The Good, The Bad, The Ugly & Down Right Bizarre

This is what happens when illness hits our home - I forget I write for three blogs. Thankfully the ones I am paid to write for had a mountain of pre-written copy since I love to commit ideas to paper the moment they strike. (Thank you Muse for sending so many wonderful education and health ideas my way these last few months.) Our personal blog, however, does not fare so well. It's a long known truth, the quieter this page remains, the more chaotic our home, thus my new commitment to daily blogging. Perhaps I can simply write the bugs out. 

Pssst, Ms. Funke, I could use some tips on this. Could you please send Meggie my way?

The Ugly - Miss N started it, I swear she did. Cough, sniffle, hack, wheeze. A rather large bout of pneumonia if you please. Four weeks and counting she's been sick, now down to the occasional cough, though it sounds as deep as the Nautilus still. I'm positive the outbreak of Whooping Cough at school spread to her lungs, and the doc who disbelieved us and proclaimed it merely viral guaranteed our month of sheer hell. Pneumonia and D simply don't mix, and we experienced our first foray into the 400s followed by swings into the 40s. Lots of missed school, long nights all interspersed with previously blogged fights between insurance and a sleep deprived, angry MommaKat. My claws extended more than a time or two, and the energy required for mental combat landed my lungs in a hot steaming mess next. I've never been so sick, and even stooped to the point of calling in the cavalry - shocking since I never ask for help. Sadly, I learned just how completely alone Miss N and I are in managing her diabetes. I've set a new goal for educating extended family after the three day nightmare of managing D, night checks, and ineffective breathing under a temp of 104.6 ~

The Bad - Between roller coaster blood sugars that rival the ups and downs of NJ's Kingda Ka, the ongoing hate triangle between myself, insurance, and our pharm, and feeling worse than death itself, I managed to miss vital appointments necessary for our continued survival and basic well being. Of course the only time available for reschedule fell on Brother Bears birthday - Happy 14th to my tall, lanky, and amazingly handsome guy! Despite our best intentions, Miss N and I rather disastrously applied the gift of sharing in All the wrong ways. You guessed it, Brother Bear quite literally sounds like a rather grumpy old bear in hibernation; even our neighbors complained at the noise, and no one wants to stand within a three foot radius of him or his cough. Turns out cranky (sick) grizzlies have claws, too.  

The Good - Amidst all the craziness, illness, and last minute band-aid attempts on holding our lives together, we somehow arrived at Miss N's first diaversary without realizing it. Good, even great, things really do come in threes! First, an email card acknowledging her day from a stranger turned friend, followed by a loan to subsidize my newest entrepreneurial adventure, and finally the unexpected call that brightened our future horizon - Miss N's Medtronic Paradigm Revel received approval. In fact, I'm waiting for it to arrive at my door any moment, pen in hand ready to sign. One down, one to go in needed tools for safer, healthier management of D. Many thanks to all who championed and joined in our fight. With that battle won, we're on to the next...

The Downright Bizarre - Despite the sensible decision to approve insulin pump therapy, and in light of the absolute refusal to even consider coverage of a continuous glucose monitoring system, insurance somehow thought it a good idea to limit test strips to 100 per month? Not kidding. What makes it all the more twilight zone-ish, the day before our incredible pump news I received paperwork indicating a second pump denial and approval of the needed 350 test strips per month, 200 pen needles per month (though truly, we need 240...) What happened?! I still don't know, and to be honest, I'm waiting until we have pump in hand to engage in the next battle. Those of you who know D understand that logic proves the minds behind PAR approvals to be half cracked and woefully out of touch. And for those readers who know me, well you're already wondering just how colorfully and creatively I plan to inform said brains of this fact. I should rather like to call today and pay homage to Dr.  Seuss.

One strip, two strips, test strips three. 

Test in the morning, test at night.

Test before breakfast, check it's just right.

Four strips, five strips, six strips see.

Test after breakfast, before lunch, before PE.

Seven strips, eight strips, test strips nine

Test after lunch, make sure you're fine.

Test if you're low, test when you're high.

Test before dinner, after, and at night.

10 strips, test strips, check your BG

Before meals, after meals, when you go Zzzzz.

11 strips, 12 strips, get em without a fight.
When you feel low, when you don't feel right.

We need test strips to keep BG just right.