Late last night we got excited. Keeg's ketones had gone from large to moderate. Large is the worst. Normal/Small is what we have to have to go home. Moderate is a step towards that goal. I almost cried I was so excited and logged back in to Facebook to post the info.
Late last night, the full impact of all of this hit me. My 16 year old son, that suffers from immune system issues and has Asperger Syndrome, now has to deal with diabetes. He will always have to watch what he eats, count carbs, and take shots. He will always have to carry his insulin with him. When he gets sick, he'll have to check his ketones. He will, at some point, get tired of the sticks and numbers.....but his life will depend on his doing it. My son is diabetic. It hit me, and I curled up and wondered.....how will we fit this into all the rest of his treatment? How will we afford it? How will I be able to get the things he needs to survive?
I finally found comfort in the words and support of friends, and fell asleep. Somehow, I thought that the worst was over. I mean, we were in the hospital, he was diagnosed, getting insulin and his ketones had dropped. We were on the right path.
However, things were going to change by morning.
Keeg woke early a.m. with a horrible migraine. His sugar was 192......the lowest yet! However, he was so weak, nauseated, and in pain. He couldn't eat all his breakfast and we were worried that we may have given him to much insulin just before he ate. Insulin is measured based on the carbs he eats, and he didn't finish his meal. We checked his sugar and it was 242. Even with his insulin and barely eating anything, his sugar had gone up. He was given Ibuprofen. I curled up in bed beside him and held his hand. I laid a washcloth over his eyes to block out the light. He was in pain, and there was nothing I could do.
We both fell asleep, laying in his hospital bed. At 11:10am we woke. His headache was gone, his sugar was up. He went to the bathroom and the nurse checked his ketones. They were back to large. I sat stunned. We were on our way down, how could they now be large again? Would we ever get to go home?
Then, people begin to arrive. Keeg's brother and sister came to hang out. About an hour later his grandparents showed up. Then his friend Amanda came. Everyone had fun hanging out, playing games, and just chilling. We talked about diabetes and what we had learned. We discussed different treatment plans that my dad had, and how others they knew managed theirs. Although the topic of conversation was different, everything else seemed........ NORMAL.
Everyone has gone home now. Keeg is settled into his bed with a PS2. He's talking to his best friend Matthew while he plays video games. His energy level is better. It's almost time for his nightly dose of Lantas, a long acting insulin. They are increasing it tonight based on his morning episode as well as his last two nights breaking out in a sweat and feeling like he was going to be sick.
They may also be increasing his Novolog insulin, which is the immediate acting. We're learning alot, but there is still so much more we need to know.
Today has been a roller coaster for sure!
