On Friday morning, Kay and I were back at GiGi’s Playhouse for LMNOP! Unfortunately, this season’s flu has hit our community hard, and many of the kids were out sick. With such a small turnout, it was just Kay and one other little one. But one of the great things about GiGi’s Playhouse is that no matter if one child shows up or ten, the program always continues! After completing a few activities—parachute time included, of course—it was time for free play.
I’m so grateful that Kay is feeling better, but my heart goes out to all our friends who have been dealing with this flu and stomach virus. It’s been rough on so many in our community. With Kay being a Type 1 diabetic, illness is always unpredictable. Every time she gets sick, there’s a lingering question of how it will affect her blood sugar and whether we’ll be able to manage it at home or end up needing a hospital stay.
This time, it wasn’t as intense as the stomach virus she had recently, but it still wasn’t easy. Kay developed ketones, which can be dangerous if they continue to rise, potentially leading to DKA. I did everything I could to keep her hydrated, especially encouraging sugary drinks so that insulin could be given to help clear the ketones. The tricky part is that even when Kay’s blood sugar is in range, she can still develop ketones if she’s not eating, since her body isn’t getting enough insulin.
It’s all still a learning experience, but every challenge teaches me more about how to handle these situations. Hopefully, with each illness, I’ll gain more confidence in managing it and keeping Kay healthy.