understanding of life.
Rinse, repeat.
Before long Arden found herself doing things she once thought impossible, she makes decisions that she probably didn't think she had the understanding to tackle and I can see her grasp of diabetes concepts grow by the day, month and year. One thing that took longer for her to become comfortable with than I expected, changing her insulin pump. I've felt for some years that she could change her Omnipod with ease and I even could see in her eyes that she held the same belief, but no matter how many times I tried to get her to do it... she just couldn't make the leap and anxiety would get the best of her.
There have a have been a few times when she has been forced by circumstances to change her own pod but those events were not exactly without drama.
This weekend brought a huge leap forward for Arden, but that leap didn't happen completely organically, I had to orchestrated the moment just a little bit.
Arden spent the night, armed with her new Dexcom SHARE, at her cousins house for a sleep over. Her Omnipod was scheduled to expire mid-morning the next day. I initially thought to change the site twelve hours early to avoid a conflict with Arden being away from home - but then it hit me. I thought, "I know she can do this without anyone physically with her, she may just need a little of my help". I imagined that we may need to FaceTime so that I could provide support and comfort during the process.
The opportunity presented itself when Arden's BG became stubborn the next morning, it was clear that it was time to change her site. We were bolusing and temp basaling but her BG wasn't budging.
I texted Arden and said that she should clear a space in her Aunt's dining room, get her supplies together and then FaceTime me when she was ready to begin.
I waited for a few minutes and didn't receive any communication, I was beginning to wonder if Arden was going to be able to summon the courage to change a pod on her own for the first time without me or Kelly present. I still had plenty of faith in her so I went about my business and assumed she'd call when she was reading to begin.
But a few moments later, seriously it was just a few minutes, I received these pictures from Arden's Aunt.
Turns out that Arden wasn't talking herself out of it or bereft of hope, she was busy filling the syringe, choosing a site and injecting her canula like a boss.
As you can see in the pictures Arden, besides being super cute, is a person who trusts herself and is completely capable. It seems as if my being with her in the past during site changes might have been be more of a crutch, than that of support.
Without someone there to bail her out, Arden showed no signs of self doubt as she moved swiftly and precisely through the steps of changing her Omnipod insulin pump and did it just as fast and as well as I could have.
After a few more site changes I'll going to begin to include Arden, even more than I do now, in the conversations that I have in my head about insulin dosing and BG management. So much of what I do is not based on math, it's mostly a feeling I get based on trends and recent history. Passing this knowledge on is going to take time and I think it is only going to happen through a lot of repetition - I know that's how I learned all of this.
#DiabetesAndFear don't have to go together! #BeBold #EveryTenYearOldSHouldSleepInAClerksShirt