by Brigid Gifford mcgifford@tds.net
I am mom to Phoebe, age 10.
We live in Menasha, WI.
Our story started almost three years ago on 9/11/03 when Phoebe was diagnosed with a blood glucose level of 1,093. A terribly high number after a terribly hot summer. And us not knowing the symptoms just thought the thirstiness was because of the heat, the bed wetting because of the thirstiness and the weight loss because of a growth spurt. We certainly lost out on the "Parents of the Year" award that year. Yes, and since they had never treated a child with that high of a number in our area before, she got an ambulance ride (with lights and sirens) to the ICU at UW-Madison and four more nights on the pediatric floor.
So, long story short, we (or I should say, she) injected until last week when she finally started on the Minimed 522. Why did we wait so long? I think we were afraid of insurance problems. We did switch last October to a much better insurance and no problems so far. Anyway, the pump is awesome. We are still doing the night checks and the site changes seem to be a family affair but we are getting better at it.
I really should tell you about my amazing kid. If there is any "good" thing about diabetes, it's probably good she was diagnosed at 7. Amazingly responsible from the start, always giving her own shots and finger pricks. Now that we're pumping she is really taking charge. We like that she has been storing carb information in her head and is sometimes better at it than we are! She is the only one in her school who has diabetes and her classmates, a very tight knit group, are very supportive as are the staff.
OK, that was probably way too much information. I'm (we're) glad to be part of this group and look forward to the future!