Adventures in Swimming

We are members of a local beach club. Yesterday was our first time going there this year. I was a little nervous in the beginning. This was Riley's first time going swimming since his diagnosis.

On the way there, Michael and I were discussing what we should do. Should we leave the pump on? Should we take it off and disconnect and keep a check on his sugar and reconnect to bolus him occasionally? I didn't really like the second idea. Michael said he liked the idea of disconnecting him so the pump wouldn't bother him. Riley piped up. "I don't want to take my pump off. I want to keep it on." Well, that settled it then.

So, that's what we did. He kept it on. Thank God for waterproof pumps. And, he did fine. Upon arrival at the beach he was 156. He got a snack (because it was time for one) and off he went into the water.

A little while after getting into the water, I pulled out his pump and looked at it. Still working...nice. At supper time, he was 202 (his highest sugar of the day, I might add). He didn't go back in the water after that, but was still running around quite a bit. A little while later when Holden went to get ice cream Riley got some too. At the time, he was 165. Two hours later he was 123. Have I mentioned how much I love the pump?

I told Michael at one point yesterday that we did all that debating about leaving the pump on or taking it off. But, if Riley was still on Lantus, we'd be trying to decide when to feed him to keep his sugars from dropping. I don't know about you, but we've never had good luck with that. We always shoot his sugars up too high. I am so thankful that we have the pump and can stop his basal all together or just decrease it a bit.

He ran a little low during the night, but that was quickly remedied with a few fruit snacks. Some people drop low during exercise and some after. Riley tends to start dropping a few hours after any extra activity. We've now learned that if Riley has a particularly active day, we need to drop his nighttime basal a bit. The next time he goes swimming that is what we'll do and see how it works. It's just trial and error like everything else with diabetes.

So, that's how our first swim of the year went. We had a really great time and I look forward to going back soon.

And, Happy Memorial Day to you all! Let's not forget the men and women who gave the ultimate sacrifice so that we and others could be free.