And this Memorial Day was one of those days where I felt kinda helpless.  The mom and the dad  and the girl have had a rough go at it today.  And there is nothing I can do.  Well, just a few alerts, but nothing else.  And as “super dog”, that bums me out.

The girl and the mom and the dad went to a Memorial Day party at a friends house.  They didn’t take me because there were some other animals there that I’m not used to being around.  Like turtles, and tortoises, and little boys.  And the party was all by a big pool.  So I got to stay home and chill.  Yeah me!

The girl got to swim all afternoon.  And she loves that.  The mom kept checking her CGM to see how her BG was doing, and then periodically had the girl get out of the pool to check BG and reconnect to the pump so she could get some insulin.  You see, swimming can be kinda crazy with type one diabetes.  Lots of things to do and to check and to plan for to make sure it’s a success.

Anyways, so apparently all was going well, until the CGM sensor came out.  Like all the way.  ARGH.  The mom said it was ok, it was almost time to change anyways.   But then, not 10 minutes later, the girl’s entire infusion site came out.  Like, needle and all!  No bueno as the mom says.  So the mom checked BG, realized the girl needed a snack and some insulin, and gave the girl a shot.  Right by the side of the pool.  While being squirted by some of those boy animals.  Not ideal, but sometimes ya gotta do what ya gotta do.

Shortly after this the mom and the dad decided it was time to go home since the girl would need basal insulin asap to make sure she didn’t go into ketoacidosis.   AKA, the girl’s body starting to eat itself.  Yeah, sounds bad.  We don’t want that to happen.

So the mom and the dad and the girl arrived home.  I was so happy to see them.  Since it was time to eat and all.  Whatever.  I was happy to see them too because I missed them.  And the girl’s BG actually smelled like it was in good shape.  After hearing the story of the infusion site coming out I was expecting to have to be on my game even more than usual.

The girl got a shower, and the mom got the new infusion site ready and the new CGM sensor ready.  The infusion site went in like usual.  I don’t think the girl even feels that anymore.  Geez, I would feel it.  And yelp.  But the girl is tough!

She wasn’t tough enough to handle what happened next though.  The mom and the dad went to put the new CGM sensor in and even talked through it together how it went in.  The mom was the one putting it in, and she picked a bad spot apparently.  Because the girl started screaming.  The mom started panicking.  And then the blood.  Yikes.  Lots of blood.  The mom accidentally hit a capillary.  And the thing bled like crazy.  So the sensor had to be taken out.  The girl was screaming.  The mom was feeling guilty.  And I was just there.  Helpless.  I couldn’t do anything.  Other than give the girl snuggles.  Sigh.

It’s always traumatic when something like this happens.  The mom and the dad always worry about the girl not wanting to participate in her diabetes management.  I think that’s a pretty valid fear.  So while the girl was mad at the mom (even though there was nothing she could have done), the dad was busy making sure the girl would be up for another CGM sensor soon.  Maybe not today, but tomorrow.  And hopefully that now will go in better than this last one.  And will continue to help in the management of the girl’s T1D.  It takes a team.  CGM included.

And since the CGM is MIA, I have to be even more on my game.  And that’s just what I did in the evening.  I could tell that the girl was dropping too fast, so I pawed the neighbor who was over at our house.  Sure enough, the girl was 100.  The mom let her eat a strawberry without getting additional insulin.  I pawed again, 5 minutes later.  Sure enough, she had dropped more, even with the strawberry.  So, the girl got another strawberry.  This went on like 5 times.  All the while, I’m keeping her in range.  She got to eat a lot of strawberries before dinner.  And I got CHEESE, and cheerios as a reward for being so diligent in my alerting.

So, I guess I shouldn’t be too hard on myself for not being able to help more.  After all, I don’t have any thumbs.  If I did try to put in the girl’s infusion site, or CGM sensor, the girl might appreciate the mom’s skills more.   So I’ll stick to smelling those lows and highs, and leave the other stuff to the mom and the dad.  And offer an encouraging snuggle every now and then just to let them know they aren’t alone.