Another Exciting Weekend of Baseball

I was nervous packing for the all-star tournament last weekend after the diabetes disaster the previous weekend.  We made it through with no ketones!!!  Yeah!

Andrew's team played two games Saturday morning & then was finished for the day.  Will's team had a morning game and two afternoon games.  We were set for one very long, hot day at the ballfield.  Friday night, the father of one of Andrew's friend asked if Andrew could come back to the hotel & swim & hang out with his son & the other teammates instead of watching Will's games.  It definitely would be more fun than baking in the sun for an additional four hours. 

I knew I should say yes.  The advice is, "If you would have said yes before diabetes, say yes now & find a way to take care of diabetes at the same time."  However, the idea sent me into panic mode.  I didn't commit, but I reminded him of Andrew's diabetes & and said he would at least need his sister to accompany him if he was going to go swimming.  When I talked to Gene on the phone, he wasn't excited about him going swimming without me either.  It is very difficult to notice when you are weak and sweaty when you are in the pool.  Andrew is usually 50 before he knows that he is low if he is in the pool.  And he drops FAST!  At 9:15 Friday night, Andrew's BG was 323, & he took a correction.  We went downstairs, disconnected the pump, and swam for about 30 minutes.  He got ready for bed, checked his blood sugar at 10:19 & was 62.  So I'm nervous about letting him swim without me watching...

Saturday, after 3 hours at the ballfield, Kaitlyn and Andrew really want to go with their friend back to the hotel.  I explained to the dad my concerns about Andrew, and we agreed on this plan.  They would go eat first, &  the kids would use the Restaurants app on the iPod to count carbs & bolus.  Andrew would check his blood sugar every 30 minutes to an hour while at the pool and, if he was anywhere close to 100, he would eat a snack.  I gave him money to stock up on snacks and make sure there was plenty to eat.  I made sure the dad had my number, and let them go.  I was scared, but I did it. 

I said goodbye in the parking lot and then hurried to Will's field, just in time to see him get nailed in the forehead with a ball that bounced up on the lip between the sod & dirt.  I watched as the coaches checked on him & Will decided to stay in the game.  When he came off of the field though, he began to cry again as soon as he saw me. I settled him down.  Soon, the coaches called me back over.  Will was dizzy and nauseous.  Not good signs after a head injury.  It was also very hot outside, and we had been at the ballfield since 8 a.m.  When the game was over, the team had a short break before the next game.  The rest of the team stayed & watched the other teams play.  Will and I left the park to get Will cooled down & hydrated so that I could see if it was heat or injury bothering him.  It was heat.  My Will returned to normal and was able to play in the last game of the day!

I was exhausted by the time our 8 1/2 hours at the ballfield came to an end.  I eagerly returned to the hotel to check on Andrew.  I was still in the hallway when Kaitlyn called to say that Andrew's site had come out.  No problem.  We had it back in very quickly.  I asked Kaitlyn if Andrew had gone low.  She replied, "Yes, a lot.  He spent most of his time sitting out of the pool."  So I asked Andrew later how low he had gone.  "The meter said Low, under 20!"  I checked the meter, and sure enough that's true.  Under 20.  Under 20.  The grace of God is the only reason he didn't have a seizure or pass out right there.  In a pool.  Pools aren't the best place to have seizures or pass out.  No, the idea just sends chills down my spine.  He's fine though.  He treated himself.  When Kaitlyn asked if he was okay, he just said yes, so she didn't know how low he was until he told me.  That's not safe.  He checked his BG for the first time at the pool at 2:43 & was 39.  He treated, but felt worse.  Recheck at 2:57 was LOW. 

Being that low for that long depletes the body's ability to prevent and recognize lows.  Sunday afternoon, he came to me & showed me Dex said that he was going low.  He looked low & I wanted to be aggressive because of Saturday's low, so I dropped glucose tabs in his mouth before testing his BG.  LOW, under 20 again at 3:55 pm!  I gave him juice too.  Will was finished, so we headed to McDonald's.  Recheck at 4:17 after 31g of fast-acting carbs - LOW, under 20.  Seriously?  Under 20 for over 20 minutes.  Is that even possible?  Scary!

I turned down his basal for 24 hours to avoid all lows until he could recover.  I guess it was the baseball.  It sure had the opposite effect last weekend.