At 3:00 AM, my sister is awakened by bells ringing. Soft ringing bells. So she checks her alarm and it is not going off, nor is it set. They continue. She gets out of bed and walks into the kitchen, no clue where the soft bells are. Checks the television, the cell phone, the answering machine, and then decides to wake Chris (upstairs) to see if he is maybe playing a game on the phone or watching a movie. So she calls. And calls. And calls. At 3 AM she hesitated to call Mark and tried to climb the stairs herself, all the while, terrified of what she would find.
Many diabetics get pretty nasty and almost violent when they are in this semi conscious state, their brain and body is not working properly without the glucose. When Mark went again two days ago, it was the second time he was catatonic, this time his muscles were rigid, fingers curled, mouth clenched. Mark had to lift him and get him upright to administer the gel and it took quite a while for him to awaken. He was headed for that state again, the third time in 8 days, when Carole reached him. He is very strong and she was concerned for her safety but finally got him to slowly drink a quart of orange juice. If she had not awakened him, he would never have survived several hours till morning. The pump is obviously infusing too much.
I am going with him Thursday to meet with the pump people, the girl that makes adjustments to his insulin pump, and the (hopefully) doctor. This is so ridiculous. It is either malfunctioning or they have an inept aide making decisions she should not be in charge of. I will be nice. I will be open to explanations. And if they aren't accommodating, I will be like a Full Metal Meno in their gut.
My question is....... where are those bells and who was ringing them?
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18 comments:
Hi Marly: I hope Chris is doing better, the bells were the Mothers instinct, my Mother has heard them herself when we were young, can you please let Carole know I will pray for Chris and hope all comes out well.
I am so happy you are going with, I am like you listen first then I turn on the mad machine.
Please keep us posted.
Merry Christmas
Catherine
So sorry about all this. Something is wrong with that pump. Tell them to fix it or change it. He may need a different acting insulin. You are right, He needs to be totally reevaluated. Best of luck.
Wow! that is so interesting. Anyway, I will keep your family in my prayers and hope they can get things fixed for poor Chris. What a nightmare. Thank goodness for the bells!!!!!
I don't blame you for going along with him to see the pump people. Sometimes another set of ears helps. How scary. Keeping you all in my thoughts and prayers. As for the bells, I don't know but that gave me the chills. Someone or something needed your sister up:)
The machine doesn't have bells? Weird. I hope it gets worked out - exhausting for everyone!
So scary! I hope you can help get the life threatening problem resolved.
Hugs :)
Lauren
Diabetic comas are so scary. I hope everything works out okay. My daughter lives alone with allergies and I live in fear that she may have a reaction and not be able to get to her epi-pin.
So sorry to hear this - Hoping that everything can and will be straightened out for Chris. Sending prayers for all.
Thank God Carole wook up and got up the stairs.
Hope it will be allright by thurstday.
Greetings Truus from Holland
Oh my God, the hairs on my arms have just stood straight up. I thought you were going to tell us what the bells were, but no. I don't believe in God or Angels or anything like that, so if it wasn't the machine, then what????
Thinking of you, Carole, Mark and Chris. You will all be in my prayers.
Having a close family is a true blessing. You have been and are still there for Carole and her son.
I hope the pump situation will be corrected and quickly. A patient, such as Chris, is blessed to have someone to go with him to hear what the doctors/nurses have to say.
Those bells, where ever they came from, were a blessing. There is a God and guardian angels.
Prayers,
Charlotte in Va.
How scary. I am from a family of diabetics,they have never gotten to the same point as Chris thank God. Hope everything gets works out soon.
Wow, I am glad you are going with Chris to see about this pump issue! Sometimes it takes someone who refuses to not get straight answers to get something changed or done. These past few incidents could have taken Chris's life and it seems crazy that nothing better can be done to help keep his glucose more stable. I do hope and pray that you can help move this situation to something better. And I know you won't worry about pushing and insisting on better care for Chris!
This is just so very, very wrong. I am so very glad you are going to the appointment. I am just like you nice...and reasonable...to a point! Then it is all assertive aggression.
The bells were from Chris' guardian angel.
I would call that a 'God wink' because it was nothing 'earthly' causing the ringing. Glad that you are going to the appointment. Hugs!
Oh my! I sure hope you get that regulated! I have seen this happen and it's so damn scary and your sister should not have to go through this either. I believe the bells are someone's guardian angel working over time. Thank God she hears them. Big cyber hugs to you all!
I was diagnosed with Type I diabetes at age 4, and stories like this are the reason why I've never really pursued getting an insulin pump. (Well, that and the fact that the one time I DID pursue it, my insurance company refused to pay, saying my control was "too good" to justify changing my treatment regimen. Grrr.) Yes, I've had nasty highs and scary lows over the years - it just comes with the territory - but at least the "why" was always relatively easy to figure out and not the result of weird mechanical malfunctions.
And to the commenter who said their diabetes isn't "as bad" as Chris', please remember that Type I and Type II diabetes are 2 very different beasts. Pretty much from the moment one is diagnosed with Type I diabetes, injected insulin becomes a way of life. The way I see it, there aren't really degrees of badness there. (I don't mean to sound snarky, I do a lot of gentle education about the condition I have.....36 years of experience and all....) Also, in terms of stability, when your glucose levels are completely dependent on injected insulin/what you eat/what activity you get, it is a constant balancing act. And the same doses/meals/activities can have totally different results every time, which is the real frustration.
All that to say I'm glad Chris is okay. :)
I'm so thankful that Chris is okay, Marly. I have to say I got chills reading about the bells ringing. I do believe in guardian angels as I think my husband had one on his shoulder that night he fell down the stairs and broke his neck last year... I honestly have no other explanation as to why his injuries weren't more significant.
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