Hockey?

It has been 4 weeks since Ben broke his arm tripping on a basketball at recess. Now in our family time is not actually measured in days, weeks or months. It is measured in hockey games. If you were to ask Ben how long it has been since he broke his arm he would say, "It has been 6 hockey games." And that is a lot games to watch from the bench.

Now I am a-cup-half-full-kind-of-gal and I decided that this break from sports and exercise was the perfect time to focus on Ben's pump settings. Without the added complexity of exercise affecting his blood sugars I could focus on getting his basal and bolus settings just right. And just the other day we saw these numbers:

2:00am   114 night time check
6:30am   122 before breakfast
10:00am  157 before snack
11:45am  154 before lunch
2:00pm   319 before snack (OK ... not great)
4:00pm   131 (Yeah! Fixed that afternoon 300)
6:45pm   102 before dinner

Now when we saw those numbers there were high-fives and even a happy dance ... But not Ben. Ben was not going to be happy until he could get back on his skates and play hockey again. There would be no fist pumps from Ben. He was saving those for after his doctor's appointment. And that appointment was today!

This afternoon I picked him up early from school (bonus!) and he was all smiles. Off we raced to see his doctor. Once we arrived Ben's named was called quickly. We answered a few quick questions and then he was taken to x-ray. Within a few minutes we were waiting in the exam room for the doctor. And before we could finish telling our silly jokes in walks the doctor (this is seriously the most efficient doctor's office on the planet.)

The doctor pulls up the x-ray. Everything looks good. He shows us where the bone is growing in. Then comes the but ... but it's not done growing yet. The doctor then asks Ben what sports he plays and he enthusiastically replies, "Hockey!" Now that is not the sport the doctor was hoping for, "Oh, I am sorry. You won't be able to play hockey just yet." All the light leaves Ben's face. He remained polite but I knew he was holding back tears. The doctor said to come back in a few weeks and he would check again.

As we were heading back to the car I asked Ben if there was anything I could do to make him happy. He said nothing and didn't even lift his head. I took that as a "No." When we finally made it home, still not speaking, Ben layed down on the sofa, curled up in a ball, and pulled a blanket over himself.

After Ben ignored me for a while more, it finally occurred to me that I should check his blood sugar. Maybe this moping is more than just disappointment. Maybe he is low. I dig out a finger from under the blanket and I prick it and test ... 399! Where did that come from!? He was in the 100s when he left school. He did not eat anything. But he did get his heart broken. Suppose the stress of the hockey bad news could easily have caused a BG spike in my little T1 rink rat.  I gave him an insulin bolus and hoped his BG would come down quickly.  And indeed it did.  In an hour he was down in the 200s and before dinner he was 175.  Phew!  Now if only the insulin could fix his broken heart too.