Sugar Baby

After working a shift at the hospital, it is all I can do to speed up the canyon, leaving the sick-o's, and the city, in my dust. I love coming home where everyone is healthy, the air is clean, and people don't comment on my ability to improve my customer service.

I truly believe that if I could implement our family creed, You Get What You Get And You Don't Throw A Fit, unless you want excessive chores, and no Wii ever for the rest of your life..... at the ER, less people would come "hangout" and bring down my Patient Satisfaction Scores. Bass. Turds.

Two weeks ago, I came home from an especially long shift, opened the door, and basked in a wave of enthusiastic loves from the Hoodlums. I was a little surprised they were still awake, but it is summer, and I was so glad to see them. Dyl hung out in the laundry room with me as I peeled off my scrubs, and offered this little gem. "Mom, all day long I have been seeing green and blue W's all over and I can't blink them away, or rub them away. Is there something wrong with my brain?"

Fresh from 12 hours worth of seeing the weirdest of the weird, I immediately thought it must be a brain tumor. God hates me. We probably only have 10 days left with him. I can't lose my baby. If only I had better Patient Satisfaction Scores, my Karma would defend this..... I snapped back to reality and asked more questions and grilled Dave about the days activities.

They had been playing hard all day, so I thought maybe it was a migraine aura, although I wasn't sure when those even started in kids. He also complained of paresthias in both hands, and some belly pain. Just coming off a ten day course of antibiotics, Dave and I convinced ourselves that he was tired, and that his hands hurt/tingled due to slam dunking off the tramp and hanging on the rim.

The next morning was Sunday. We got up, ate a huge pancake breakfast, and Dyl, who is usually our little bird, ate like a tank. In the afternoon, we all loaded up to go visit Gram, and by the time we hit Kamas, Dylan was super lethargic, he wouldn't even turn his head to my voice, or look at the motorcycles. The W's were gone from his vision, but he started saying his brain hurt, and that he didn't have enough strength in his hands to even click his seat belt. I started to freak out a little.

I sometimes help out at a clinic in Park City, so I called over there and although they were technically closed, one of my favorite Docs said he would stick around, and to bring Dyl over. No fever, no strep, so we checked his blood sugar and it was 158. He also was spilling large amounts of Ketones in his urine, but no glucose. The doctor called Primary Children's to see if we should come down, but they recommended that since I was capable of monitoring him at home, we should just keep an eye on his blood and urine.

That is where we are today. Dyl is a champ. He is checking his blood sugar a couple of times a day. He is so brave and surprises me with his maturity about the whole thing. Emma was having a snack yesterday and Dyl declined, because "My sugar was a little too high this morning." It continues to be high, but not elevated enough to be definitive at this point. We are supposed to keep documenting the sugars for the next week, and then meet with the Endocrinologist.

Please keep your fingers crossed for him.