Bonjour - Fri., May 29 09

Bonjour to any readers out there-

Is it Friday already? This must be 'summer vacation,' when the days seem to evaporate even more quickly than during the school year.

It may seem ironic that I have just transitioned from the BenHollidayRunner blog to this one, and here I am starting with a post about Ben...but that's what's been going on today. So, if Ben's latest health status is not a source of interest (which is fine), you probably want to skip this post.

BEN-LINES: [Gack! We thought they were gone!!]

(1) Dr. Carrion: Or, maybe I should go back to the 'alphabet soup' designation and just call him "Dr. C." Anyway, Ben had his 4-month check today, and we are thankful to report that he received a good report. I obviously don't have the same perspective as do the the doctor and nurse, who see Ben only about 3 or 4 times a year; in fact, he turns 18 in August, so I guess then we will be looking for a "grown up" endocrinologist, instead of a peds one. Sigh. But, both of them seem pleasantly surprised by how well Ben looks, compared to the last few visits.

- Ben has gained about five pounds over the last three and half months, which is progress, although he still has plenty of weight and muscle mass to gain.

- He is also about an inch and half taller than he was in January. This puts him at the 25th percentile in height for his age. I realized I looked up to him, but now at 5' 7.5", he is more than 4" taller than me. This is a source of amusement to him: "It's OK, Mom. You can't help it if you're shrinking a little." Wow-that's a comfort...

- At this point, Dr. C. thinks it likely that Ben is basically done with his growth...that wasn't actually a source of amusement, since he'd prefer to be taller, but that's not quite in the gene pool. Lo siento, Benito.

- Ben's gluco-check numbers since April have been in the high 80s to mid 100s; he did have a low 0f 70, that had to be corrected with a bigger snack, but we don't remember what might have caused him to go so low. His highest recent reading was 170, but that was followed by the 70 reading 2 days later, so we didn't change his Lantus dose...still 10 units. [I guess I include this info in case any nurses who had cared for or followed Ben's progress might happent to check this blog.]

- We will also be off for another A1c blood level lab test soon...[what am I saying? But of COURSE, this fun errand will be delegated to Mr. Bill...]--as soon as we can figure out which lab we are supposed to go to according to our insurance plan. Dr. C. did explain to us wht A1c is all about previously, but all I remember now is that it is Important to monitor. It apparently has something to do with his insulin levels "matching." [Which, quite randomly, reminds me of the old Match Game TV show--or as Bill would say, "the T and V"--wasn't the host Gene Rayburn, with the funky glasses?? OK, that was an extreme digression.]

- Since Ben is to hold steady at 10 units of Lantus, Dr. C. says his pancreas is clearly producing some natural insulin and that his basal insulin level is satisfactory. We will just have to see what the future holds as far as whether Ben's insulin correction treatment will hold steady, decrease further, or increase. Dr. C. also cautioned that it could easily be that he will have to resume the shorter-acting Humalog correction at some point. This, we would rather not have to do...but that is out of our hands.

- The much-anticipated, upcoming Great X-Country Team Getaway next month will require a little extra consideration as far as Ben's insulin situation. Because of the level of expected activity, etc., Dr. C. says Ben's needed insulin level will decrease, since more activity burns more sugar, thus decreasing the level of circulating blood glucose...I think that's right.

Anyway, he is supposed to reduce to 8 units of night-time Lantus a night or two before departure in anticipation of this and then stay at that level nightly for the duration of the trip. On the other hand, Ben is also supposed to have his Humalog pen loaded and packed to go with him..."in case." And there is the little detail of somehow making sure that none of the insulin gets too hot...I am not sure if anyone else going on this trip might also be diabetic or have other health concerns...

He'll still have to gluco-check 2 to 3 times a day, and make sure he is well-stocked on wholesome snacks...M&Ms do not qualify...but they would melt in that Kentucky heat, anyway, not to mention the remote chance of wresting them away from any other ravenous or mischievous team members...just sayin.'

And, as I kind of suspected, the glucagon rescue medicine has to ride along too, in case his sugar gets dangerously low and he gets really irritable [no comment, Eeyore] or unconscious. Then, it is urgent to get surgar into his system so his brain can resume normal functioning [no comment...what restraint!]

Fortunately, Coach has agreed to learn how to administer this...which I hope will not be needed.

It goes without saying that we so wish that none of this had to be part of Ben's trip, but that is not the reality before us, and we are so thankful to be only dealing with how things are now, when we are aware it could be so much worse...well, for him to able to go on this trip at all [NOT to mention even being invited to go along, Ben!] is quite a blessing.

(2) Work: After Dr. C. and a quick stop at Subway, Ben was deposited at PerfectFrame, with IRS forms (what are these exemptions, anyway? Do I get to be exempt from something?!) ready to turn in.

SO, Ben,now that you had a full day of work on Wed., do you think you're going to like this gig?

Ben: "Yeah, I think it is OK. Kind of quiet in there. But, it's good."

Plus, it's air-conditioned and you stay pretty clean [unlike cord detasseling!], and there's no food preparation or stuffing fast food bags involved. What's not to like?

Ben: "Uh, yeah, Mom. You seem to know all about it."

Well, don't you have a nice boss?

Ben: [effusive, as always] "Well, he's a nice guy. He's really serious most of the time."

Ah, that's a perfect opportunity to lighten up the atmosphere with some verbal 'riffs' from your spot-on imitation of Mr. Tinkles in the film "Cats and Dogs." [A must-see Holliday favorite...Jeff Goldblum as a kooky research scientist, talking snarky megalomaniac Persian cat--clearly A Classic.]

Ben: "Yeh, well I've already tried that...*smirk* and he just said, 'hey, shut up there!'....OK!!!! not really!!!!!"

Does this bode well for job security???? (Wouldn't want to scare any customers away, would we?)

I'm not placing any bets...

All for now, patient readers, but I remain-

Your Faithful Correspondent

Through the French Door Windows....

Bonjour--

I am not finding this blog-to-blog transition to be as smooth as I had hoped [never having been particularly adept at "clean breaks"]. At the moment, I feel like the sad sack who owes mortgages on two houses at once. But I digress...

The following 'mini-slice of life' presumes that you already know the Cast of Characters from their earlier and repeated appearances on the BenHollidayRunner blog. If this is not the case, be informed that Miss Cee (8-going-on-28) and John (12 and sister-weary) are (here's a shock) - siblings [#4 and #5 of 5].

A Typical Kitchen "Kaper"...

Late afternoon. "Dad" enters kitchen with hands on hips and eyebrows raised in a Silent Status Question. An atmosphere of tension reigns...

Miss Cee: "Johnny's not pulling the chairs out fast enough for me to Swiff under the table!"

John: "Well, my job is harder! She just gets to Swiff! How come I never get to be the one who Swiffs?"

[Ed. note: It is rumored that John has already carved out a new demographic niche for himself, as a 12-year-old male who complains that he does not get to Swiff...]

Miss Cee: [matter-of-fact] "That's because, I'M the Swiffer, Johnny."

Plea from Editor: Does anyone else out there have this problem? No, probably not. Time to resort, once again, to The Oven Timer Solution:

"Cecily, you can Swiff until the timer goes off, then it's John's turn...do not, I repeat, do NOT even consider resetting the timer..."

Gentle Readers, consider this an open invitation to submit your Swiffing needs now...any acreage will be considered...we need a tad more distance between the combatants here...