We Aren't in Kansas Anymore

Just in case you needed proof that the D life is oh-so-different from life before...

Take a look at this...

Here is my medicine cabinet.

Typical stuff. Tylenol. Cough Medicine. Motrin. LOTS of sinus meds. Deodorant. Band-aids. Vitamins.

Bo-ring.

But...

Take a look at my new medicine cabinet.

I had to move it out of a kitchen cabinet and into the storage unit in our laundry room. Because we have that much stuff!

Take a look...

Here is proof that D messes with your mind.

I LOVE this cabinet. LOVE. IT. It is a thing of beauty. I love how organized it is. I love having all the supplies at my fingertips. I love having space to spread it out instead of stuffing it all in some tiny place.

Here's the breakdown...

This shelf contains (from left to right) gloves (for applying magic cream), boxes of sites (with 2 sites sitting out - pink, of course), boxes of pump cartridges. boxes of test strips, boxes of Multi-clix lancets, and two boxes of magic cream (the yellow ones) with a Glucagon kit on top. Inside the container to the right are alcohol wipes, teagaderm, and uni-solve. In front of the container are plugs for the pump site and extra battery caps and a knife to open those stubborn boxes. On top of the container are lots of new hand sanitizer bottles, a new log book (the blue thing), the blood ketone tester, and a box of blood ketone test strips.

This shelf contains (from left to right) boxes of the Dexcom sites and inserters (with the Decom charger on top), an extra test kit (pink thing), two more boxes of pump sites on top of a container of stuff like batteries for the pump and meter, directions, etc, a box of IV prep in front of a box of adhesive tape strips, 3 boxes of Chemstrips (urine ketone test strips), and extra boxes of insulin cartridges for the pump.

This shelf contains (from left to right) the box of D supplies for school, a box of insets that we don't use anymore on top of a container of old test kits, old log books, etc., extra alcohol wipes, a few boxes of syringes, a box of gloves, and the Dexcom box and manuals. The bottom shelf has a few crafts for Sweetpea, a hand vac, and sharps containers.

(For more info on what all this stuff is and what it does, read my post called What it Takes.)

That kind of puts things into perspective, doesn't it?

That's what I need to keep my child alive.

We aren't in Kansas anymore.


I know some might look at these pictures and feel overwhelmed. Sad. Angry. Scared. There are times that I feel all of those things.

But today...

Today we got home from a trip to Tennessee. I'll write more on that later. One of the first things I did was unpack the D bag and put stuff away.

And you know what I felt when I opened that cabinet?

Relief. Comfort. Peace.

That cabinet makes me feel peaceful. It makes me feel happy. It makes me feel safe.

Weird, I know.

But I'm thankful to have supplies. I'm thankful to get a 3 month supply from Animas of just about everything you see there. I'm thankful for the Awesome people at Wal-greens that fill the rest of my orders and treat me like a friend. I'm thankful to have what I need to not only keep Sweetpea alive - but to keep her alive and well. In the best way, with the best treatment I know.

I'd trade it all in, of course, in heartbeat, if it meant no more diabetes.



But until that day...

I'm going to open that cabinet and smile!