Home Again Home Again Jigity Jig

I don't know what day it is ..... I am in a BRAIN CLOUD! I know I picked up the Arkansas Gang on Thursday at the Grapes-O-Wrath Airlines in LAX ... God directed me to the Airport with visions of "light" telling me to count the minutes and in SEVEN I would be there! (AND I WAS THERE in SEVEN MINUTES!)

The son-in-law drove us back to PS ...all the while playing with his "droid", texting, talking and GPS'ing! I was very near having a stroke from the waves of fear and just clutching to my beloved Romeo for dear life! The D-child was OUT ... dead silent and I feared her BG was very lo ... but didn't want to voice any opinion or offend the family in anyway.

The following day, my mom called and said she needed me to take her to ER. (My mother NEVER asks me to take her ANYWHERE so I KNEW THIS WAS BAD) She didn't want to call 911 because she knows I know how to treat her diabetes and most ER folks really don't have a clue with Adult T-1's. I drove the 35 miles to her home ... deciding midway that I was going to bring her to Palm Springs Hospital* until the issue could be resolved. (I knew she was having a hyponatremic event which can only be resolved by hospitalization.)

* Mother didn't want to come to PS Hospital ....

Reader's Digest Version: I had my mom at THREE different hospitals within a 30 hour period (in addition to the Urgent Care I took her to to get a PRE-Admission to the hospital and the first liter of Potassium Chloride). The first Hospital (now remember, she already had been admitted via the UC doctor!) told me to take her to their ER 1st ...then they would admit her. That ER room filthy dirty, all kinds of hazardous waste on the floors, counters and BEDS!!! I gave the ER Doc the records and Admission slip ... she ALREADY HAD an IV in and ready to go ... they then gave her another liter of Potassium Chloride ... and proceeded to start re-doing all of the tests she had JUST HAD at the UC (their affiliate!) I had to go to the Ladies room and when I returned to my Mom ...she was just finishing a HUGE hamburger that a nurse had given her and told her she MUST finish! OMG .... within 10 minutes her BG was 497 and I was freaking out! They refused to allow me to give her a correcting dose of insulin and my mom starting fading in and out of consciousness .... we were in that ER for about 2 hours, I think ...the whole thing is a blurr to me now ... all I remember is after the third time my mom slipped under ... I asked them to remove the IV so I could take her to Loma Linda Hospital (and also give her insulin to bring down the BG). That's when the FIGHT STARTED ... I know my rights and had her ready to go in about 15 minutes ... as I was signing all the medical release info, SOME CONFUSED NURSE HANDED MY TWO PILLS and before I could stop her ...down the hatch they went! The nurse had given her the MEDS for the WOMAN in the bed NEXT to my MOM! It was some kind of anti-biotic and they assured me that it would cause no harm ... and wrote the name of it on the records I was taking!!! CAN YOU BELIEVE IT?????????

Now ...I get mother in the car, it is pouring rain and I covered her with my London Fog Rain Coat and I, of course am soaked! (That's ok ... I can take being cold .. mother can't!) I call ahead to Loma Linda and get Mom Pre-admitted ...once again! Groovy! No more problems!

WRONG WRONG WRONG ... we get to Loma Linda ER WITH the Pre-Admin Info and just as they start to take Mother ....the admission room is flooded with cops, CHP officers and at least three hand-cuffed men walking and three or four more men bloodied and hand-cuffed to gurneys ...GUNS DRAWN and SHOTGUNS at READY! We were the only people in that admission area and a CHP Officer took us to a holding room and said they'd be back for Mother once they cleared the admission area of the gun-shot-victims!!

I kept checking Mom's BG ...I knew she was still in fading in and out and I really didn't know what to do, other than pray for her safety! ..... I guess I don't need to tell you that they FORGOT ABOUT US! At 4:30 AM ...in tears ... I went to the admissions desk and asked how much longer before my Mom was admitted ... horrified, the ER Nurse got my Mom into a "room" (if you can call a broom closet a room) and said the Doctor would need to see her before they sent her upstairs (to start treatment). At 5:45 am, this PISSED OFF, TIRED daughter (me) lifted my mom into a wheel chair and proceed to get the HECK out of there! Of course, NOW they tell me I'm risking her life if I remove her from THEIR care (WHAT CARE? they had done nothing and she was NOW having chest pains!)

