Monday, May 23, 2011

A Teachable Moment

Picture it:  Alaska, 2011; first Monday of summer vacation, 5:09pm

Not really the scene for a 'teachable moment' because isn't all of the learning supposed to be done for the next three months?

Oh, but I forgot....D doesn't take a vaca, ever!!

So, there Bean sat.  Eyeballing her yummy cheese tortellini (a huge fav of hers), practically drooling while she's testing her BG.

A lovely 94 pops up and she asks a question that gets asked A LOT each day around here "how many carbs?"

I answer 76...tortellini, sauce, milk and 2 dark chocolate kisses for dessert (another huge fav).  She enters the carbs, and tells me that it wants to give her 2.00units.  I say OK because I totally trust the calculations of her PDM, but she hesitates.  Something she rarely does.

She asks if she should lower it and I ask why and she says because of the 94.  (Um, hello? When did my 7yr old, dx for 14 days shy of  a year start wondering if she should lower her dose based on her BG?!?!?)

I try to explain that the PDM already calculated for her number but all I get is a relatively blank stare.  I tell her to go ahead and dose and I'll show her when it's done.

When the 'beep' sounds that lets us know that the bolus has been delivered, I go into the screen to show her why 2.00units was the correct dose.  In case you haven't seen and OmniPod PDM, here's what it looks like:



Based on Bean's settings, the PDM calculates the coverage for her meal, then subtracts for what we've put in for her target BG if she's lower than that target (adds if she's higher) and subtracts any insulin on board (IOB) from a previous correction within 3 hours (another setting for how long the insulin 'lasts' for her).

So, talking her through each line...she's a visual learner like her mother..she says "oh, that's why 2.00units is right...cool."

I love the fact that she's cluing into how her insulin is calculated. I hate that she has to know something that should be just done for her by her body!!

It's amazing that she's starting to understand that how much insulin she gets should be effected by her BG number.

It is normal to be proud and utterly sad at the same time?  It was a weird mix of emotions as we chatted about I:C ratios, IOB, and target BG as she scarfed her tortellini tonight.

I wonder what the rest of the summer will hold.....

8 comments:

  1. wow! This is amazing! It's really nice that your pump lays it out so nicely too.

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  2. that is FANTASTIC that she is so into finding our how it is calculated and how it all works. LOVE THAT! I completely understand your mix of feelings though...seeing how quickly Emma took to bolusing herself and not wanting me to always do it made me sad and proud all at once. Us D-Moms are definitely pros at handling mixed emotions!! :o)

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  3. Bitter-sweet moment for sure! Hard to watch them grow up and start learning things that most other kids there age will never have to know.

    And on a side note, I think I want to eat dinner at your house....cheese tortellini sounds delish :)

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  4. YEP...NORMAL! Or we are both "freaks", which could be the case. I find that Joe is maturing and gaining "D" knowledge at a break-neck pace and it makes me puff up with pride...and it hurts a bit.

    Happy Summer VACAY.

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  5. Wow, summer vaca already! We still have four weeks to go until school is out for the summer. I am a tad bit jealous here. Each time Bekah hits a new milestone in self management with her diabetes, it is that proud yet sad feeling! I know it well so I'd say yes that it's normal. Great job Bean, you are one smart cookie! Enjoy your summer break from school!

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  6. That's just awesome! I love how they organically lead us to teach them each step of the way.

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  7. Perfect timing on this post. Not only a teachable Moment for Bean, but for me too! Thank you for taking a photo of the PDM screen. I showed my hubby the pic and explained the back-story and we were both amazed at the techy-geekiness of the machine. Very cool. And, yeah Bean for 'getting' it!!!

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  8. That is sooo cool! Isn't it funny when they ask a technical question about diabetes, don't you feel like you should stop all time and focus and answer like it's "the" question of their whole entire life!? Ha! Last week Ellie was outside playing and her Dexcom went off LOW. She comes running up to tell me and I tell her to run inside and grab her meter to test for sure...she did?! Usually she tells me to go get it. So I went with it. She did her test, read that it was 2 numbers (she's 5) and said, "Oup! Time for a juice!". I told her to get a juice out of the fridge (I have started keeping them on the bottom shelf where she can reach them) and drink it down. She did...all by herself! It hasn't happened since...but for a moment I could see the future and I did beam with pride! Nutty isn't it?! ((hugs))

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Hey, Thanks for sharing!! Your comments make me :)!!
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