Sunday, February 5, 2012

Head injuries and blood sugars

Maybe it's because I have had the unfortunate experience of seeing my kid at 3 yrs old have to have a CAT Scan of her head from hitting it on the steel frame of her bed because she decided to do some gymnastics at bedtime....maybe it's because as a kid myself, I happened to be standing directly behind my brother while he was swinging a baseball bat and managed to get close enough to actually get hit square in the forehead with the bat...or maybe it's just because I have an aversion to hospital emergency rooms now and would rather not spend 8 hours sitting there waiting to be seen. Who knows....but whatever the reason, anytime Emma (or any other kid really!) gets a head injury....I panic. I go straight from zero to sixty in the blink of an eye. It's not pretty....my stomach drops to my feet...my heart is pounding out of control...and I frantically search her eyes for any sign of serious problems.
Needless to say, Emma hit her head pretty hard today. She was playing inside this Crazy Doodle Glow Dome thing she got for Christmas. It basically looks like a little pup tent...it's black, has no windows, and is made out of the same material as a tent. You go inside it and velcro the door flaps shut behind you and she can "draw" on the inside walls of it with this special light pen that makes all of her designs glow bright yellow. It's really neat actually...aside from the whole claustrophobia factor...and the fact that the inside of it smells like stinky socks that have been inside winter boots all afternoon!
Anyway, Emma has discovered a new fun thing to do in the Glow Dome recently. She will crawl inside and lean her back up against one of the walls and tip it over...all the while giggling and squealing...thinking that it is the most amazing "ride" ever! I have to admit...it is pretty fun...I've gotten in there with her on more than one occasion.
Well, as usual we always make sure that there is sufficient room all around the dome before she goes in to tip it over...keep the cat clear out of the way...move all toys, etc. So, today as she was making her way out of the tent...crawling on her hands on knees...she went straight for the corner of the coffee table and managed to ram her head right on the corner...OUCH! She was screaming...instant tears...face beat red....and I about passed out from panic. I was afraid to see a gush of blood from her head (thankfully and surprisingly none!)...I was afraid that she gave herself a concussion...I was picturing the worst. I ran to her and swooped her up on my arms and held her almost 8 yr old body in my arms just like I did when she was a baby...kissing her face and her head...rocking her...trying to ask her where it hurt and trying to calm her down so she would start to breathe normally again.
Eventually, she was calm...I assessed the situation...no blood...a bit of a bump...a bit of a headache...but that was it thank God.
Diabetes has desensitized me to many of the bumps and bruises and scrapes of everyday childhood life....but I just don't think I will ever be able to get over that vision of my poor helpless terrified baby girl strapped down to the table sliding into a cat scan machine....makes me tear up even thinking about it now....such a helpless feeling...not being able to comfort her then.
I was scared today...I'll admit it...but she is ok now...and we move on about our day. As a side note, I wanted to mention for all of those not living this D-life....stress from accidents or injuries can wreak havoc on blood sugars too....Emma's dropped like crazy after hitting her head. It's truly amazing how much we with functioning pancreases take for granted....with all that can and does affect blood sugars.
Here's to an injury free week please!

2 comments:

  1. Aww, poor girl. I hope everything is ok now!

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  2. Oh, my! I am totally with you on the head injury thing...nothing to dink around with, that's for dang sure!
    Glad she's OK...other than the bump and sill BGs!

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