Dex the Halls

Our school system’s PTA groups hold a Festival of Trees as an annual fundraiser. Local businesses and organizations pay a small fee to enter a tree. Students, teachers, and school groups can decorate a tree for free. People pay a $5 for a ticket to come view the trees and vote for their favorite. If they bring canned goods for our local food pantry or hygiene items for our Veterans Association, they receive a ticket for each item, which they can then use to vote for their favorite tree. We have some precious and creatively decorated trees on display! Preschool and kindergarten classes decorated with handmade ornaments, the high school science classes decorated with handmade clay models of body parts, several neighborhoods decorated trees, and organizations around town celebrated with ornaments representing their areas.

For people unfamiliar with the day-to-day life of type 1 diabetes, the ornaments on this tree may seem scary, sad, or distasteful. For those living with type 1 diabetes, this tree is a celebration of life!

Our Diabe-tree is a tree of life, decorated with used T1D supplies courtesy of Grasshopper and local T1D families. Without the insulin that came in these now empty vials, they would not be here to celebrate Christmas. With these supplies, people with type 1 diabetes manage a tricky chronic life threatening condition that requires training, patience, persistence, constant vigilance, and support.

I called our diabetes supplier and our pharmacy to get the cash price for each item on the tree and under the tree. The cash price is what a person pays if they aren’t using health insurance for the purchase. The cost Insurance plans can vary widely, so it seemed best to get the cash price as a baseline.

Under the tree:

• $162 for 1 box of 10 MiniMed Mio Infusion Sets for Medtronic Insulin Pump
• $28.80 for 1 box of 10 MiniMed Insulin Pump Reservoirs
• $52 for 1 box of 100 BD UltraFine Needles
• $553.18 for 1 box of 2 Baqsimi glucagon nasal powder for severe low blood sugar
• $149.95 for 1 box of 10 AutoSoft XC Infusion Sets for TSlim Insulin Pump
• $28.80 for 1 box of 10 TSlim Insulin Pump Cartridge
• $405 for 1 box of 10 OmniPod Insulin Pumps
• $500 for 1 box of 3 Dexcom G6 Continuous Glucose Monitor Sensors
• $600 for 2 vials of Novolog Insulin at $300 each
• $15 for 1 box of 102 AccuCheck FastClix Lancets
• $275.22 for 1 box of 5 Aspart FlexPen Insulin
• $321.46 for 1 box of 5 Basaglar QuickPen Insulin
• $311.18 for 2 boxes of Contour Next Blood Sugar Test Strips, 100 strips at $115.59
• $43.59 for 1 box of AccuCheck Guide Blood Sugar Test Strips, 100 strips
• $17.78 for 2 boxes of OneTouch Delica Plus Lancets at $8.89 each
• $276.59 for 1 Glucagon Kit, rescue injection for severe low blood sugar
  • Total: $3,740.55

On the tree:

• $7,500 for 25 Novolog Insulin Vials at $300 each
• $1,333.33 for 8 Dexcom Inserters at $166.66 each
• $254.83 for 17 AutoSoft XC Inserters at $14.99 each
• $23.04 for 8 TSlim Cartridges at $2.88 each
• $231.16 for 4 cans of ContourNext Blood Sugar Test Strips, 50 strips at $57.79 each
• $526.50 for 13 OmniPod Insulin Pumps at $40.50 each
• $300 for 1 Dexcom Transmitter
• $3.62 for 2 Glucose Tab Tubes at $1.81 each
• $354.33 for 3 Fiasp Pen Vials at $118.11 each
  • Total: $10,526.81

The total for this whole display, both on the tree and under the tree is $14,267.36

There were beautifully decorations this year at the Festival of Trees. I have no doubt that ours was both the most expensively decorated tree if you consider the cash price for these items, and also the least expensive because all of the items had already outlived their usefulness.

While I am passionate about bringing awareness to the difficulty and expense of living with a condition no one asked for or deserved, I am also extremely grateful for these lifesaving medications and devices. Without them, I would not be celebrating with my son!

Blue November Prep

While I am still getting ready for Halloween, I’m also looking forward to our diabetes awareness efforts for November. We participate in Project Blue November by wearing blue on Fridays and posting on social media. Last year I painted a craft pumpkin with the international symbol for diabetes, a blue circle. We collected all of Grasshopper’s used diabetes supplies and empty packets of Annie’s Fruit Snacks in the pumpkin to show all of the supplies and low blood sugar treatments he used.

Life Speed

By Kay Jacoby

By Erin

Both Alese and I have been busy and we haven’t written much. There have been lots of changes for both of us and it feels like life is moving at light speed. The speed of life. Life speed, full ahead.

I had a moment to slow down a bit after one of Grasshopper’s routine appointments at Children’s Hospital of Alabama. We loved getting to see Heather Jordan to talk about how to better tackle some of the issues we face like helping Grasshopper through the annual blood draws he has to have. The last one was… intense.

After our appointment we were waiting for traffic to ease so we spent some time in Children’s Harbor. I have heard various reactions when we share that we are headed back to Children’s. Fairly often others react with sadness or say some form of, “Oh, that is such a sad place.” Granted, my view of it is due to Grasshopper’s successful diagnosis and treatment there. There certainly are many possible outcomes. For our family Children’s has been and continues to be a place of hope.

I thought I would take some photos to share why Grasshopper is always so excited to go to Children’s Hospital.

20 Minute Poop Storm

In the space of about 20 minutes on Tuesday evening, the following happened:

• I dosed Grasshopper for a 40 gram weight piece of cinnamon roll for dessert. That is a sliver of a roll, not a whole one. It was a 20 gram carb treat. I sent him to put on his pjs so the insulin could have a little time to work.
• He walked out a few minutes later holding his insulin infusion site… that was supposed to be attached to his body. I tried to hide my instant anxiety. When did it come off? Did it come off before his 24 gram carb dinner? Did he get any insulin for dinner? Did it come off after dinner but before I dosed for the cinnamon roll slice? Did he get any insulin for that???

T1D is a Beach: 7 Tips for Your Summer With Type 1 Diabetes

by Erin

Summer is almost over (officially) for us, and I have been taking notes and pictures all season long. But let’s get real. We live in Alabama and it will be hot through October! So these tips and products are relevant for us most of the year.

Podcrastinate

by Alese

Sunday was not as much of a fun day as promised. I have been using expired Dexcom sensors because you know I’m cheap. It turns out they expire for reason. My numbers last night were 150 points higher than my readings.

So this morning I feel like I slept on a bar room floor.

Camp Seale Harris

by Erin

A few months ago Grasshopper’s school nurse, Amber, told me she had been contacted by some folks from the Pike Road Lions Club.

Choose Kind

by Erin

I recently watched “Wonder” on Amazon Prime Video. It is the story of a family whose son is born with Treacher-Collins syndrome, a condition which alters the development of the bones and tissue in the face. I know I am late to the conversation as the book was published in 2012 and the movie came out in 2018, but I have had a couple of kids and some crazy years recently. Reference: all of my posts on this blog.

Chronically Meme Happy

by Erin

After dealing with diabetes as a family for four years and four months, I think of it as if I am holding a pencil in my outstretched hand. I am relatively confident now in the daily decisions that need to be made. Thanks to Sugar Surfing techniques I am usually able to run Grasshopper’s blood sugar control as a background program in my mind instead of as the main focus of my day. But of course it is always there.

Struggling

by Erin

That’s what the mom right before me in line to check in late to school had written in the “reason” column.