So sorry you went thru this. It sounds like there are really two things coming out of this that your family will need to deal with: one is the medical stuff (why was she so low, could we prevent another, whatās the optimal way to treat it) and the other is everyoneās emotions and fears about what happened.
Our lowest low was 27 by fingerstick (on vacation 45 minutes from an ambulance and had been sprinting around playing tag with his cousins). Fortunately he was conscious and cooperative so we got to treat it orally, but scared the crap out of me. And like you, I can always work up a good freak out picturing the worst case emergency scenarios re field trips, rafting trips etc. If I gave in to that side of my brain, my kid would live in a kennel for sure :)
I would say someone with a BG in the 20s-30s should not be expected to be very cooperative/rational if conscious, so would not be optimistic that better taste, preferred food etc will help. Rubbing on gums (gu, honey or cake icing) like you did, if they are not trying to bite you, was the right thing to do.
But I would add, DONāT be afraid of the glucagon, or the big needle. It is a one time event and it will not necessarily be traumatic, nor will a prolonged low and having people trying to force food into your mouth necessarily be NON traumatic. The glucagon could prevent a seizure or save a life, if in doubt use it. Who cares if the BG goes to 300 after? One high is not harmful in the context of lifelong management goals. One severe low with seizure, injury etc could be. Use the butt muscle if you need to, itās large and not within the personās visual range if they are scared or agitated. Go right thru their pants, thatās part of the good of the big needle. Staying calm til out of sight like you did is great. If you can fake being calm, it will calm everyone else down.
One rule we do have (you probably already do this also) is if our 14 yo is away from us, somebody heās with knows how to use the glucagon pen. A youth leader, friend or friends parent. As he has lived longer with diabetes, he is getting less hypo-aware as it sounds like your daughter is, so he doesnāt get a warning at 70 anymoreā¦he might be 50 before he feels it. At first, he didnāt want to admit this and still wanted to rely on how he felt to warn him, rather than being rigorous about the Dexcom staying in range, etc. Maybe your daughter feels like that also? Heās gradually matured and had enough unpleasant lows to realize the necessity of other backups.
I donāt know if it would fit with your family dynamic, but maybe a family meeting to address the emotional parts? Pat people on the back for what they did well ā your daughter for hanging in there and eventually accepting oral sugar, your son for being so selfless and willing to help, and parents for working as a team ā and also hear what freaked them out, especially what it felt/sounded like for your daughter. I would imaging having a plan for ānext timeā would make your son feel more secure and confident, that is a great idea. It may also help to walk thru how many steps there were between this situation and actually losing her ā if she had passed out or seized, you would have used glucagon. You would have gotten help from 911. You were prepared. It would have been awful to go through that, but she would have very likely been fine. Thatās the kind of thing I have to do to combat the āworst caseā thinking.
Our 11 yo brother is trained on the glucagon pen and am going to teach my 8, 6 and 3 yo as they get older enough but you are inspiring me to have a new touch base with everybody so thank you!
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