The entire month of April really got away from me. I looked back at my calendar and tried to figure out what kept me so busy and nothing jumped out at me. Just normal, every-day life: orthodontist appointments, baseball games, piano lessons, The Story, church, school. Just life.
In addition to the day to day, the April allergy season hit me hard. Beat me down is a better description. Dealing with severe allergies in April (or any time of year for that matter) is not really out of the ordinary. Every year around this time I have to step up the use of my rescue inhaler and rinse my sinuses daily. However, this year the pollen counts have been extremely elevated and when you are allergic to almost every tree, grass and weed in existence that means you have to stay inside. If I do venture out for any period of time I end up tired, wheezy, develop an annoying cough and ultimately have an asthma attack. I pretty much walk through every day in a sleepy haze. Not exactly the most productive way to go through your day.
It also didn't help that the rescue inhaler that I was using had expired back in November of 2015. It is rare for me to use the rescue inhaler any other time of the year so I didn't even realize it had expired. It did explain the three asthma attacks that I had and the fact that the inhaler didn't do a lot to alleviate my breathing issues. I should have been better prepared. I know full well that as soon as April hits my chest is tight and it feels like I'm breathing through one of those red coffee stirring straws. This Pin pretty much sums up my life.
Landon has been doing pretty well. He has become really independent when caring for his diabetes. I no longer go to the school every day at lunch time to give him his insulin shots because he does it all by himself. The nurse at the school has told me that he is doing an amazing job of giving himself his own insulin shots and that she can't believe how independent he has become in such a short amount of time.
Speaking of lengths of time; we hit the six month anniversary of Landon's diagnosis last week. To say that life has changed drastically in the last six months would be an understatement. Landon even jokingly said, "remember when I would just come home from school and eat whatever I wanted and didn't have to count carbs or give myself insulin?" He really has adapted to this new normal so seamlessly. He continues to pray and thank God for giving him this diagnosis and asks that it will draw him closer to Him. Landon rarely complains and has been really responsible when it comes to counting carbs and checking his blood sugar. Now if we could just get him to remember to grab all of his new gear every time he leaves the house. One thing at a time, I suppose.
Now that he has hit this new milestone our insurance will cover an insulin pump. That will mean no more insulin shots, just a pump site change every three days. It should make Landon's life a lot easier. The pump will allow him to plug in the amount of carbs he is eating and then it will calculate how much insulin he will need.
With each new technological advance there are also some frustrating drawbacks. Landon's continuous glucose monitor (CGM) has been life-changing in the best way. To be able to see what his blood sugar level is at any time of the day or night is such a relief. It uses bluetooth to connect to Landon's phone (yes, he got a phone) and then Chris and I are able to see the data throughout the day, no matter where we are.
Unfortunately, Landon has an allergic reaction to almost every adhesive product on the market that aids in holding the sensor on his body. We thought we had figured out a solution and during the winter ,when it was nice and cold, he had almost no issues. Now that the weather is getting warmer Landon is sweating more. When he sweats the adhesive loses its stickiness and then his CGM falls out. The sensor is supposed to stay on his body for seven days and in the course of one week we went through five CGMs because they would not stay on.
The good news is that Dexcom, the CGM that Landon is using, has been amazing. Their customer service staff is available 24 hours a day and if the device doesn't last seven days they will overnight a new one for free. We have also discovered that the KT Tape Pro and Rock Tape Pro can withstand Landon's excessive sweatiness and his latest sensor has lasted the full seven days!
Thankfully, none of this holds him back. He is still playing basketball every day, riding his bike with his friends from the neighborhood and playing baseball like a pro.
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