My Propensity For Interrogations

Brendon rarely talks about how diabetes affects him. But, when he does, he is in for a world of quesions from me. I am fascinated by the diabetic psyche and diabetes' immediate affects on the body.

So, last night when Brendon tested himself after his nightly after-dinner horsing around with his brother and sister, and came up as a 36, and said, "I don't feel like a 36, I feel like a 64", I began my interrogation.

I thought to myself, why does he feel like a 64...nevermind the random number he picked out of the air...or maybe it's not so random for him...maybe he knows exactly what numbers affect him in their myriad of ways.

"What does a 64 feel like?"

"I get sort of a stomach ache."

"What does the stomach ache feel like? Like a sharp pain?"

"No."

He continues slurping his juice down.

"Do you feel sick to your stomach?"

"Yes."

More slurping.

"Is it like you're nauseous?"

One more slurp.

"Yes."

"Ahh, I see."

I next observe him opening up a cheese stick wrapper and notice he can't quite grip the plastic to peel it apart. I deteremine it must be because he's low and his brain isn't working properly, because I'm a mom and moms love to overdramatize situations....at least, this mom does.

"Do you need help with that?"

"No, I'm fine."

His hands look steady and he finally peels the plastic apart and shoves the cheese into his mouth because he's a boy and boys have a need to shove an enormous amount of food into their mouths in one bite.

"Do you feel shaky?"

"No."

"You feel fine?"

"Yes."

I look at him, and he seems perfectly fine.

But, he's a 36.

And I wonder if when he's older, will that 36 have a more outwardly profound effect on him.

And I'm really really glad a 36 for him right now is quite uneventful.

And even that fascinates me.

How the human body works and what it can handle.

When he is with other people, without mom and dad around, we can't even give them a list of symptoms to watch for because he rarely shows symptoms of lows. We tell them to either test after an hour of running around, or to watch for his temper or frustration, because those are really the only signs of him running low.

Diabetes is a tricky, slippery fellow, so the more I know, the more secure I feel that diabetes won't get the best of Brendon...or me.