I don't know how I did it ...but I got her back to Palm Springs (where I should have come in the FIRST PLACE) and they proceeded to stabilize her electrolytes and potassium levels. At 3pm they assured me she was stable, didn't need to be admitted , and to take her home and keep an eye on her BG for the next 24 hours .... HOORAY ...I can finally sleep!

At our Condo ...I make Mother comfortable .... and fix my darling hubby something to eat, walk my dogs and just do GENERAL stuff to get ready for the evening. At EXACTLY 5:15 pm I notice my mom is unconscious once again, I check her temp and it's 102.7 ...OMG OMG OMG! I get as much covering off her as I dare ...and her temp drops to 101.5 but she is shaking uncontrollably ... back to PS ER!!!!! At this point I'm running on adrenalin ONLY ... but the Doc at PS ER had me bring her directly to HIM, and bless his heart, he realized that the PILLS given by the 1st ER needed to be flushed from her system as well as keeping keeping her electrolytes in balance while her blood was flushed. The rest of the night is blurry ...all I know is that they put mother in the VIP ER Room ... a place they reserve for celebrities and presidents, where every piece of equipment you could ever need is IN THE ROOM .... he did EVERYTHING except a spinal tap to make sure that nothing was missed this time ...and that we were truly dealing with hyponatremia! After about 6 liters of something (along with the tests) my mom was her old self again by 9 am the next morning!

to be continued when my blood pressure goes down! ♥

My darling Ashlee !!!

PALM SPRINGS!

To the Arkansas Gang ...this is HOT weather!

To us old Desert Rats...
we're freezing!

The kids went to the park to play this afternoon (PS is NOT known for its "kid friendly" features! )

PALM SPRINGS: HOME OF THE NEWLY WEDS BUT MOSTLY NEARLY DEADS!

Grapes of Wrath Airline

This airline is held together with DuctTape and Plastic Wrap ... !! No JOKE!

Poor Romeo ...Poor Me!

T-Day driving!

Well ..I'm going to pick up the Arkansas GANG tomorrow at Lax! It will be the VERY VERY first Thanksgiving I haven't been able to spend with my Mom ... and it hurts just a little tiny bit. She mentioned today that this was the beginning of getting used to a life without her and I just started crying! She loves (even at her age) to prepare and serve a scrumptious dinner for us!

I'm THANKFUL that we all are healthy ...at lease at present! and, I guess that's all that matters ... I guess I'm just being selfish ...wanting to have as much MOM time as I have left!

Reality Bites

OKAY ...this is going to sound stupid, but I would LOVE to see a NEW Reality program on Discovery about a day-in-the-life of a D-mom (or Dad). Think of the awareness it would bring!

I have to say, some of the D-Moms that blog are funnier than Joan Rivers and are able to dance faster than a cat on a hot tin roof! Amazing women!

I know the "show" would be much more interesting than shooting 'gators in the head or watching 19 children sew skirts out of pants. (I do love that family, however!) Maybe I'll email Discovery and submitt some of my favorite Blogs!

Road Trip with Your T1

I have to give credit where credit is due! Our Amy is a rock ...strong and solid, nothing bothers her (at least, that she lets show) . 18 Hour Road Trip to S.C. (one-way!) with hubby (co-pilot), one tween, Alexa and one 7 year old T1, our Ashlee!!

Our little T1 ran the gambit of numbers from extreme highs to way-to-lows ... throwing large amounts of ketones, a throw up here and there ... Amy is a rock! I would have been hopelessly banging my head against the wall ... but she is calm and sure and seems to ride it all out!

In looking back at Ashlee's W/E numbers, we were trying to figure out just what happened. (Two heads are always better than one!) I think it REALLY boils down snack eating (when no adult is around) which lead to the highs and that ketone business (no insulin to make "Gas", so her body started burning that good'ol protein for fuel!)

Kids are kids and you need to let them BE KIDS ... that means running in and out and grabbing something quick to munch. Ashlee needs to know its OKAY to eat "wrong" foods sometimes ... just to TELL someone so insulin can be given cover! NO one will be mad .. it was supposed to be a Get-a-Way Weekend with just a touch of business thrown in! And that's what it was ... FUN for ALL ... The boys went to the Duke/Princeton Basket Ball game while the ladies had a lovely dinner out .. no kiddies! Good for them! Ashlee's #'s would have had me in a tailspin. Guess that's why I'm NOT the D-Mom!!

