Back from holiday...

AND IT WAS FANTASTIC!

Its so nice being away from the normal routine and responsiblities.   The kids had an awesome time.  AND it was great seeing my Mum and Dad.   It was special for my kids to spend that time with my parents, they love them to bits, its the sweetest and closest relationship my kids have with anyone outside of my husband and I.  Oh my Gosh... we are home and Im tired, but we did it!

First things first, Diabetes.   Well, I overpacked just to be safe.  I played through every scenario in my mind, and although anxious decided it was a fear worth confronting.   I decided taking BGL's more often were in order.    Im not sure I like to think about Reuben being so low he doesnt wake up, but its a fact of living with Diabetes that he could be unconscious, need glucagon, or worse not respond to the big needle and need a sugar drip.     The flip side is stubborn highs, ketones, in hospital.    Then theres emergency management - theres snakes out in the country that can kill you.   Theres bee bites, which thankfully Reubens never had but who knows what that would do.


But thankfully we needed none of that, I treated hypos quickly like at home and all was good.  I took quick acting carbohydrates of every variety because Reuben is fussy when hes hypo.    If he would just take juice all the time, we'd be set, but thats not the case.  So we left late afternoon I boosted him before we got in the car.    He was 10 as I drove away.   Halfway and after a 2 hour nap, I retested he was 7.   We had a few lollies and two more stops, for toilet, dinner and retesting.   I had to give his dinner medicine and correction at a fast food restaurant.   Then we made the final half hour out to my parents property.  We arrived tired but without a hitch.   

Something I learned is when your diabetic child is really into horses and cows and puppy dogs, his blood sugar sky rockets from excitement.    Then later on it plunges after doing rounds and rounds of the paddock! 

My parents horse is currently in foal, she looks huge now, its hard to imagine shes not giving birth until next February.   Shes a lovely animal and really curious.   She whinnies (sp?) as you approach, like shes saying you better be bringing me a snack, and comes running like a puppy.    When you go into her paddock she continually crosses your path at 45 degrees to block your way, waiting for snacks.   (Thankyou Bonnie and Dad for the 8 bags of horse poo I was gifted for my vege garden and fruit trees!)

Being spring its also calving season, so all the moo moos were either pregnant or had a suckling calf.  Pretty cool to see for real and close up, being city folks.    It was really cold so we stoked the fire place and cuddled up and had cuppas.   Thank God for my parents, we prayed together for Reuben and all the babies and children and adults suffering from type 1 and for a cure for this bastard disease.  

Dad's also keeping bees so Jo helped him (I use the term helped lightly) extract honey and we came home armed with 4kg of fresh honey!!   The last jar Mum brought for us we ate in under a week.  (I think my husband ate MOST of it).  Yummo.   Where they are is peanut country, so they also gave us a huge stash of honey roasted peanuts.  I love to blitz it with some peanut oil and make a paste so the kids can dip their apple wedges.      We came home so blessed Mum got the kids some toys they really wanted, my car was so loaded up!

I could go on all day about fresh air and peace and quiet, but it was worth it to see Reuben just so into country life, he just has this affinity with animals and Grandad. 

Ok, so it all went off without a hitch? Wrong.  The trip home was awful.   Reuben was car sick.   We left at lunchtime, which means his protaphane was peaking at its most aggressive, and despite boosting him before we left, he was having stubborn lows from the mornings activities.    It was his first dose of travel sickness, so getting any carbs into him was a struggle.   He doesnt normally react too badly to a 3.5 or a 4,  5,  so mostly his blood sugars were there.    Finally I got a lollypop into him, then he vomitted.   We stopped to clean it up, and he had a run around in a park then downed a full juice, and we finally made it home.    A 4 hour trip took 5 1/2 hours.  Perhaps I shouldve just left late afternoon after protaphane had begun to wear.   I guess you learn as you go.   

I feel much more confident travelling with Reuben and his diabetes.   We did it.  Hes safe and we had a great time.     Next time my husband plans to come with us which should make diabetes easier to manage and afterall hes got a bit of hippy/bushy inside him too.