Samantha had her IV’s removed by late morning today. Her blood sugar and pH levels had stabilized. She was still coughing and had a bit of a fever still but otherwise was much improved. I setup her insulin pump and was back in control of her medication which honestly was reassuring. I guess after doing it for a year, it actually isn’t pleasurable to have that burdened removed. It is just something we do now.

In fact, just after I setup her pump, I gave her half a unit to cover the carbs she had recently eaten with breakfast. About an hour after that, the nurse came in with half a unit in a syringe. She was there and we discussed the insulin when I delivered it and she wasn’t convinced that we should give her more. But, the doctors issued the order and she couldn’t just ignore it. With her support, we talked to the doctors. I showed them the insulin history on our device and that she already had the insulin some time ago. After a quick demonstration of our pump which they hadn’t seen (we were in the ICU so these were not endocrinologists who would necessarily see all the latest tech), everyone agreed that the extra insulin was not appropriate.

So, I had successfully wrestled medicating Samantha from the hospital and from then, I did the blood glucose tests and delivered the insulin. I just had to report to the nurse so the chart was updated.

The next question was when would we be headed home. The consensus was either today or possibly tomorrow. The big concern was that Samantha just did not look too alert or active. My argument was that they interrupted her sleep every hour last night to draw blood for a pH test. Combined with the low grade fever and cough, she was just exhausted. I think everyone agreed and that the best thing for Samantha was to be back at home in comfortable surroundings. By 4:30, we were pulling into our driveway.

I called Randi on the way and asked if we could stop by and pick up Matthew. But, he wanted to stay for dinner and watch a movie with them. She offered to drop him off at 7:00 and he was eager to take her up on that offer. Although Samantha really wanted to see her brother again, I decided to let Matthew stay a bit longer. That worked out well. Samantha really was tired. She wanted to sit on my lap for a little while and watch TV. I tried to offer her some food and she took little bits here and there but not too much. By 6:00, she was asleep in my arms and I took her to her bed.

She has slept very soundly since then. I have tested her blood glucose a couple of times and unlike in the hospital where she would start and cry out, she slept right through it as she used to. Hopefully she will sleep soundly all night and be her usual self tomorrow.

Thanks again everyone for your support. Cynthia is back tomorrow and I may have some more news about house hunting in Ottawa then.

Samantha’s blood sugar and acid level are both back to normal. The doctors want to see if she can keep food down so we are going to try some clear fluids soon. Rather than move her out of ICU they hope to release her this afternoon if all goes well.

As I was writing this update the Popsicle she wanted arrived and she is sitting up in her bed enjoying it while watching some tv. So far so good.

So much is going on right now it is hard to know where to begin. There are two big pieces of news to tell. First, we are planning on moving back to Ottawa this summer. We may have found the house for us and Cynthia is travelling there right now to see. At the same time Samantha was admitted to the hospital today.

Early this week, Samantha had a fever and a bit of a cough. But the fever was not too high and she seemed ok. At the same time, a house which looks great for us was listed in Ottawa. Our plan was to go to Ottawa in March to look for a house. Work is very busy this month and I just couldn’t afford the time off. The house we were looking at had a pretty good price and it looked like it would move quickly. So, we decided to book a flight for Cynthia to Ottawa on Friday, returning Sunday.

Last night though, Samantha could now keep her food down. For a diabetic this is very serious because her blood sugar could drop very quickly. We checked her frequently and found he sugar level high. We gave her less insulin than we would normally because if she got low, it would be difficult to increase her sugar. Then, she couldn’t keep water down.

I called our endo and she recommended we bring her to the hospital. So, Matthew and I took Samantha to the hospital while Cynthia headed for Ottawa. I figured they would just rehydrated her and do something to settle her stomach. But, it looks like she is somewhat acidotic probably from the days of increased temperature. The vomitting was likely a side affect of the acidosis. That means she needs sugar an insulin to bring her pH back into balance.

They have a couple of IVs in her left arm, delivering glucose and insulin. She is improving in her stats but she is still very quiet except when she cries to go home or for her brother.

Which is another story. Matthew is now allowed in this hospital. They don’t allow children who are not patients. With Cynthia away, I was a bit stuck. Thankfully, Jessica, a good friend of ours, offered to host Matthew tonight. And tommorrow, Randi and her family will have him if Samantha is still here. Thanks to both of you for your support.

Cynthia has a full day tomorrow looking at her favourite house and a couple of others. Unless she sees something terribly wrong we will likely make a conditional offer on the house on Sunday. I will update the webpage as often as I can about Samantha and also about the house news. I may be able to post pictures of Samantha here using my phone so perhaps I will have some up soon.

Again thanks so much to Jessica and Randi and their families.