FRUSTRATION

Why does everyone think that Diabetes is self induced disease caused by bad eating habits? Even reading World News today, which SHOULD be focused on AWARENESS ... 90% of the articles I READ focused on CHANGING eating habits and exercising regularly will end diabetes. It's this tunnel vision focused on T2 that is hurting the funding to find a cure for T1 ...

I am overwhelmed and frustrated by this ignorance ... sometimes I just want to give up!
{{{{{heavy sigh}}}}}

Pumping YES NO MAYBE

Well ... the verdict is in, no pumping for my 75 year old mom ... boo hoo. I can't even say how much this bothers me .... but , nothing I can do, it was just to overwhelming for her.

POLO, AMY and the girls are on-their-way to S. Carolina !!! WHAT??? 18 hour drive. Thank goodness for all those car DVD thing-y's! The boys are on their own ... (sounds so strange to me) Oldest Christian, is at B-Ball Camp and Baby-Cameron is spending the weekend with his play buddie, what fun!

Christian and Cameron via Computer CAM ...How horrid!

That being said , let's get back to COMPLAINING ... about the Wonder-Pump! I read and follow many Diabetic Blogs or rather, families LIVING with Diabetes Blogs. 100% of the Blogs I've read ... those families and persons are all PUMPING ... and it makes me, ONCE AGAIN, question the Endo in charge of Ashlee's care! I'm sorry, maybe it's something unknown to me, maybe they wait a year to Rx a Pump? Amy HAS asked and, if I remember correctly, her Endo didn't think Ashlee qualified for pump. Am I missing something? THIS IS the FIRST CASE of Juvenile Diabetes in our family. I wasn't aware that there were different levels of T1 ... I'm so confused. I only want what is best (and SAFEST) for this Baby Girl, Lord only knows shots are no problem for me ..(or Amy) but, if the technology is out there, so we don't have to give shots ...........OH BUMMER , I can't put this into words anymore

I'm so tired of being the ONLY ONE in this family who cares about the life long effects of DIABETES ... we've all got to do more, raise money, get involved with local "D" programs and fund raisers ... I haven't been able to convince ANYONE (in our family) to JOIN IN ...it will be FUN ...and help lead to a CURE ... Larry, please gossip about this blog, OKAY?!

Parental Software??

Romeo has been disguising himself and going into POODLE CHAT ROOMS .... any of you YOUNGER moms out there know of a good software for Parental Control on PC and / or Handheld devices??

Tennis Elbow...oh pooh

So the hubby of 27 years (who really knows me) is INSISTING I get a shot in my elbow.

ARE YOU NUTS??? THAT IS NOT WHO I AM ...NO NO NO NO NO

OK Larry .... since I know you read my blog, tell Bill to LEAVE ME ALONE ...NO SHOTS and I will play NO MORE than two sets per day.... DONE!

Oh, and LARRY ... don't exaggerate or expand on ANYTHING I write ...thank you very much!

I Love HR !

Oh his little heart is failing and I just can't bear it! He ate his food this morning and it took him almost an hour! Little Romeo hearts beats like :

Bump-Bump Bump-Bump ...perfect rhythm ... Chloe beats same ... then my HR~~~~~~~~

Sounds like Bump-swoosh swoosh BumpBumpBump Swooooooooshhhh



I know its bad bad bad ..... I just can't let him go, the little Rascal! He's taking an ACE Inhibitor and I'm wondering if he may need a Beta-Blocker instead ... Vets are ALMOST as BAD as Doctors! Rush em in ...collect the moo-laa and don't let the door hit-your-booty on the WAY OUT!! What to do What to do What to do !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Protecting ALL Children

Man-O-Manischewitz! I don't know how I got here ... but I'm seeing the WWW as a feeding ground for predators. I've had a computer for 12, maybe 15 years ... AND NOT ONCE (well, once) have I seen anything torrid, pornographic or illegal. I guess it's all in how you USE the computer /how you search /and being consistent in your searches.

