Well, we've been home for 10 days now and counting. I'm thankful hubby and I are both teachers so we are currently working from home during the week and are able to be home with our kids and not having to worry too much about the financial implications so many others are facing. We have our home, plenty of items in the pantry, and an exorbitant amount of home entertainment.
So what are we doing?
N and M have been keeping busy on their computers; mostly keeping to their rooms. Since they were already connected with their friends digitally the only difference for them this week was that they didn't go to school. They are staying pretty entertained with online gaming and social media. Since I work in the school district where the kids go to school, I knew where we weren't in the process of figuring out how to provide for kids with school campuses closed. It made it easy to decide that we'd give ourselves this first week as spring break. I didn't put a schedule into place or stress about the "missed" educational opportunity. We just took the week as a break with the kids taking the lead on how to entertain themselves. I figure as they satiate themselves on their leisure activities we can start adding in academics and make a more formal schedule. We have implemented a new physical education program though - we got a virtual reality gaming headset and we each spend at least 30 minutes on it playing games that require physical exertion. The sweatiest game is the one where you use your swords to bash these blocks in time to music; love it!
During the week I participated in my first ever Zoom meeting with the special education staff. This was a great practice run for me since this is likely how I'll be doing my IEP and evaluation meetings for the next few weeks. We had a good discussion about how best to support our families of students with complex special needs during the school closure. Not sure what the ultimate resolution is going to be but we were able to put together some resources and start reaching out to community programs that may help. I had originally thought we might try to work directly with our students outside or in smaller groups on campus but after watching the news for the past week I guess that was just naive thinking.
Hubby & I decided to go ahead and start on the "summer project list" that we had going. I'm staining the kitchen cabinets from an orange 80s oak to a darker mahogany. I love the way it is turning out but it is a LOT of work. Hubby spent time at his rental property as his renters moved out at the end of the month. He did some minor fixes in the house, cleaned up the yard, and installed a new fence.
Today Hubby is in our backyard taking down one side of our dilapidated fencing and putting in new. The recent windstorm was pushing our fence over so it's good we have time to get it back in shape so our beagle can have freedom in the yard. I was up a lot over the past three nights so I took it easy today; just installed some new shelves in the kitchen for cookbooks and knick-knacks. I'll be back to staining cabinets tomorrow.
So what does staying home/distancing mean for our son with T1D...not too much. I'm feeling really grateful that he got his dexcom G6 supplies right before this all started. We've had his first sensor on for about 8 days now and we're finding it to be a blessing in a cursed fashion (those nighttime alarms are a beast). Since he isn't attending school this week we weren't sure how his body would respond. He consumes more carbs on the weekends usually than during the week so I figured he'd be running higher on the blood sugars but he has been more active at home than he is at school so he's actually been running on the low side.
The past three nights the dex alarm has gone off warning of low blood sugar and downward trends. Of course this falls on a weekend when I don't usually hear back from our team when I send in numbers and I'm not confident in making too many adjustments myself. I re-read the chapter in my pink panther book on thinking scales and dosing though and tonight we're going to lower his long-acting insulin. Hopefully that allows us to get some sleep. Last night that alarm went off 3 times and he ended up having 45 carbs with no cover to make it through the night in a safe range. WOW! Good thing we have the CGM or I would be awake all night checking on him. We'll send in numbers Monday morning and will likely hear back on what to do within a few hours. I'm exhausted though from being awake although I'm thankful we have the dexcom so I can sleep knowing that if he goes low it will alarm and wake me up...which it did...over and over again. I'm blaming the new VR gaming system. He has been playing those active games for about an hour in the morning and an hour in the evening after dinner.
Overall our first week on distancing and staying home has gone well. We're in the middle of several projects to keep us busy. The kids are happy enough and not too bored yet. Time will tell but I'm sure eventually we will begin to feel a little stir crazy. I don't have a high social need so this is pretty nice for me but Hubby likes to spend time out socializing and he will likely get tired of being couped up at home. M is more like me, he likes to be at home with his things and he can spend as much time as he wants visiting with his friends online. N likes to see his friends and do active things so this may end up being harder for him. Time will tell.
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