Friday, May 18, 2007

Christopher's Health (Update)

Christopher saw his paediatrician yesterday for his 3-monthly diabetes checkup. We've been working hard on his blood glucose control and were therefore hoping for a better result this time. Our hard work paid off with a HbA1c of 7.5% !!

Good diabetes control requires a level as close to "normal" as possible, with normal being about 6%. Achieving such a low percentage isn't recommended for people with diabetes, as it results in too many hypos to be safe (where blood sugar drops so low that you can become unconscious). So we aim to get a result somewhere between 7-8%.

Aside from this good news, however, the paediatrician expressed some concern about Christopher's hips. He has recommended that we get some x-rays to assess for risk of hip dislocation. If there's an increased risk, we may need to look at Botox injections. In addition, he is starting to worry about the possibilty of spine curvature (scoliosis) - which requires surgery if it gets too pronounced.

So - rather a mixed bag of news yesterday - and it will take some time to determine how serious these issues will be for Christopher. Meanwhile, he is looking forward to our family reward for the great HbA1c result: dinner at a local Irish pub. LOL.

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