Awesome

Let me explain:

I am English and I do not, I repeat, DO NOT, us the word awesome easily.

A few years ago a Canadian cousin came to stay and when I offered her a cup of tea in the morning said "Oh, that would be awesome". I distinctly remember going downstairs to put the kettle on and thinking "No, love, it'll be just a cup of tea. A good one, I make good tea, but it won't be awesome. The Grand Canyon is awesome, a cup of tea isn't".

So, I trust it is now clear that I don't use the word awesome unless something earns it.

Enter our (yes, it's ours!) Medtronic insulin pump, which Frank has named Lucky Pump.

He has been wearing it full time and live with real insulin and everything (!) since Wednesday morning at the hospital.

It is AWESOME.

So AWESOME.

I have not had to give my child an injection for three days now.

No cheeky Lantus to sting him every morning.

No getting his buttocks out for injections on the sofa or in cafes.

Naive I must be, as I hadn't realised how draining injecting had become.

I feel much lighter of spirit already dealing with this pump malarkey.

It's complicated in some ways but so logical in others and I can already, after just three days, see the details that will make micro-managing blood sugar so much more possible.

We are still in the very early stages of tweaking those basals and testing every two hours, right through the night.

I am tired but boy, oh boy, do I want this to work out.

The night before last Frank said "Mummy, two questions." I look at him and he went on "One: will I still be Diabetes when I'm a grown up?" "Yes, Frank, it's just who you are like having those long eyelashes or being good at running".

He smiles and I well up.

"Two:", he says "is there anything stuck in the bed covers 'cos I need to rescue them!" and he dives into the covers on the bed and goes searching for lost socks to rescue, Lucky Pump just trailing after him and him barely aware of it.

Something in that conversation grounded me.

The first question so seemingly huge from an adult perspective but the answer accepted so readily by a child who really just wants to do some bed clothes diving.

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Frank is awesome.

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