Stupid

We learnt a couple of lessons the other night....lessons we shouldn't need to learn.  Lessons in what complacency can bring if you start to depend too heavily on the pump and forget the necessary back up when depending on a miraculous, but mechanical, device.

Lesson 1) Don't take shortcuts

K watching telly before going to bed - 'There's a bubble in my pump line'... Hmmm, M examined the line and there was indeed an air bubble, so after we weighed up the pros and cons of a set change M put through a bolus that got rid of the bubble (K was very much against the set change option).   Every set change we clear every minuscule trace of air in the new insulin, but when we examine the old insulin after a set change the bubbles are often back, so we discussed whether we should change the set but figured that as the bubble was gone we'd be okay (you can see where this is going, can't you).

'Dad, my tummy feels sick'.

That's how to accelerate from deep sleep to wide awake in 0.5 seconds at 4:40 a.m.

Quick test - 25.2 (450)....uh-oh, keytone check - 1.6 - crap, instant guilt overload.  I shook M awake "K is super high" (i don't like treating this kind of d-mergency on my own (diff. between K's mam & dad in d-parenting? M always seems to know exactly what to do while i try reacting to most situations with a tactical mix of confusion and blind panic)).

K needed a set change.  But we weren't risking a set change and correction with keytones of 1.6 after our silly decision the night before. So i headed down to the kitchen to get her pen.

Lesson 2) Don't forget the back-ups

First pen i took out of her school bag - no insulin....WHAAT? What if she needed it (she has a spare pen in school but not in after school where she is twice a week).

Second pen was fished out of the back of the press......how long was the insulin in it? Christmas, so its within the 6 weeks (just about).

We need to check all our supplies, make sure our back-ups have back-ups, and write the opening date on any insulin we put into the back-up pens.

Lesson 3) Don't forget my training

We've been on the pump approx 6 months now.  I can handle a correction but i have to admit that if the pump failed i don't think i'd remember all the dosages to get K back onto the long-acting lantus.   M can remember all the steps for pretty much everything but i need to write it down somewhere....

Conclusion to the Night:

Quick shot to correct and a set change; but no further sleep that night (no way was i chancing going back asleep & not checking the correction worked).

An hour later K was down to 21.4 (385) and keytones up to 1.8 but we decided to sit tight and leave the insulin work away.

7:30 a.m. - BG down to 11.1 (199) and keytones all gone at 0.1.  Our poor child had an unnecessary  and horrible experience through a silly decision; but we learnt we need to not take chances and we also need to keep an eye on all our supplies, whether we are using them straight away or just holding them in casee.

 Another day in the d-world!