Today was a big day. Not THE big day, but a pretty big day nonetheless. Today Noah got hooked up to his pump! The reason it's not THE day (in all caps) is because he's hooked up with saline and not insulin.
I can't tell you how thankful I was that we were the only ones in the class today with our rep. It gave me time to deal with the emotions I was going through and have her undivided attention when I was finding myself overwhelmed and confused by it all. It's literally like starting over again. Thankfully, once I navigate through this and figure out how it works, it'll be so much easier! But, for now, the learning process is a hard one. I'm not device savvy. Noah and Pete, on the other hand, were picking it up in seconds. When I was feeling particularly overwhelmed, I got pretty teary-eyed. How was I going to learn all of this?! Then, a bright shining star was presented to me - a step-by-step manual with pictures!! Ahh.... There was hope!
When Noah was diagnosed, we went straight to the insulin pen. It was something I used when I had gestational diabetes with Livie, so I went with something that was familiar to me. Well, now we have to use vials, because you can't fill the reservoir using a pen. You have to use a syringe. So, check me out looking all nurse-y! Kinda felt cool, I'm not gonna lie.
Angela, our rep, walked us through many different features just to get us started. Noah has a new BG tester, that communicates directly to his pump. He loved that!
Then he got the whole thing hooked up to the infusion set. The scary part for him was having to get the needle inserted. It's attached to a spring-loaded stamper-looking thing. The needle looks a lot longer than his insulin pen needles, so he got very nervous and a little weepy. But, he mustered the courage and let me do it and he said, "That didn't hurt at all!". So, after that it was all easy-peasy.
We finished up everything, got our new prescriptions and our new doctor's appt (with his new doctor) and headed out the door.
His sisters did a great job of being quiet and content while Pete and I worked with Noah and the rep to get things started. Can you tell how proud Noah is of his new pump?!
He picked out the pump belt. It's a sock monkey one, of course. I hope to get another one soon, so he has a plain one for church and stuff.
I thought I'd give you an idea of our homework for the next 2 weeks. Each day we have to do what is listed. It will get us familiar with many of the different aspects of the pump and its settings. We also have to keep a detailed food log and insulin log to help the doctors determine what his setting should be. Because he will be getting constant doses of insulin, his ratios could very easily change. There is a lot to learn and a lot to do, but the first steps are taken and we're off! Just so glad I have my cheat sheet book that gives me those step-by-step instructions that I so desperately need!
No comments:
Post a Comment