Kortnie

Kortnie
Kortnie at the 2011 JDRF Walk to Cure Diabetes, Tempe Town Lake, Tempe, AZ

Friday, November 16, 2012

Difficult doesn't Mean Impossible, it Simply means that you have to work Hard

I skipped blogging yesterday, but that's okay because you get to skip 2 days in National Health Blog Post Month. 

Today's prompt is, use a picture or video to inspire a post.  Here goes Day 16

I saw this quote yesterday on facebook and I knew it would be perfect for today's blog post.

Difficult doesn't mean impossible.  It simply means that you have to work hard.


 
I saw this and I thought that it perfectly summed up how it is to take care of Kortnie, and how it will be later when she takes the reins completely to take care of herself.   Living with Diabetes is difficult, but not impossible.  If you don't take care of yourself properly you could live a less than great life, or you could even die.  Taking care of yourself properly is difficult but not impossible, and even if you try really hard to take care of yourself, you will still eventually have complications, and likely your life will end due to Diabetes or complications of Diabetes, but hopefully not for a long time, until you are old and have lived a good long life. 
 
I have blogged this month and even before this month about the challenges and difficulties raising a child with Type 1 Diabetes, I have blogged about how I am worried about how she will handle the difficulties when its time for her to be on her own, and I have blogged about our hard work.  I have blogged about wanting to give back the T1D, and I have blogged about being thankful for the opportunities and friends T1D has brought to our lives.  I have even blogged about being Thankful for having access to the things that help us take care of Kortnie and her T1D, but I don't think I have ever said, "this is impossible!"
 
I have said before that one of the things I hate to hear is "I don't know how you do it, I could never do what you do!"  I realize that when other mom's say this to me, they don't mean anything bad by it, they feel like they are paying me a compliment, giving me support, or sympathy.  I love them for loving me, but when they say that... I could NEVER do it, God gave you this because he knew you could handle it, I could NEVER do what you do
 
I just want to tell them "yes you could, you don't know what you could handle until you have to do it, if you didn't do it your kid could die, and that is something no mother could ever do, is let her kid die, you could do this, I never would have thought I could do it either, but I have to, there is no other way, it's hard for sure but, I know you could do it"
 
So yeah, that quote/picture sums it up for me.
 
 
Difficult doesn't mean Impossible.
It Simply means that you have to work HARD.
 
Diabetes Fact of the Day
Long-term complications of type 1 diabetes develop gradually, over years. The earlier you develop diabetes — and the less controlled your blood sugar — the higher the risk of complications. Eventually, diabetes complications may be disabling or even life-threatening.
Complications can be Heart and Blood vessel Disease, Nerve Damage-Neuropathy, Kidney Damage, Eye Damage, Foot Damage, Skin and Mouth Conditions, Osteoporosis, Hearing Problems, and Pregnancy Complications-  High blood sugar levels can be dangerous for both the mother and the baby. The risk of miscarriage, stillbirth and birth defects are increased when diabetes isn't well controlled. For the mother, diabetes increases the risk of diabetic ketoacidosis, diabetic eye problems (retinopathy), pregnancy-induced high blood pressure and preeclampsia.
 
You might think, oh just keep your blood sugar down and you'll be fine.  Well, that's the hard part.  Yesterday Kortnie's blood sugar ranged from 30-410, her ideal blood sugar range is 80-120.  Anything under 80 is too low, under 60 is dangerous, anything above140 is too high, above 250 is not good, above 300 is dangerous.  Keeping it in range is the hard part, you have to be able to calculate your insulin needs based on many things.
1.  How many carbs is she eating, how much fat and protein are in the things she's eating?
2.  What kind of exercise or activities is she going to do today?  Is there PE at school today?  Does she have soccer or basketball practice, or a game?  Is she going to go jump on her friends trampoline?  Is she going to ride bikes or run?  Is she going to hang out and watch TV?  Is she going to be sitting for a long time, at a movie, at school taking a long test, in the car to drive somewhere, reading a book?
3.  Is she growing today?  How much growth hormone is her body producing or releasing today?
4.  Is she excited about something?  Is she nervous about something?  Is she sad about something?
5.  Is she getting sick?  Has she been sick?
Many things to factor into the insulin dosage, and add in the fact that, me, her dad, herself, and her school nurse are trying to do all of these things at different times of the day, that just adds one more thing to factor in.  6.  What happened earlier today with her mom or her dad or her nurse?
It is a difficult battle every day, but for the last 3 years we've proved it's not impossible.  

3 comments:

  1. "Is she excited about something? Is she nervous about something? Is she sad about something?"

    Yikes...I feel for you when puberty starts!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The horror stories I've heard about girls, hormones, periods, and diabetes. NOT LOOKING FORWARD TO IT!

      Delete
  2. puberty starts early, too. Makenzie already has signs... emotional for unknown reasons, ups and downs, acne...
    I can barely handle my own ups and downs, but I've actually found myself relating to her so it makes it easier at times, I emphathize with her..but she still makes me crazy
    I love your quote! It is possible; you just have to work at it!

    ReplyDelete