Tyler was asleep, or at least seemed to be asleep, when I got to our room. I got ready for bed, and checked that Samantha's light was off. It was, and so I set an alarm for 2 am, and got into bed beside my husband. I didn't say anything to him, but I put my arm around him.
The ringing of my alarm shocked me. I looked at the time. Two am. Why am I up at two am?
"Jen, can you check Sam's blood sugar? I can't right now," Tyler mumbled.
Right. I'd set my alarm to check Samantha's sugar.
"I got it, sweetheart. You just go back to sleep," I said. I got up and went into Samantha's room.
I realized that she hadn't woken us up with a nightmare as I carefully opened the door to her room.
She was still asleep, though sleeping fitfully. She was moaning and vocalizing, but she was still asleep.
"Sam?" I said, sitting on the edge of her bed and gently shaking her shoulder. She startled awake and looked around in panic until she saw me. She relaxed immediately.
"Looks like you were having a bad dream, huh?" I said.
"I dunno. I guess," she said.
"Well, you're okay. You're safe. And it's time to check your blood sugar."
"Okay," she yawned. I handed her her test kit and turned the lamp on her bedside table on.
She checked her sugar and showed me the number.
"Is that good?"
"Yeah.," she said. "It's a bit low, but it's normal."
"Should we do anything?"
"No. But it might go low in the morning. But I don't treat, because I'm not supposed to, for a low, unless it's actually low. And that's not because my dad wouldn't let me. That's what I was taught at first."
"Okay. So I'll come check with you in the morning before school to make sure you're okay."
"Okay," Samantha smiled, and then yawned.
"Okay, back to sleep with you. Under the covers. Let's go," I said, holding up her blanket for her to get under. She snuggled down
And I tucked her in.
"Are you going to be okay? Do you want me to stay with you?" I asked.
She looked at me as if she was thinking about it.
"Um, I think I'm okay now. But thanks, m- Jenna."
I smiled down at her and gave her a kiss on the forehead again.
"Okay. Just call if you need, okay?"
She nodded.
"Good night sweetheart."
"Good night," she said, rolling over and pulling her blankets around her.
I went back towards our room. Josh opened the door to his room.
"Sorry Josh. Did I wake you?" I asked.
"Would you believe I woke up because Samantha didn't wake me up with a nightmare?"
I laughed quietly.
"I can, actually. She's fine. She was having a bad dream, but she was just kind of, flailing around a bit. Go back to bed."
"G'night," Josh yawned, and closed his door.
I went back to our room and saw Tyler's eyes were open, though he was lying on his side and staring towards the wall.
I got quietly into bed.
"Is she okay?" Tyler asked. Which made me feel better. He was thinking outside his own mind.
"She's fine," I said. "Her sugar was a bit low, but not low enough to treat. I'll check her before school."
"Good," he said. He didn't move or change position, but he seemed to relax a little bit. I was hoping he was coming out of the funk he'd gotten embroiled in.
It didn't take long for me to fall back to sleep.
My alarm woke me up again at six thirty. I opened my eyes and groaned. I'd slept fairly well, but worrying about Samantha and Tyler at the same time did not allow for a deep, restful sleep.
I got up and headed into Samantha's room to get her ready for school. Josh's door was already open and I could smell coffee brewing. Bless that man.
I sat beside Samantha and shook her shoulder. She groaned when I shook her.
"Morning sweetheart. Time to get up foe school."
"I don't wanna," she said, burrowing into her covers.
"I bet, but let's go. Up you get. Let's check your blood and make sure you didn't go low, okay?"
She stuck a hand out.
"You do it," she grumbled.
I laughed.
"Okay. I hope I do this right," I said.
I cleaned her finger with an alcohol pad, put a strip in the monitor and primed the lancing device. I poked her finger and put the blood on the strip, and used the pad to stem the blood from her finger.
I read the number and wasn't sure if it was okay.
"Sam, tell me if this is okay," I said.
She poked her head out from under her blankets and squinted at the number.
"82. It's fine," she said.
"Great. Now, out of bed. Get dressed, get your books together and let's get ready for school."
She groaned, but pushed off her blankets.
"Good girl. I'll meet you downstairs, okay?"
She nodded and sat up as I got up to go get dressed.
I used the washroom, brushed my teeth and hair and got dressed. I looked over at Tyler who's eyes were closed, but I wasn't convinced he was asleep. I decided to leave him. He needed space. I'd check on him when I got home from taking Samantha to school.
I went downstairs and Josh handed me a cup of coffee.
"Bless you," I said, taking a sip.
"I made pancakes. Can Samantha have pancakes?"
"I can have pancakes," she said, coming downstairs and putting her school bag down.
"Oh. Okay. Good,"
"We got her sugar free syrup. So she should be okay. Sam, we don't need to check your sugar again, right?" I asked as input the syrup on the breakfast bar for her.
"No. I'll calculate based on the 82," she said. She looked at the sugar free syrup label and did her calculations. She took out her insulin and dialled the dose.
"Is that the right dose?" I asked.
"Yep," she said, giving herself her shot.
"Good job," I said.
She shrugged. I felt like maybe she did that because she was upset still about Tyler and not convinced he wasn't mad at her. She wants to make sure she doesn't rock the boat more.
"Is Tyler coming to drive me to school?" She asked, cutting a piece of pancake.
"Not today, sweetheart. I don't think he slept well. He's still asleep," I said. I watched her face fall.
"He's mad, isn't he?" She insisted.
"Kid, I promise you. He's not mad," Josh said. "He's still upset that he upset you so much. He'll be okay. I promise. Jenna and I will make sure of that."
Samantha seemed unconvinced still, but dropped it and finished her breakfast. She asked if Josh could come with to drop her at school and he agreed.
She got her stuff together and we left.
YOU ARE READING
Running on Insulin
FanfictionSamantha's life had never been easy. Her abusive father was the only family she had left. Her mom had died when Sam was just a kid, and when she was eight, Sam had been diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes. The healthcare costs enraged her father and made...
