Hello everyone! 

I’m at last in front of an actual computer to write this (get ready for nice colours). The sun continues to shine — and we had a fabulous break. Yay!

Here’s what went well:

1) LOTS of good numbers, even with at least three days of fairly constant walking/hiking/splashing in cold lakes. (Thank you, not for the first time, the team that made temp basals. A godsend. For half of one day, we put E on a 0% temp basal, eg NO insulin dripping in. And for one night, we put him on 50%, because of exercise. All complete guesses. BUT THEY WORKED!)

2) One, count it, ONE hypo in a week. Out of routine, LOTS of cake, lots of guessing carb. 

3) Only one day of inexplicable highs: all day in double figures. Oh well. We just pumped the insulin in, put him on a 120% temp basal, and by midnight he was down again. Growth?

4) Both of my children seemed to grow daily while away. Like plants in the spring with sunshine and showers. I kept thinking they were standing on tip-toe. It was incredibly peculiar. E is now clearly taller than me. His eyes are at my forehead. When he throws his arm around me, I’m like his little sister. Eek.

***

The best day for me was our first real day of walking. We had a close friend staying, and chose Cat Bells to show her and climb with her. We’ve done it twice before, before diagnosis. It was a gloriously sunny day. The way was crowded, but everyone was in good spirits. One of the joys of Cat Bells is the height gained so quickly, and within minutes we were treated to breathtaking views of Derwent Water, Bassenthwaite etc. As we climbed, the view just opened out more and more, til at the top of course it was 360 degrees of mountains and lakes. The weather was perfect: sunshine, not too hot, no wind (even on the tops!). 

It was the longest walk we’d tried since diagnosis. The only hitch had been starting high — a forgotten honey on the toast dose! — but with insulin in to correct, and with the hard slog, E dropped from 17 mmols to 6 mmols in 20 minutes! We then put him on a 0% temp basal for the whole walk, and gradually raised it through the evening. No hypos. No highs. More cake. 

We all got a little sun, and look about ten times healthier than we have in months I feel.

I also feel that we can do anything now!

I know we can’t. Without lots of planning and thought. And without lots of intervening low times. But the relief of being able to do this without panic, without short term or long term danger is intense. 

The relief of being able to enjoy something, really revel in it, without the tight knot of worry or fear… is an amazing feeling.

***

Okay amongst the small things that didn’t go well is a distinct lack of photographs taken by me! Argh! Obviously delirious with joy at our successes…However, in my search for Cat Bells I have discovered a fabulous site: Striding Edge. Absolutely brilliant walks and photos of one of our favourite places in the world (so far!). Nearly 25 years later and we have not tired of it.

Here’s one of the site’s photos of the walk to Cat Bells. It shows a rather busy, sunny time, which is just what we had. A bit of a party atmosphere, actually! Enjoy.