THAT BEING SAID: All of our Grand - kids are home schooled via the Internet and it seems to work very well for them through a "network" of home-school'ers and the sharing of curriculum's, etc. I never thought twice about it. The G-kids are Gamers, Twitters and I-Touch Users! Clever kids! Only the oldest three, Christian, who is 12, Alexa, who just turned 11, Ashlee, my D-girl, who is 7 love being online. Cameron, who is five, doesn't seem to be wacky about anything other than TRANSFORMERS! THEN THE BIEBERFACATION STARTED AND I FOUND THAT PEOPLE WERE ENTICING BIEBER FANS TO "COME CHAT WITH ME ABOUT JUSTIN" via TWITTER.... luring into lude, nude & crude chat-rooms ...B:L:U:K. Makes me wanna throw up! My Alexa is only 11 ... and I got the link from her TWITTER. It scared me to death!

To make things worse, they had a 10 minute "Special" on our local news last night about tweens & teens sextexting (?) and THEN BLACKMAILING the "victim" (who was dumb enough to play the game) into all sorts of things. From SEX to HOMEWORK! Here in our little town! (and across the country)

Amy, our D-Mom, has STOPPED all Internet use until this can be figured out. She not computer literate, she thinks its a waste of time ....other than doing school work!

ANYONE know what software polices this stuff?

OVERWHELMED by Diabetes

I was chit-chatting with "our little Poops" (that would be daughter Amy, who, since about 10, we've called her Amy-Poopski or "The Poops", but that's another blog). The conversation lingered on ... and she said she had something she needed to tell Me (us) ... she is very protective of her Dad (my husband, Bill) as he has had MAJOR health problems since age 48 ... he is 70 now. We don't ever lie to him ...but we are careful when we tell him "bad news" as the STRESS causes him to have TIA's and more! We basically try to keep Bill in a bubble ...of Happiness as his disease has progressed over the past 30 years.

Anyway, I could feel the fear welling up inside of me...NO NO NO I can't take anymore, I just knew she was going to say that another g-child had the Evil-D or WORSE...EVIL-C !!! The tears were starting to bubble up in my face .... when she said "Our new car got totaled last week, we loaned it to a friend to use while I used his car to go pick up Alexa in Dallas" (or something like that). I have NEVER been so relieved in my whole life! NO DIABETES!!! No Cancer! woohoo!!

I know it's a pain to have to go out and get another car for their Family (7 person vehicle!) BUT it's ALL GOOD ... Insurance paid them MORE than they paid for the car! and I just know that God is going to provide them with an even BETTER SUV (that's what they want)!

I just praise GOD that NO ONE WAS HURT and NO ONE ELSE has the EVIL-D!!!!!!

Finally came! ...Alexa (the one with the HUGE handbag) and her cousin, Hailey (in purple shirt) with the BIEBS ... Bieber Fever is NOW ENDED ... ~Fini~

Chasing those mid-day lows ....

11-4-2010

wake-up........................291

12:45p.............................52

4:15p.............................389

5:50p.............................231

6:45p.............................121

7:10p.............................152

11:30p...........................235

11-5-2010

wake-up 9a....................216

10:30a............................205

12:50p.............................47

6:00p.............................173

7:45p..............................69

8:45p...........................127

11-6-2010

Wake-up 7:50a..............281

10:30a............................223

12:40p.............................57

1:00p...............................78

3:30p..............................172

9:30p...............................77

11-7-2010

Wake-up 8:45a..............281

12:30p............................114

1:00p...............................48

before lunch reading

Amy is going to email or "text" (that's the latest thing, I guess) their Endo today and ask about REVERSING the doses of Levimir ... Instead of giving 9 units AM and 3 units at bedtime, give 3u AM and 9u bedtime. Maybe stop the morning HIGHS and mid-day LOWS ...

It's certainly not easy being a vital organ! She is in month NINE of being Ashlee's Pancreas ... and I know how frustrating it is for her!
I know she can do it! She is really quite a clever girl! Our little Amy-Poopski isn't so little anymore! Wish I could take this burden for her!

Amy ..age16

Catalina Island

didn't want me to take this photo!

Isn't she cute!

MOEN

I did it ... installed all new plumbing under the sink ... AND WITH MY TENNIS ELBOW!

Pam the Plumber, that'd be ME!!

Saved ME $250

smack-a-roos!

Draft to Mary Bono-Mack

Ok ..so this is a draft. My neighbor is a retired ENGLISH teacher, I'm going to have HIM correct my spelling and grammar ... I know, I get real word-y! Oh POOH

Just click on the page and you can see full size, I think!

