“Mom, are you sure you know what you’re doing?” he asked me as I was about to start the Dexcom insertion. I rolled my eyes at him and replied, “Come on, sure I do.” The eye roll was more for me than for him. Because, well, I didn’t really know what I was doing. But I had to give it a try.
This post has been sponsored by Dexcom Canada. All opinions are mine.
I don’t do well with technology. I’ve always gotten other people to do that stuff for me.
So how did I get to a point in my life where I was attaching a device to my son, a device that was going to insert a small needle under his skin, with no real training or experience?
Life is just like that with T1D. We figure it out.
Back when he was diagnosed, I’d always see these comments…
People would say, “I don’t think I could live without my child’s Dexcom“.
I remember thinking how crazy that was. We were living without a Dexcom. We were doing just fine. Even if we got a Dexcom one day, I would not rely on it that heavily. Ever.
Things are funny like that.
Like, remember before you became a parent, how you knew what kind of parent you were going to be? No screens. Homemade baby food. Your child would sleep through the night. Potty training would be a breeze. You wouldn’t be the mom with the screaming child on the floor of the toilet paper aisle…
And then you had kids.
This is kind of like that. Yes, a Dexcom would be helpful, but it wasn’t going to be something I couldn’t live without. I truly believed that.
Then we got a Dexcom
When we got the Dexcom, it instantly became my husband’s job to do insertions. He’s much more hands-on with things like that. As I mentioned, I don’t do well with technology.
So, the first few times, I’d watch him insert it. I just couldn’t bring myself to do it.
So that’s how it stayed. He inserts the sensors, I follow the numbers.
Murphy’s Law struck
My husband had to work out of town for a few days.
You probably already know what that means, but I’ll tell you anyway…
I wondered about our son’s Dexcom. It had only been on a few days and looked like it was sticking well, so I figured it would be fine.
That was silly of me…
We made it about 3 hours after my husband left.
“Mom, Lincoln ripped my Dex off.”
Did I mention we have a toddler who likes to wrestle?
You’ve gotta be freaking kidding me!
Oddly enough, months prior to this, I wouldn’t have thought twice about my husband going away for a few days and not having a Dexcom. I mean honestly, we did survive 5 years of T1D without one.
I even considered for half a minute not trying to insert a new sensor. It was only 3 days, right?
If that sounds reasonable, let me explain what a Dexcom does for us.
Let’s say you’re thrown into a pitch black tunnel. You have to keep moving forward, but the flashlight you have doesn’t work properly. You can only use it for 3 second increments, and you can only point it at your feet. Oh, and it hurts when you use it.
That’s what it’s like to have T1D and use a blood glucose meter.
With a Dexcom, you’re in the same tunnel, but you have a real flashlight that you can use as long as you want and you can point it where you want.
So yes, I could have gone 3 days without his Dexcom, but why go back into that dark tunnel willingly?
You guys, I had to replace the sensor
I had to figure it out. There was so much at stake.
- His independence. What if he was invited for a playdate or sleepover? With his Dexcom, I can see his numbers on my phone and intervene as needed, but without it, I’d have to train the other parents way more thoroughly. To the point that sometimes they get spooked about T1D care and decide not to have him over after all.
- His teacher’s peace of mind. His teacher and the other school staff care a great deal about his safety. They have a care plan to follow, but they’re much more comfortable and confident when they know that I can also follow along from a distance.
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My ability to sleep. Instead of the possibility of sleeping through a nice steady line all night, I’d have to set alarms for every 3 hours (at least) and get up to check his blood glucose level. I really enjoy sleep far too much for that.
- His short-term health. We can catch mistakes and blood glucose drops a lot quicker with the Dexcom. We don’t have to wait for low blood sugar symptoms before treating a hypo. Avoiding the symptoms and the lows is really important.
- Our knowledge. With the Dexcom, I can see the spikes and drops that had been happening between his “perfect” finger pokes. I can see the way certain foods affect his blood glucose levels. I can see that cross-country running drops him much more aggressively than any other activity we’ve encountered. I can see when it happens and I can usually see why it’s happening.
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His childhood. Every conversation doesn’t have to be about diabetes. I can pick him up from school and ask about his day instead of his blood glucose numbers. Because, I already know what his numbers were all day without asking him.
- My confidence. I can make adjustments more aggressively when I can see the results in real time. I can adjust his basals, bolus more pro-actively instead of reactively, and know that I will get a warning if he goes too high or too low for any reason.
- His long-term health. Being able to see his patterns, being more confident with dosing and adjusting, allows us to keep his blood glucose numbers in range more often. We not only see what the number currently is, but the Dexcom tells us what it was before and where it’s likely heading next. It’s all important information that helps keep him safe and healthy.
Yes, all of that flew through my mind in the half minute I considered not inserting a new sensor.
So, I looked up a couple of videos
And that brings us back to the beginning.
“Mom, are you sure you know what you’re doing?”
Apparently, my eye roll wasn’t very convincing. He then told me if I screwed it up, he’d never let me do it again. (Thanks for the vote of confidence kid).
We both took a deep breath.
I followed the instructions on the video, and we got a new sensor in. And you know what? It wasn’t so hard after all.
He even told me in the nicest 9 year old way possible, “Ok, I guess you can do my sensors sometimes.”
I wonder where he got that eye roll from?!?
Happy Carb Counting!
~ Leah
Interested in learning more about Dexcom? Head over to the Dexcom Canada website to get started!
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