all is well

Hannah has been doing really well over the last year with dealing with diabetes. May 6th marks her 1 year anniversary with the insulin pump. That piece of lifesaving equipment has been such a blessing in our lives in dealing with all of this. Her A1C has dropped more into the normal range, after being high for the first full year after diagnosis. Haven't quite made it into the "ideal range", but it gives me more confidence as I try to make sure she is getting what she needs. I feel like, by the A1C % I must be doing something right even though most days it doesn't feel like it.

She has become very independant in her own care, and knows the pump like anything else. She has gone to birthday parties and friends houses now, and it isn't as much of an issue...although when I hear birthday party or friends house, I go into a different mode, planning mode. We haven't done sleepovers yet, I'm sure that is next, but it still concerns me quite a bit. Pretty sure with a little extra planning it will work out too.

Her most recent diabetes appointment was mid- Feb., and that appointment also included annual labs. She was prepared and brave, and I do believe, even though she cried, she did better than she did last year for the blood draw. I reassured her she did really well and it's ok to cry, and I think next year she'll do even better. She agreed, because I'll be 10 !!, she says. Such a strong, brave girl comes out when she has to deal with this aweful disease. She is 60 lbs now and growing well. She is still on the thin side, and we are allowed to give her anything that will allow her to put on weight. The healthier, is of course, always better. Her thinness has limited the areas we can put her pump sites. Without much fatty areas, we are concerned of hitting muscle, which would hurt more than normal hurt when inserting a needle. We change her site every 3 days and are using the area on the upper part of her butt and alternate sides, it's the only area with enough fatty tissue. Areas we can use in the future are her tummy, sides, and thigh. Those will be the areas where she will be able to insert her own sites at some point.

Her annual labs all came back normal, which is always awesome news!!! Her thyroid stimulating hormone level (TSH) is getting close to the maximum range level. Last year it was 3.01 where this year it was 4.29 (range is 0.5 - 4.8). I was told she is in normal range via letter in the mail, but haven't had the chance to discuss the range and her higher level this year and what that may mean for the future. Her T4 level was good though, which is another thyroid test, and I believe the more significant one in dealing with thyroid issues. So...so far so good. Besides thyroid issues, celiac disease is common in type 1 diabetes, and she negative for that and is on the very low end at 0.6 (range: 0.0 - 6.9). Her cholesterol, triglycerides, and kidney function was excellent!! It will all be checked on a annual basis.

It was also noted that in our Minnesota winters, skin can get very dry, and Hannah is no exception. She has some very dry spots on her butt, elbows, feet and ankles. Weird places to have dry skin. Hannah needs her skin tended to with lotion. She LOVES the lotion massages she gets.
Another thing that was suggested that her eyes be checked and dialated before age 11
Eye problems and retinopathy are complications of diabetes later in life. She is still pretty young now, and before age 11 they suggest a baseline check. After age 11, or 4-5 years after diagnosis, she will most likely be checked every year. So I scheduled her for her next diabetes appt. and an eye exam all in the same day. It will be a long day.
May 4th is the day where she will have her diabetes appt. in the morning and we will have time to grab some lunch and then come back to the eye clinic early afternoon, which is in the same bldg. as her endocrinologist in Minnetonka.
They will do a complete eye exam and they told me the first exam can last 1-2 hours. So we should have a solid, complete baseline eye exam for the future.

Hannah has had one heck of a healthy winter and I am so thankful. Diabetes is so hard to figure out to begin with, and then add sickness, and it complicates things so much more. She has had 3 different bouts of the common cold, mostly nose and sinus issues off and on. It hasn't kept her down though, and she hasn't missed a day of school this year from being sick. We keep up with the humidifier in her room, and methalatum under her sore nose, along with plenty of sleep and fluids, and thankfully that's all that has been needed to keep her comfortable. I am so glad for the healthy winter we had this year, makes all those long months worth it and so glad that spring seems to be right around the corner.