Camp "Ruffin it" Day 1

Maddison was so excited to start ASPCA animal camp today that she couldn't sleep last night. You would think we were going to Disneyland or something! At Midnight when I went to check on Maddison she was STILL AWAKE!!!! She kept telling me how excited she was and that she was "really" trying to sleep but couldn't. Blood sugars were GREAT overnight, surprisingly. When my alarm went off at 5:30am to get ready to go for the morning, Maddison came walking down the hall with a great big smile on her face! She was so excited for today that my alarm woke her up too!!

Unfortunately, the icky part of our morning was Maddison's 2 hour after breakfast number.....298. Funny how waking up at a school morning time frame changes everything back to what it used to be. How does that even make sense? Looks like we need a 400% basal rate again for early wake up mornings! Summer sleeping in is really THAT different? Damn Diabetes is CRAZY! Needless to say, I set an early morning basal pattern in Maddison's pump for tomorrow at camp.....we shall see!

Upon arriving at Camp the kids were introduced to the Desert Tortoises that reside there. A quick talk about desert creatures and the kids headed off to tour all areas of the facility. After a brief review of the Camp rules and getting to know each other it was time for FUN!! First the kids formed small groups to go on a scavenger hunt. The scavenger hunt included questions like "How many food dishes are in the kitten room" or "what is the name of the dog in kennel 2A?" It was so much fun! After the scavenger hunt the kids learned about the pet of the day.....Guinea pigs. After learning all there is to know about Guniea pigs, the kids got to make "skewer meals" for all the shelter small animals and reptiles. The kids cut up fruit and veggies of all colors and skewered them to be used in the future for feeding. HOW FUN IS THAT!? After skewers the kids made cat toys for the shelter animals. The best part.....they got to go spend time in the cat and kitten rooms trying them out and making new furry friends! They had soooo much fun and learning packed into one day, it was amazing. The kids even got to care for an assigned area.....Maddison was assigned to FERRETS!! Lots of dirty work involved!! All the shelter residents had nice clean cages to come back too.


I tried as best I could to stay in the shadows today while I attended camp with Maddison. There were still the typical kid questions. One girl asked Maddison "Why is your mom still here?" and Maddison replied with a shrug of the shoulders and changed the subject. I checked Maddison's blood sugar as privately as I could without drawing any attention. I just needed that after breakfast number! No one seemed to notice until they passed out a snack later on. Maddison took it upon herself to say "I have type 1 Diabetes but I can still eat whatever snack you have for us!" All I could do was smile. Then came the questions from one little girl around age 10. "Do you have to poke your finger and check your blood?" to which Maddison replied "Yep!" Then the girl asked her if it hurts.....Maddison replied "Nah...not anymore." The girl seemed fine with those questions and then the day resumed without another Diabetes moment!

Bearded dragons, bunnies, ferrets, kittens, turtles, tarantualas, iguanas, parrots, dogs, fish, snakes, chinchillas.....this is the place for Maddison! I really can't say enough good things about this camp....they kept the kids so busy that the 4 hours flew by. At the end of the day the kids played "Animal Jeopardy." It was so funny to see the faces of all the older kids when Maddison got soooo many questions right! We can't wait for tomorrow!