Thank God for Syrup

There's only one reason to be up at my house at 4:23am. It's because we had to call 911. Otherwise my body would be in deep sleep right about now! Eric had another seizure tonight--his fourth in the last 2 months or so. It's just so hard to manage blood sugar while you are getting peritoneal dialysis because the liquid going into you all night is full of sugar.

Most mornings Eric wakes up with way-too-high blood sugar because the dialysis brought him up so high. But he does the best he can. Tonight before bed he was already a little high so he gave himself a shot of fast acting insulin on top of the usual slow acting insulin. Guess he gave himself too much because the jerks started waking me up at about 3:30. I thought he might have been low a few hours before but he convinced me he wasn't. Now I know I should have just insisted he test!

Through these seizures I've learned about the wonders of pancake syrup. When someone is seizing the official "rule" is to never put anything in their mouth to eat or drink. But I CAN.NOT.WILL.NOT stand by while my husband's brain is being fried by a seizure and do nothing when I can do something! So I put syrup on my finger and then slide it down the inside of his cheek. He doesn't have to chew. He doesn't have to swallow anymore than he would his own saliva (okay, so a bit more). And it saves him. It's messy as all get out, but it works!

Everytime the EMSA folks get here Eric is usually already coming out of the seizure (because of the syrup) but still has very low blood sugar. Everytime they get here I know I will hear a lecture about how he could bite off my finger, or choke on anything I try to give him. I nod my head in understanding like a good little girl, knowing I'll do the exact same thing next time.

But THIS crew--we loved them! We told them about the syrup and he said, "You know, that's the best thing you can do. That's a great trick." He said that in developing countries syrup is what they are telling the families to buy and eat/drink when they get low, because it has so much sugar in so little volume. He said he's also told Diabetics before to just carry syrup packets (from restaurants) in their pockets in case of a low.It was nice to be told by these guys that I was doing the right thing, dispite the "official" rule about giving things to people during seizures.

During this adventures I ran into the living room to get syrup, turning on all the lights. Ran back in to get fruit punch and a peanut butter sandwich. Talking full volume with the EMSA guys. There is a stretcher in our living room. Front door is opening and closing. There are lights coming in from outside. And what are my children doing? Nothing. They are all sleeping in sleeping bags on the living room floor. They didn't wake from any of it. I even TRIED to wake them at one point so they could meet the guys (they are usually asleep upstairs when this happens). They opened their eyes for a second and said no thank you. =-)

I was supposed to be at the AAI Family Gathering at Warm Beach right now. Eric and the kids were supposed to have been spending the weekend alone. There's every liklihood that Eric wouldn't have had a seizure if I weren't around, because he knows when I'm here he can try to battle high blood sugar more agressively. Even if i wan't hear, Taevy would have been in the bed with him. She would have known and she would have called 911, then Grandma G, then our neighbor Carolyn. We've practiced I know she would do well. But still. The what if is a bugger. The what if can eat away at you. Let me just say that as much as I had hoped to be with friends and adoptive families this weekend, Im glad I was home. I want them to be innocent a bit longer. Not quiet yet for them to see their daddy in a seizure.