Training Day

   Finally after months of stalling, a brief crisis of decision and weeks of waiting, it is finally September 2nd - training day.

   The closer we got, the more excited I've been.  Knowing that this day started the final countdown to the next chapter in Jonathan's journey.  In five short days, Jonathan will be a pumper; but for the time being it will be me as we have some hands on time with no risk.

   One of the things I was not looking forward to was inserting the infusion set....... into myself!  I'm a wuss, so I opted for the 6mm quick-sert infusion set despite the fact that Jonathan is sporting a 13mm silhouette.  I managed to load the quick-serter despite the fact that my hands were shaking and I was losing my capacity for rational thought.  Worse yet, aside from my wife and mother, there were three women standing around watching me.  The longer I looked at the the needle in the cannula, the longer the needle seemed to get.  I couldn't delay any longer as I would surely chicken out soon.  I put the insertion device to my well padded tummy and I pressed the two white buttons...

   I'll admit it, I've had mosquito bites that hurt more than that.

   Although there is a lot to it, the pump is remarkably easy to use.  I actually had it all programmed weeks ago and had a good idea of what to do with it, but it was definitely worthwhile to spend the three and a half hours going through it with the pros.  My mother also came along because she doesn't want to give up her nights with the grand-kids.  As well, the site manager for the Latchkey joined us as they are allowed to use Jonathan's pump (they aren't part of school board) and in the near future he will not have the nurse at Latchkey as they can do everything he needs now.

   I will be spending the next week with the school and Latchkey staffs to oversee and assist in the transition into his new class, new schedule, and, God help me, the supplied lunches on his off days.  We did learn yesterday who Jonathan's teacher is and thankfully she was with the school and aware of Jonathan's condition the past year.  I'll be sitting down with her tomorrow to revisit the information I presented at the beginning of the last school year as well as introduce her to Jr's new tech.  Within the next week or so, a proper diabetes educator will go in to have a more detailed session with teacher and staff.

   Tuesday, September 7th, at about 09:30, Jonathan will go live with his pump, loaded with insulin, and begin making MDI a distant memory.