December 28, 2008
Karen L.

I’m still digesting Christmas cookies, while bemoaning the fact that I have to return to work tomorrow after the 4-day holiday weekend.

Today I met with the family of a 9-year-old who was recently diagnosed. We’ve seen each other quite a few times over the years, as this is the sister of a good friend, and we tend to get together when the family is in town. This was the first time, though, that we’ve met with a purpose. I’m hesitant to share my diabetes ‘wisdom’ with others, because it’s not like I feel I’m any kind of stellar example, and diabetes is such an individual disease. Then, too, I’m honest about things like a 24 while skiing, or a 390 after a run. I’mnot _trying_ for these extreme numbers, or getting them from diabetes negligence, but sometimes they seem unavoidable, at least for me. I told Jacob I wished him a steady 100 until we see each other again (likely a few months). He laughed and said it wouldn’t happen – he may be 9, but I think he gets it.

On the training front, I’m spending time in the pool as I try to master this swimming thing. I’m the one at the rec center with notes printed out in a Ziploc bag at the end of my swim lane. I’ve gotten to the point where I’m no longer traumatized by having to share a lane, but I don’t really have the breathing down to an exact science. I’m having problems with my swim goggles creating big bags under my eyes for hours after I leave the pool, so I’d welcome suggestions in that arena. I’m probably going to get one of the Aquapacs that Nancy mentioned so I can wear my pump while swimming.

I’ve been stockpiling some gear clothing that I’ll be using over the next 10 months. You never know what will happen with the job situation, and I like to pick up bargains when they appear. I’ve got a couple pairs of my favorite running shoes, some biking shorts, a swim suit, etc. They’re all spanky and new, and I’ll enjoy pulling these out an item at a time over the next months to replace worn out items. I buy some of this stuff online, and I like Sierra Trading Post for everything, and Mile Marker Sports for running gear (I tend to shop the sale ‘racks’ at both sites). SteepandCheap and its ilk, which sell one item at a time, also have some amazing deals – those are available at gearattack.com.

I had an endocrinologist appointment last week, and told him about what I'm trying for 2009. He's an understated kind of guy, so it didn't really seem to register in our appointment, but at the end he said he wanted me to schedule a cardiac stress test, so I'll be having that adventure at the end of next week.

A few weeks ago I noticed a couple of cracks in my pump, and I called up to get a replacement, thinking I just had a few weeks left on my warranty. Sadly, my pump was a week out of warranty at that time – rats. As of today, I’m hooked up to a new pump that looks suspiciously like my old pump in all ways except it cost me $538 out of pocket (I went from a Medtronic 515 to a 522). In order to feel that I’m getting _something_ new for my dollar$, I turned on the bolus wizard feature and hooked up to the UltraLink meter. It’ll be nice to have the pump figure out the insulin on board, as I’m not always diligent in doing the calculation. I’m also girding for a fight with the insurance company to get a CGMS over the next few months, so I’ll be downloading the data from my meter via the pump to help with that battle.

Other than that…well, at this time of year I always think of the Counting Crows song that says “It’s been a long December, and there’s reason to believe maybe this year will be better than the last…”. While I can’t really complain about 2008 (but sometimes I still do), I sincerely hope that 2009 will shine for all of us as we work toward our common goal in October.

Rock on, team WILD!