Don’t Cry Over Spilled Milk….

Don’t cry over spilled milk….

No one understands this age old saying like a mom of a newborn baby.  After pumping for over 20 minutes, giving it all I had and then to spill half of the bag…my life flashed before my eyes! I was LITERALLY about to cry over spilled milk!  

Now, as a Type 1 mom, and knowing the cost of test strips and insulin, that saying has taken on a whole new meaning.  Now, I’m telling myself not to cry over spilled test strips OR insulin OR pills OR any other life dependent medicine or equipment one may need. 

That’s easier said than done, though, as we work towards having Trace learn how to test himself.  We’ve gone through the steps several times, practiced taking the test strip out of the bottle, wiping his finger with an alcohol wipe, making sure the test strip is in the meter the correct way and the perfect spots to place the lancet.  These are the steps we repeat day in and day out.  It’s a mantra at this point.  Sounds simple enough, right? 

One day, while making his lunch, I thought it would be a good time to let him check his blood sugar while I watched from the kitchen.  Things started off very well.  He got his pouch, opened it up, grabbed an alcohol wipe, wiped his finger and then………….. I wasn’t prepared for what happened next.  Trace opened the bottle of test strips, went to take one out and the entire bottle of test strips spilled out onto the floor.  Trace has been Type 1 for over four years and never has this happened.  Thoughts raced through my mind.  

What do we do?! 

Are they contaminated?!

Are they salvageable?!

I started recounting a time we were on a very high deductible healthcare plan.  One bottle of 50 test strips would cost us around $50 for this brand of test strips. And although we had the money and would spend whatever we had in a heartbeat, if necessary, I had a slight freak out about what spilling one bottle of test strips would mean and the domino effect it would have on our medical expenses for the remainder of that month.  But then something told me to stop! I was thinking about the worst case scenario before we even finished picking up the test strips, finding out how many were salvageable and assuring Trace everything was fine and he could continue checking himself.  

After Trace’s diagnosis, I often found myself lying awake after a 2am check, thinking of the worst outcome for many scenarios.  In this moment, with test strips all over the floor, it finally clicked–sometimes the worst case brings about a positive learning experience.  I quickly realized that focusing on the lessons is more important than the outcome.  Trace was able to continue learning to prick his finger, yes, and I was also able to teach him that things happen, the bottle of test strips may spill, but as his mom, I will be there to help him pick up the pieces and assure him that everything will work out!