I'm tired of the Evil D today!

LET'S GET OUT A PAD AND PEN !!!!!

After reading Meri's post about her son's autoimmune skin and such disorders (all caused by EVIL D) and Sweet Joe's Christmas Wish ... I got MAD .... I don't mean angry or upset ... anyone who knows me, knows I don't ever use bad language, but I started last night! Circling my condo thinking and cursing OUT-LOUD !! Only the pets heard, thank goodness! but EVEN they were scared of me!☺

THIS IS A CALL TO ARMS D-BLOGGER(s) : here's what I'm going to do: type out a "sample letter" to send / give to all my friends and neighbors to HAND-WRITE out a personal letter to their district Congress Person (Mary Bono-Mack for me).

I am not trying to point any fingers here .... but some Endocrinologists are jaded about diabetes and ALL the little (I say jokingly) disorders that go with it! SOMETHING IS REALLY WRONG HERE .. in my case, my D-Grandchild's Endo says he doesn't Rx RESCUE KITS !!!! F-Him! (Thank you, Reyna!)It's not our baby's fault that his brain is T2 wired (less than 2% of his patients are KIDS w/T1). Small town mentally, I guess! My Mom's Endo pooh-pooh's her yearly 'bouts of hyponatremia! Every D-Care Person knows what I mean, knows the frustration of doctor(s) not ordering EVERY test available for [whatever] symptom is presented. WE NEED THE HEALTH CARE SYSTEM TO BACK US UP, REGARDLESS OF THE ADDED COST TO INSURANCE COMPANIES OR STATE-AID AGENCIES OR PAPER WORK COSTS!! That's right, some doctors actually advise the patient or parent that the added cost [to his/her] office personnel to do all the paperwork required by most all insurance companies and HMO's, etc. is just too excessive!

We need to flood our Representatives' Office with {nice} DEMANDS for better research and a CURE. Believe me, the more letters they receive the higher their priority will be in Washington when approached by Lobbyists for Insurance and Drug Companies ... believe me, WE CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE! I WILL POST A COPY OF MY SAMPLE LETTER WHEN ITS DONE ... MAYBE ANY OF YOU WHO SEE THIS BLOG WILL DO THE SAME.

Letters that are "hand-written" definitely receive greater weight than letters that appear to be "form" or "bulk" mailing !!! I know this from FIRST HAND experience!

It's the least we can do for National Diabetes Month!

Wednesday 11-3-2010

Wake-up 9:00a.............192

12:30p............................302

2:20p...............................66

3:15p...............................132

5:20p...............................268

8:30p...............................238

no correction at Bedtime...just 3 u of Levimir

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Thursday 11-04-2010

Wake-up..............291

9 u Levimir & 2u Humalog

**IMO should have received correction @

bedtime 11-3-2010

but I'm not the Mom!
PS: Ashlee has been fighting some "bug" past day or so
and we all know how that can effect the BG!
Did I say I HATE diabetes?

Chasing numbers ...hmmmmmmmmmmmmm

November 1st

Wake-up ........ 172
10:15a ....... 146
1:45p ........ 55
5:30p ...... 206
8:05p ....... 101
10:00p ....... 104

11-2-2010

Wake-up ........ 163
12:00p ........... 60
12:45p ........... 127
3:45p ............. 230
5:15p ............. 242
6:00p ............ 144
7:30p ............. * 77

* Not a good "bedtime" #

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
No Intake or bolus information

Morning receives 9 u Levimir

Bedtime receives 3 u Levimir

Ashlee uses the Insulin pens
Her regular is Humalog

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Myrnx has given up on the Pump altogether! Her Endo (we saw yesterday) said some older T1's just aren't able to deal with technology

Buy it for LIFE

I love Moen! My kitchen sink played a "Noah" on me last night and FLOODED the kitchen! Handy person that I am ...I pulled everything apart and found the problem-o! (Saving myself a $85 Service Call!)

Called Moen this morning at 6:30 am Cali Time ... the girl was so efficient! Is sending me TWO different parts (just in case) and is FED-EXing so I'll have only ONE day without kitchen water!

It PAYS to buy the best, no doubt! This Moen faucet is at least ten years old and ANYTIME I have a problem ... parts are delivered OVERNIGHT ~~~NO QUESTIONS!

I ♥♥♥ MOEN