When your diabetic child is convulsing

I heard from my god daughter Catherine tonight who lives in Ottawa, Ontario.  She has an 8 year old son called Aaron, who was diagnosed with diabetes a few years ago.  I love hearing how he's doing, like last summer he went to Camp Banting.  The same camp my parents sent me to when I was a child back in the 70's.  Even now, he's counting down the days until summer arrives and he gets to go there again!  I'm so happy that he loves it as much as I did. It was a way to escape from the city and be with other kids just like myself (I loved the Tuck Shop - but apparently they don't have it anymore).  Along with the cool camp counselors, doing things I'd generally not do back home, I felt like a "normal" kid, not someone who had to inject/test urine to stay alive.  It was also freedom for my parents who of course I think needed a break from me!  I know it wasn't cheap - but still my Dad somehow managed to afford it and last year we helped Catherine abit with the cost.

She called me up to tell me about what had happened to her son Aaron last night.  His blood sugars had been abit low before dinner and she'd given him a few units less of Novorapid and he ate his meal just like any hungry kid does.  He seemed fine when he went to bed but then she woke up to what sounded like something heavy falling over in the kitchen (she said it sounded like the fridge).  Her first instinct ... " Aaron ! ".  She raced downstairs to find him convulsing on the floor,  various food items out on the kitchen counters with some on the floor.  Luckily, she had a Glucagon kit (something that's been discussed here with LadyD in the forums lately) and she injected him right away and then called up 911.  Paramedics, police, fireman all showed up at her door within minutes, as per 911 protocol, and poor Aaron who was slowly coming out of his low BG was of course quite confused.  The paramedics attempted to take his BG but in the end Catherine did it with her own meter as he was pretty scared with all these uniformed guys standing around him.  Luckily, his BG was going up - 4.3 mmol/l (77 mg/dl).  God knows what he was at when she'd first found him on the kitchen floor!

Off to the hospital they went, where they kept him until the morning.  Of course, for any of you who have had a bad hypo (I've only had 2 bad ones that I can recall) - it leaves you pretty drained.  Good thing, they both took it easy today and tomorrow he's off to school  of course .... counting down the days until Camp Banting .

He's going to be starting on an insulin pump soon - thanks to the program that is set up in the province of Ontario, Canada (there are a few provinces in Canada that have a similar set up - not where I live unfortunately ... yet).  The program covers the purchase of an insulin pump / supplies for those that qualify.  I'm hoping to see him next month, so I can show both him and his Mum how I figure out the amount of insulin for the amount of carbs I eat both manually and with my insulin pump.  I have a feeling that they weren't shown this by a Diabetic Educator.  They'll have to know this even more so when he goes on the pump - as it's a crucial part of staying balanced with your blood sugars and not going too low or too high.

Listening to my god daughter brought many memories back from being a child - when I would experience the occasional night time hypo - not fun at all - for myself or my parents.  Next time I talk to my Mum I'll have to ask if she ever witnessed me in that kind of state.  Ahhh, to be a child again!!!