I want it back the way it was.
We dug out for 7 hours yesterday. The official results is that our little town in Medford, Long Island was hit the hardest with 33 inches. I measured 31 inches but who am I to squabble at two inches.
Just as we were finishing, some friends of Rob came by and they all went sleigh riding. On a snowy day that is what kids do, right? And what do you think we’re thinking about?
Just about every parent in the aftermath of a snow storm went to play in the snow and I cannot get my thought process off the point: “Make sure you check your blood.” After shoveling for hours, now out in the fun and each parent who lives with this disease knows EXACTLY what I am talking about.
During the ‘digging’ Jill and I took turns. We did not discuss it, it was just parent-nature kicking in. We took turns looking, observing, and occasionally asking, “How are you feeling?” Always ‘making-sure’.
I hate diabetes. I do.
Every little thing we do always has one eye on making sure. That ‘making sure’ list is a mile long. We cannot even shovel snow without worrying about what it does, did, or can do.
We all moved on through the day. We got through it. We? Well our kids got through it. We just observed. We just watched. We just hoped.
It seems like forever-ago we played in the snow with no concerns but staying warm. No more. “Making-sure” is in our lives now. Moved in and took residence. Every parent has some degree of ‘making sure’; those of who have kids with diabetes ‘making sure’ is like good morning. Oh yeah, and to many parents that first ‘making sure’ when we walk into the bedroom to wake our kids up is the scariest 30 seconds of our lives……every day.
Just ‘making sure’.
I am a diabetes dad.
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8 replies on “Do You Know Mr. Make-Sure? Don’t You Wish You Didn’t?”
Absolutely true. I use to look forward to bedtime, for everyone, before diagnosis. Now, I dread it. The uncertain walk to her bedroom to check on her is the most intense feeling of fear. No haunted house could compare. BUT, that insanely over the top amount of joy I feel when she wakes up and hugs me is the best feeling in the world. I suppose we D parents get the emotions to the extreme everyday and more than once a day. When trying to explain this to my family, I tell them that my kid rides the sugar rollercoaster all day and I ride the emotional rollercoaster.
That is so true……every morning I am glad Emma is alive, not just because she is a lovely little girl (which she is) but because she HAS made it through the night.
I don’t think other parents have any idea what an effect snow has on bgs, so all we see are hypos not children having fun….very sad
Yep, terrible feeling every morning walking to wake up Junior. I feel like a fatalist, thought I was alone in that walk. I guess all my fellow D-parents are walking with me.
You are not alone……I know we all feel the same, so sad to feel that way though.
I know exactly how you feel. On friday, we had a big snow fall through the night. My son (15 yrs. DX- T1 2006) was home alone as he did not have school. In the middle of a conference it struck me as my friend leaned over and said to me “my son better be shovelling the snow”. Immediately MY thought was “oh no my son better NOT be shovelling snow- at least until someone gets home or at minimum he better have tested first”. I could not concentrate on anything else until I text him. Of course he did not respond so I called him, again no answer. Come to found out he DID go out and shovel the snow BUT as the responsible kid he is he DID TEST first!! Good ending but I know the “Mr. Make sure” all too well!! Thanks for all your posts! Its nice that others get this!!
I still stand by my son’s room, with his door removed, to hear if he is breathing several times a night. Sometimes he wakes up but I tell him that I’m just checking on him and he falls back to sleep immediately. Those times when he wakes up are such a relief.
There hasn’t been a full night’s sleep for us since diagnosis. I feel guilty if I don’t get up to check on him within a certain amount of time. Perhaps that means I’m neurotic.
I think good parents of children with diabetes are a little neurotic by necessity. There should be a t-shirt that says, “Ofcourse I’m neurotic: I’m a parent of a CWD!”
I want a t-shirt like that!! I’m very much neurotic too, especially about snow shoveling, and sports, and, and, and… and Mrs. Make-Sure is always in the house: give her what she wants, then we can move on with the rest of our day.
I love that you added a Mrs. to my Mr.—LOVE IT