Going Down

by Alese

[From Erin: When I first met Alese I would often ask her to explain how certain T1D situations felt to her. Lows, highs, in range, blood sugar rising or falling quickly… Grasshopper couldn’t tell me yet how he felt. She still sends me explanations and it is really helpful to hear her perspective.]

Dosing & Daffodils

by Erin

Spring has come to Sugar Rush Survivors land. The daffodils are coming up in our front yard. Life springs anew, life moves on.

Magic School Bus

by Erin

Grasshopper’s class went to the zoo the week before Thanksgiving. It was his first field trip as a kindergartner. He was thrilled to go to the zoo with his school friends but he was absolutely beside himself about going there on a big yellow school bus!

Magical T1D ModSquad

by Erin

There is a group on Facebook to which another mom of a child with type 1 diabetes added me shortly after Grasshopper was diagnosed 4 years ago this year. If you had told me 5 years ago that I would regularly ask the advice of 10,477 people on the internet of whom I only personally know about 7, I would have thought you were nuts.

Rock On

This November, for Diabetes Awareness, we are saving all of Grasshopper’s used type 1 diabetes supplies in this pumpkin decorated with a blue circle, the international symbol of T1D. Shown here are the results of four insulin infusion site changes, one Dexcom change, five AccuCheck FastClix lancet drums for poking Grasshopper’s fingers, Annie’s Fruit Snacks for low blood sugar and a lot of One Touch Ultra Blue Test Strips, each one marking one finger poke.

by Erin

Gabbing with Grasshopper

Celebration comes on Kid’s Place Live radio (channel 078, Sirius XM) in the car.

Me: Hey!

Grasshopper: It’s our song!

Me: Remember, if you decide to get married I want to dance with you at your wedding to this song.

Grasshopper, nodding: Uh huh. No, wait. Actually, “We Will Rock You.”

We Are Aware

On November 1, 2017, we changed Grasshopper’s infusion site, which is the method by which we get insulin into his body. We do this every three days, rotating sites through his left thigh, left side of his tummy, right side of his tummy, and his right thigh.

by Erin

At our neighborhood Halloween party I shared with a friend that I had just checked Grasshopper’s blood sugar and it was 41, VERY LOW. He had been jumping on a bounce house and the exercise had quickly brought his blood sugar down. She kindly asked some questions about how I knew to check and I described to her the Dexcom data and why I had checked right then. She asked, “How are you not on edge every day?” I answered, “I am.”

Midnight Preparations

by Erin

It is after midnight on September 19. The smell of insulin in my kitchen means that I’m getting another cartridge ready for Grasshopper’s insulin pump. It smells like hospitals. Like Band-Aids. To me it smells like life for my 5 year old son.