Blood draws and pills and glucose... OH MY!!!!

First.... BLOOD DRAWS. Remember that CDH research we were contacted about? (THIS POST) Well, we did it!!! The week before Tyler's 9th birthday, we took our kit over to Uncle Fred and had him draw our blood. Tyler was about 2 last time we did it, so he didn't really remember what a blood draw was all about. I explained all of it to him and was honest when I told him it would hurt, like a pinch and only for a second.

So, I went first because I knew Randy had a little anxiety about the needle (I warned him the day before that if he passed out I would kill him. We didn't need to scare Tyler. Nice wife, huh?). Uncle Fred was very gentle. Didn't feel hardly a thing. As I was getting my draw done, Randy was FREAKING OUT!!!! Pacing back and forth, sweating, scratching his arms!!!! IT WAS HILARIOUS!!!! If I would have known how entertaining it was going to be, I would have taken the video camera!!! AND THAT WAS JUST WATCHING ME!!!!! So, then it was Randy's turn. He is one of the toughest men I know. This man can HANDLE pain. But when that needle came out, he turned to jell-o!!!! As luck would have it, the vein on his left arm blew and he had to get poked a second time!!! Thank goodness Uncle Fred is a miracle worker and got it on the second try. I really did feel bad for Randy. It's no fun to get poked twice.

Next was Tyler!!! Uncle Fred had a specialist come in so it would go as smooth as possible. She took one look and liked Tyler's veins. They strapped him up and did the draw as smooth as possible!!! NO PROBLEM!!! He said, "you were right, mom. Just a little pinch!!!" Like it was a normal thing for him. I was SO proud of him!!! It's not easy to be tough sometimes, but he always ends up surprising us!!! As a reward/bribe, our kids know if they don't hit or kick the nurses when getting shots, they get a Happy Meal!!! He deserved that one!!!! What a stud!!! We might just have to buy daddy a Happy Meal too for being such a big boy!!!

It feels good to have sent that off to the doctors waiting up North to analyze it and try to improve the lives of anyone effected by CDH!!!



Next.... PILLS. Remember in THIS POST that for the first time in 4 years, Tyler's reflux is bad enough to have to go back on meds? Well, the Prevacid was wayyyy too expensive, so we asked about something different and it comes in pill form. My Aunt Iva let me in on a little secret, teach him to swallow pills by practicing swallowing Tic Tacs!!! We went to the store and he picked out his favorite, Wild Cherry Tic Tacs.


Wondering how this was going to go, I just told him how I swallow pills, opened the package, full glass of water and said, "go for it!!!". His first 2 attempts failed, but the 3rd time, he scored a home run!!!! He was shocked that he did it!!!! So, he did another and YEP, that one went down too!!!! So later that night when it was time for bed, it was time for the real thing. He wanted to test it again with a Tic Tac before the real medicine. The Tic Tac and the pill both went down without a hitch!!! We are so proud of him. Swallowing pills is such a big deal and quite the confidence booster when you can do it!!! He has done it every night without a problem at all!!!! YEA TYLER!!!!

Now we're down to GLUCOSE. Last week, I failed my GLUCOSE TEST miserably. Which means I had to go back in, fasting, for the 3 hour test. Thursday was the day.

Fasting test came out at 100 (supposed to be 65-110)
Drink the sugar drink and wait an hour
1st hour test came out at 212 (supposed to be under 140)
2nd hour test came out at 189 (supposed to be under 120)
3rd hour test came out at 168 (supposed to be under 110)

Not good numbers. They are all of them almost double what they should be. The thing that makes me the most mad, I don't study for tests, EVER. I just roll with it and hope I'm enough prepared. This test, I was really careful what I ate the last 3 days and even only drake one can of Coke each day!!! That's a big deal!!!! I did all that preparation and NOTHING!!!!!

I know it's not as bad as some, but it's still too high and must be watched closely and treated. There are a lot of complications associated with Gestational Diabetes, but the good thing is that is usually goes away as soon as you deliver!!! So, 6 1/2 weeks? I can do this. Especially with this man by my side, cheering me on!!!

There have been weird things happening in our lives lately. I like to see how easy we can handle it without a hiccup!!! I feel like with Randy next to me, I can handle anything. He makes me feels strong enough to handle any problems that comes our way!!!

I know this all could be worse, but right now, it is a big deal to us. Nothing we can't rock out, but still a challenge that we weren't expecting. I am just hoping that I can have the control I need to eat the diet I should and that Tyler's meds will work and he wont throw up anymore and that the CDH research comes back with some amazing results!!!

I know this was a long post, but thanks for reading and leave a comment if you would like to!!!! Have a fun weekend!!!