8.4

Chase had his third A1C appointment today. An A1C is a blood test (also known as glycated hemoglobin or HbA1c) that provides an estimate of average blood sugars over the past 3 months. His score was 8.4, which means his blood sugars have averaged about 220 mg/dl since May. It may sound high, but it is EXACTLY where they want him to be. Wow! His last A1C was 7.4 which meant that he was having too many episodes of low blood sugars. Low blood sugars affect a developing child's brain so they want him to be slightly higher than normal until he is about 7 years old. Then they will aim for tighter control and an A1C of 6 or 7.

We've also started the process for getting him on an insulin pump!!! An insulin pump will give him continuous doses of insulin and will eliminate the need for needles and daily shots. We don't know how it will go since he is still an active 2 year old, but it is worth a try (Gary and I have made a conscious effort to no longer say, "Let's give it a shot" since it gets Chase nervous!). I'm very excited about this recent development since insulin pumps with continuous blood sugar monitoring are just hitting the market. It will make being a kid (and a parent) just that much easier.

We meet every three months with Chase's doctor, diabetes education coordinator, and dietitian. They praise us every time for the effort that we are making to control his diabetes. And every time they do that I say, "Wouldn't every parent?". And, sadly, their answer is no. It is hard to imagine.

In other news, our day care provider is on a much deserved vacation this week, so Chase has had the pleasure of having Grandma Diane as his live-in nanny. We picked her up on Sunday and also brought back "Hand-me-down Heaven" from my sister's kids. Chase is now the proud owner of his own pick-up which he has named "Monster". Luckily, it runs out of juice and needs to be parked so it can be recharged. Boppa is coming Thursday night to pick Grandma up. We are really going to miss her, but we're looking forward to seeing Boppa and making him chase after Chase in the pick-up. I'm sure Chase would drive Boppa to Menards in his new truck if we let him.

Thanks Brianna and Ben. For a "used vehicle", this truck runs and looks like new!