This is not routine.....

This month has been a whirlwind and I can't believe that it is nearly over. We are trying to get back into school mode and Joseph is playing on his school soccer team again this year. It has been challenging to adjust his diabetes management with the new physical activity and the hot weather that we have been having! We are desperately trying to fight off those low blood sugars with the help of our Dexcom CGM and NIGHTSCOUT (see details here) Learning how is body responds is one of the single most difficult things to accomplish because it never seems to be the same....EVER!

Along with the school and soccer we have also had to take Joseph to the Ear, Nose and Throat specialist. This is a bittersweet moment for us because Joseph actually had a surgery scheduled to remove his tonsils and adenoids. Joseph has very large tonsils that cause him to snore and have sleep apnea. Joseph's surgery never happened because he was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes just 2 weeks before his surgery date and there was NO WAY that we could put him through a surgery while he and we were still learning to cope with having shots, finger pokes and managing his diabetes. His snoring and apnea are continuing to worsen, so we decided that it was finally time to schedule that dreadful surgery. This time is it a lot more worrisome than pre-T1D.

This time we have to worry about so much more than just the surgery itself. How we are going to managing no food or liquids after midnight? If he has a low blood sugar we have no choice but to give him something to treat it! What blood sugar range do we send him into surgery? How will his blood sugar react being under anesthesia, and how will he react? Will they let us monitor him via NightScout while he is in surgery? How are we going to get him to eat and drink after surgery to be able to regulate his blood sugars?  These questions are continuously running through my mind and my nerves are already shot and surgery isn't for another month.

This is no longer the normal outpatient routine procedure that was scheduled before diagnosis. We are now having his surgery done at the hospital. The hospital where they have the T1D pediatric unit in case something goes wrong and he has to stay for treatment, the hospital we spent the first 3 days of his Type 1 Diabetes diagnosis. We must have consultations with his Endocrinologist, Pediatric Anesthesiologist, and Surgeon. There has to be a plan and there has to be a backup plan if god forbid the need arises.

This is not routine, but then again, this is what life is like when you are living with Type 1 Diabetes, nothing is routine!