Mark got a new insulin pump a few months ago. It's the latest and greatest model, and it communicates directly with Mark's blood glucose meter via radio waves (so cool!!).
I love that. I love the idea of a whole system, and the different components all working together. Mark checks his blood sugar with a new meter, which then tells the pump how much insulin to give Mark. Another cool thing is that it works remotely, so when Mark's sleeping, I can just point the meter in his general direction to deliver the insulin. Totally beats rooting around in the dark, looking for his pump.
However...the one thing the new meter doesn't have is a light. I didn't even know meters came without lights until I got this one. And I didn't realize how important a light was until I didn't have one.
Turns out it's dark when I check Mark's blood sugar at night, really dark. Like, pitch black dark. So I can poke Mark's fingers all I want to, but I can't see the resulting drop of blood, or even the meter itself, let alone the tiny little strip it holds, where I'm supposed to guide the blood.
I figured the easiest way to solve this was to just use a flashlight. Which I promptly pointed directly into Mark's face, scaring him awake with a jolt. I apologized profusely, then tried wrangling the light so I could hold Mark's finger with my left hand, poke it with my right hand, then guide the blood droplet into the strip, also with my right hand. Which left no hand to hold the flashlight.
But I'm no quitter, so I changed up the light placement. I tried holding it in my armpit, but it fell out. I tried putting it on top of Mark's body, but the flashlight rolled away in the dark, even smacking Mark in the face once (ouch). I used the hallway and bathroom lights, but they didn't give off enough direct light. Neither did Mark's night light or lamp--they had enough power to wake Mark up, but not enough to see the meter. I tried the flashlight one more time, and once again, I jolted Mark awake.
I needed a better solution before I gave Mark sleeping (and waking) issues.
And then Mark solved the problem for me. He brought this nifty little gadget home from camp.
Mark said most kids used it as a hands-free flashlight around camp at night. I figured I could use it in a similar manner--when I test Mark's blood sugar at night.
I should've told Mark that's how I'd use it. Instead, I waited till dark, shoved it on to my head, and approached Mark, super proud of my troubleshooting skills.
Right up until I aimed the light directly into Mark's face. And woke him with a start.
Even worse, he couldn't figure out how or where the light was attached. He freaked out, thinking a dentist or surgeon (or maybe a train) was coming in close to him.
"Ack!" he shouted, throwing his arms in front of his face. He blinked wildly, then peeked through his arms and asked, "Mom? Is that you? What are you doing?"
I nodded, said "It's me," and watched the small circle of light that followed my head motions.
"Isn't this great?" I gushed. "Now my hands are free to test you!"
I bent my head down to demonstrate. It would've been a great demo, if Mark hadn't yanked his bleeding hand back to shield his eyes again from the bright light.
"Dang it!" I said, knowing I'd lost that blood sample. "Now I've got to poke another finger!"
I've improved over the past couple months. I manage to keep the light out of Mark's eyes now, and I haven't scared him awake in a while. But I sure do miss that other meter with its handy little light.
But the headlamp has another benefit, too. The other night, Mark woke up low in the middle of the night. Half-asleep, I shuffled into the kitchen to get him a cup of sugary milk. It wasn't until I put the milk away that I realized I hadn't turned any lights on in the kitchen--I was simply following the headlamp light. And I realized that to anyone driving past right then, I might've looked like burglar.
Mark still laughs at me, and my cousin Kathleen can't believe I willingly don the ridiculous head light. But considering the late hour and dark room (and the fact no one really sees me wearing it), it's worked out pretty well.
Just don't ask Mark. He's still a little jumpy at night, so he might disagree.
I love that. I love the idea of a whole system, and the different components all working together. Mark checks his blood sugar with a new meter, which then tells the pump how much insulin to give Mark. Another cool thing is that it works remotely, so when Mark's sleeping, I can just point the meter in his general direction to deliver the insulin. Totally beats rooting around in the dark, looking for his pump.
However...the one thing the new meter doesn't have is a light. I didn't even know meters came without lights until I got this one. And I didn't realize how important a light was until I didn't have one.
Turns out it's dark when I check Mark's blood sugar at night, really dark. Like, pitch black dark. So I can poke Mark's fingers all I want to, but I can't see the resulting drop of blood, or even the meter itself, let alone the tiny little strip it holds, where I'm supposed to guide the blood.
I figured the easiest way to solve this was to just use a flashlight. Which I promptly pointed directly into Mark's face, scaring him awake with a jolt. I apologized profusely, then tried wrangling the light so I could hold Mark's finger with my left hand, poke it with my right hand, then guide the blood droplet into the strip, also with my right hand. Which left no hand to hold the flashlight.
But I'm no quitter, so I changed up the light placement. I tried holding it in my armpit, but it fell out. I tried putting it on top of Mark's body, but the flashlight rolled away in the dark, even smacking Mark in the face once (ouch). I used the hallway and bathroom lights, but they didn't give off enough direct light. Neither did Mark's night light or lamp--they had enough power to wake Mark up, but not enough to see the meter. I tried the flashlight one more time, and once again, I jolted Mark awake.
I needed a better solution before I gave Mark sleeping (and waking) issues.
And then Mark solved the problem for me. He brought this nifty little gadget home from camp.
Mark said most kids used it as a hands-free flashlight around camp at night. I figured I could use it in a similar manner--when I test Mark's blood sugar at night.
I should've told Mark that's how I'd use it. Instead, I waited till dark, shoved it on to my head, and approached Mark, super proud of my troubleshooting skills.
Right up until I aimed the light directly into Mark's face. And woke him with a start.
Even worse, he couldn't figure out how or where the light was attached. He freaked out, thinking a dentist or surgeon (or maybe a train) was coming in close to him.
"Ack!" he shouted, throwing his arms in front of his face. He blinked wildly, then peeked through his arms and asked, "Mom? Is that you? What are you doing?"
I nodded, said "It's me," and watched the small circle of light that followed my head motions.
"Isn't this great?" I gushed. "Now my hands are free to test you!"
I bent my head down to demonstrate. It would've been a great demo, if Mark hadn't yanked his bleeding hand back to shield his eyes again from the bright light.
"Dang it!" I said, knowing I'd lost that blood sample. "Now I've got to poke another finger!"
I've improved over the past couple months. I manage to keep the light out of Mark's eyes now, and I haven't scared him awake in a while. But I sure do miss that other meter with its handy little light.
But the headlamp has another benefit, too. The other night, Mark woke up low in the middle of the night. Half-asleep, I shuffled into the kitchen to get him a cup of sugary milk. It wasn't until I put the milk away that I realized I hadn't turned any lights on in the kitchen--I was simply following the headlamp light. And I realized that to anyone driving past right then, I might've looked like burglar.
Mark still laughs at me, and my cousin Kathleen can't believe I willingly don the ridiculous head light. But considering the late hour and dark room (and the fact no one really sees me wearing it), it's worked out pretty well.
Just don't ask Mark. He's still a little jumpy at night, so he might disagree.
2 comments:
would you belive we have several of these? they are great for power outages, which we have often in the winter, what with pesky snow laden trees falling on power lines. they DO make smaller, LED versions that might be a bit more ....subtle. =)
Subtly...not a word in my vocabulary, RuthAnn! ;-) But great suggestion, I will look for something a little smaller, so I don't blind Mark or look like a miner anymore.
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