I was asked to write this “day in the life of” in November 2004 and thought it would be nice to share with everyone. When this was written Taylor was using Monotard and Humalog, since then, her insulin regime, school and lifestyle has changed somewhat.
A day in the life of Taylor and her close companion … D from a Mother’s perspective.....
5.38am: “Oh hell what is that damn dog barking at?”
I stagger out of bed and find the dog barking in the girl’s bedroom doorway. Peek inside to investigate and notice that Taylor is very restless, so decide to test her. 2.6…
The start of another lovely day. I give Taylor a glass of milk to boost her enough to hold out for breaky.
6.47am: the kids are up and organising their lunches and breaky. Taylor tests and is 3.7... Okay so the milk didn’t go as far as it was meant to. 2 weetbix and milk, 1 unit of humalog and 17.5 of monotard for breaky.
8.25am: Kids are about to head out the door for school. I think Taylor should just do a quick follow up test to make sure she’s actually going up.
5.5 hmmmm probably not a good idea to let her go like that. Taylor takes a muesli bar to munch on the way to school.
8.45am: off to Uni for me. Make sure to grab mobile on the way out the door. Put it on vibrate so I don’t annoy my lecturers.
10.00am: School calls, Taylor is 2.1 they advise they’ve given 2 glucose tablets and a fruit bar, but want to know if they should retest. I tell them that she’s had enough to eat, and will be having morning tea at 11am so she can be left till lunch time.
1.00pm: School calls again and she is 6.0.
What the hell are they calling me for? That’s a great level… Should they give her any treats? NOOOOO For goodness sake people read the damn plan. Its there, it’s on the wall, it’s in BIG print, and a 5yo could follow it. (They’re not amused)
3.00pm: Leave uni and head for school to grab the kids. They’re playing out the front, Oh and there’s that damn woman from the office. She comes over with the daily plan in hand wanting to be shown where it says that 6.0 before lunch is good. I quickly point out the GOOD LEVELS in bright orange before she scurries off totally embarrassed.
3.30pm: Oh boy where did the day go? Oh that’s right I spent most of it on the phone to the school just for the fun of it. Although I must admit today is a good day, I still shudder at the memory of the day they called me 7 times and I was asked by my lecturer if my time wouldn’t be better spent at home.
Time for afternoon snack. Taylor’s test is 9.0, a little high, but totally bearable. Ree prepares a snack for everyone and they settle down to homework.
3.40pm: Taylor’s new friend rings to invite Taylor around to play. I’ve never met the kid or the parents, so I say no. I explain to Taylor that I don’t know her friend or the parents and until I do its not going to happen. Taylor gets back on the phone and says “I have diabetes and my numbers are all over the place and my Mum is too scared to let me go out anywhere without her. She’s working on a uni assignment tonight so she can’t bring me and my Dad says it’s too dangerous for me to just go to anyone’s house when they don’t know what to do with my diabetes”
When she gets off the phone I tell her that yes her diabetes is a factor in going out, or it would be, but at her age of 7, even her older sister and brother weren’t allowed to go anywhere if I didn’t know the kids or their parents.
I had to explain that today’s decision, and in fact most of my decisions about her play dates rarely have anything to do with d, but with her age. Even now, her sister is 12 and brother is 13 and I still want to know the friends and parents before they go anywhere.
Of course I then have to admit that when she is older, when the others were all given a bit more freedom that yes her d will then begin to play a factor. But we’d cross that bridge when we come to it.
4.45pm: Taylor comes in, says she felt low so tested and is 1.3 I’m not sure where that 9.0 disappeared to! Glucose tablets, milk and a sandwich seem to be in order.
My brain is ticking over the whole time that her dinner numbers are likely to be off the planet with the food and a rebound.
6.00pm: Dinner time. Cold chicken, coleslaw and Caesar salad tonight. Taylor’s just come in and her test is 3.4. Must add some bread to her dinner. I give Taylor 1 unit of humalog and 2.5 of monotard, and surreptitiously watch her out of the corner of my eye to be sure she eats all of her dinner (after finding her sandwich for lunch in her school bag) She eats everything for dinner, and I thank my lucky stars for about the millionth time that none of my kids are picky eaters.
7.30pm: Oh god here we go again! Taylor’s 0.7 now. It is warm today, not sure that its warmer than usual. Maybe a little more humid! I dole out 2 glucose tablets and a fruit stick for now, mindful of the fact that she’ll still need something to eat at 8.30pm to get through the night.
8.00pm: OHHHHHHH I found the culprit! I got the kids new drink bottles with sipper caps. Taylor has had her bottle plastered to her lips all night. It looks like she’s quadrupled her water intake because she loves her bottle so much. All that water is basically watering down the glucose in the blood leaving not much for the insulin to work on. No wonder she’s been low all day.
8.30pm: Another 3.4 to add to today’s tally. Milk, sandwich and a banana tonight to make sure she goes up. I’m exhausted and don’t think I’ll be able to wake up to test her during the night. That damn water bottle. *note to self: hide the bottle when she’s sleeping*
10.30pm: Just a quick test before I go to bed…6.4
Hmmmm what to do, what to do. Nah I’ll leave it, she’s had all of that food and the humalog should be pretty much non existent now. I’ll set the alarm for 2am and get up to double check, that’s the control freak coming out in me.
I sit down and wonder if I can actually get any study done tonight. I wonder just how much different my degree would be without d being a constant nagging feeling in the back of my mind. I wonder just how much different my marks would be if my mind wasn’t full of the last call from school, or the one I’m expecting any minute; what her last test was; is she eating; what is she eating; how much running around is she doing; how does she feel; and of course now I have to wonder where that flipping water bottle is!!!
6.30am: OH! I’m awake! Shoot, meant to try to test Taylor, remember looking at the clock at 2am and telling myself I have to do it. Must have dozed off again. I fly out of bed, grab the tester… sure enough she’s 1.1! The start of another ‘perfect’ day in paradise.
I hope to follow this up with a more up to date, ‘day in the life of’ now that Taylor is on Lantus and Novorapid, just for comparison.
