There they determined that her blood sugar levels, which should normally be between 5 and 7, was actually 36. In conjunction with that, her thyroid was also not working properly. They quickly admitted her and began treatment. They now knew that she has Type 1 diabetes. Not a good diagnosis for a little girl who's afraid of needles. She finally got to sleep around 4:30 in the morning on Wednesday. Needless to say, Wednesday was a pretty tough day for her, having to come to grips with this news that was life changing. But in the end, she stopped feeling so scared and frustrated and angry, and acknowledged that it could be much worse.
She's a determined and sometimes stubborn young lady and that will do her well. They weren't going to let her out of the hospital until she was fully comfortable with testing her own blood and giving herself injections of insulin. I have to say, we're very proud of her and how well she's handling everything.
I felt I should be there as support, if nothing else. So I went on line late Wednesday night and found there were some seats on the early flight to Toronto, so I decided to take my chances. It's always iffy flying on a long weekend when you're stand by but the travel gods were with me this time. I took the shuttle from the airport to Guelph and was dropped of at the hospital around 9:00 in the morning. I went straight up to her room and surprised the two of them, as well as the nurse who was giving them a lesson. Once that was done, Meg went off to have a shower and Patti and I could comfort each other. She's had to stay so strong through all of this for everyone else, that she needed someone to just give her a hug and tell her it would be alright. After we both had a little cry, it was time to plan.
There was nothing I could do for Meg, she was in good hands, and her mom was staying with her the entire time. Greg was at work and the boys were at home doing nothing. I asked how I could help and she advised that there were lots of things that needed doing to get ready for school, that she wasn't able to do, so that's where I stepped in. I took her car and went round and after surprising the boys, took them out for lunch and then to get haircuts, shoes, etc for school. When we were done that I asked if they would like to go and visit their sister and there was a unanimous YES! So we dropped by the hospital for a short visit.
Then it was home to make something for supper. James and I took stock of the fridge and the cupboards and put together a meal that we both worked on. He did a fine job as sous chef, and was in charge of plating our bowtie pasta with shrimp and garlic cream sauce.
After supper Greg and the boys and I went up to the hospital. Greg's parents had come down from Port Elgin to visit and were there when we arrived. They left shortly after and then it was a while later when we all left. Between lessons from the diabetic nurse on the use of the insulin as well as visits from the nutritionist, she'd had a pretty busy day. We said our goodbyes and left for the night.
Friday morning was a busy one as the Guelph baseball team was hosting the end of season tournament which Patti was supposed to be helping with. She was able to get some other parents to fill in for her as we didn't know when Meg would be released from hospital. But she proved to be a very good student. For a girl who's always feared needles, she's done amazingly well. She was so proud to tell me that she'd given herself her first injection. After that it was a little easier. They let her go on Friday with the stipulation that she come back on Wednesday for follow up.
She came home armed with all manner of reading materials as well as gadgets to keep everything under control.
In her typical fashion, she's taken full control of her situation and very carefully plans out her meals and required snacks in advance to adhere to the strict guidelines that he hospital has given her. We took her shopping for back to school clothes on Saturday and she planned out and packed her lunch and snack before we left. She understands that there are now some foods that she loves that will have to be eaten in moderation. This changes the whole families diet somewhat but maybe that's a good thing. Once fall activities start they are a very busy family and meals are sometimes on the fly. Now more planning will have to go into those days, as well as when Patti is away on overnight flights. Meg will be solely responsible for her own nutritional needs but I know she's totally up to the task.
Once everything was under control there didn't seem much reason for me to hang around. They had stuff to do to get ready for the new school year so I caught a late flight home on Saturday night. I arrived home on Sunday morning around 2:00 am, leaving me a bit of time to adjust and get back into my own routine.
Sunday dawned bright and sunny but certainly not as warm as it had been in Guelph, where it was 30' with a humidex reading of 37'. Can't say I miss that.
Because it was so nice, Brenda and I decided a little beach therapy might be in order. Just the fact we could go and enjoy the beach on labour day was great, considering Caitlyn had to cancel her camping plans out west because it was so very cold. So after doing a bit of housework, she and I headed over to Lakeside. It was a warm day and there were a few people on the beach but then it's never really crowded here.
Monday was the holiday and I had the day off, although Lloyd had to go to work at midnight (which is technically Tuesday). He'd been wanting to go and see the Lennie Gallant show at the PEI Brewing Company. Brenda and I saw the show last year when it was at the Mack. Being as it only plays Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, and this was the last week for it, I got gotten us tickets for Monday night. We went in to town around 6:30 as the doors opened at 7:00.
We had great seats - right in front of the stage. As last year, the show was great and Lloyd really enjoyed it. When it was over, we stopped at Tim's for a coffee before I headed home and he went off to work. Now it's the beginning of another school year - lots of new challenges for everyone.
OOOPS - almost forgot to mention and say thanks to Lloyd for finally getting my new spice rack completed. It is truly a work of art and extremely functional. It really was worth the wait.
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