#Juvenile diabetes

[type1bodybetes]

As someone who has had diabetes for “only” around three years I really don’t understand how dangerous it can be. I have read people’s stories on how they deal with low bloodsugars and their stories about their trips to hospitals, but I am still yet to find people with type 1, who don’t understand the hassle. I know it’s serious, but I don’t know how serious it should be taken as.

See, most often when my bloodsugar goes low, I sort of like it. It makes me feel really light and blissful. I haven’t really told anyone this as everyone says that low bloodsugars are really dangerous. I have never passed out, and for that I am thankful, but maybe I need that scare for me to take this illness seriously. No one has never needed to keep me conscious or feed me when I’ve had hypos, and everyone turns super serious whenever I tell them what to do if, I pass out, and that is something I don’t understand. 

I hope that someone else can somehow relate to whatever I’m trying to say here. 

Also stay safe and take care of yourselves!

[nurserenew]

Diabetes and Our Children...

Yes. I want to talk about it. Hello, I wanted to talk a bit about diabetes and children briefly. On my recent road trip from Colorado to Maine, I found out that child in the family under the age of five, was diagnosed with diabetes type 1. Of course, as a parent or gandparent, you never want to hear that your children or grandchildren are sick or have a newly diagnosed medical condition. We want…

[wellhealthhub]

Understanding the Distinctions Between Type 1 and Type 3c Diabetes: A Comprehensive Analysis

Diabetes, an intricate ensemble of metabolic disorders, engenders persistent elevations in blood sugar levels over protracted durations. Among the variegated tapestry of diabetes classifications, Type 1 and Type 3c diabetes conspicuously manifest themselves, distinguished by their unique etiologies, symptomologies, and therapeutic approaches. The present article endeavors to navigate the…

[saturndad]

I really wouldn’t wish juvenile T1D on my worst enemy. There’s nothing like watching other children, adults and SCHOOLS reject your child because of their condition. Not to mention trying to manage the highs and lows alone after just moving from the bottom of Florida all the way up to Rhode Island. We have no support... it has truly been a lonely, devastating couple of months… my sweet baby girl has been such a warrior even when her mama is on the brink of tears.. I wish more people would see her resilience and offer a helping hand instead of assuming that we are better off alone.

We’re not.

I truly can’t remember the last time I got a full nights sleep without panicking about her sugar dipping or miscalculating her insulin dose and having her blood glucose get so high. Every time her sugar raises I panic. I go right back to the place I was in January when I almost lost her. I can’t remember the last time I didn’t flinch and have a panic attack at the sound or sight of a helicopter because watching her get airlifted off of the island to a children’s hospital for an hour and a half flight, knowing they couldn’t get her stabilized and there was nothing I could possible do but watch my almost lifeless daughter while the flight medics did what they could to keep her earthside….

I know everything happens for a reason, but 4 months later and I still can’t understand why….

I would like to believe that in a year or so, I’ll look back at this and be amazed at how much we have grown and accomplished from this set back but for now… I am absolutely devastated.

I hate this year.

[pellucid-constellations]

Should I tell my professor that I will continue to write but actually just fanfic about men that have wings... or would that be weird for an academic setting

[camillasgirl]

Queen Camilla’s Patronages

The Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) (President from 12.06.2012)

JDRF is the leading global organization funding type 1 diabetes (T1D) research. Our strength lies in our exclusive focus and singular influence on the worldwide effort to end T1D. Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease that strikes both children and adults suddenly. It has nothing to do with diet or lifestyle. There is nothing you can do to prevent it. And, at present, there is no cure in T1D, your pancreas stops producing insulin—a hormone the body needs to get energy from food. This means a process your body does naturally and automatically becomes something that now requires your daily attention and manual intervention. If you have T1D, you must constantly monitor your blood-sugar level, inject or infuse insulin through a pump, and carefully balance these insulin doses with your eating and activity throughout the day and night.However, insulin is not a cure for diabetes. Even with the most vigilant disease management, a significant portion of your day will be spent with either high or low blood-sugar levels. These fluctuations place people with T1D at risk for potentially life-threatening hypoglycemic and hyperglycemic episodes as well as devastating long-term complications such as kidney failure, heart attack, stroke, blindness and amputation.

[faofinn]

Day 12 - "Just One More Sip"

@mediwhumpmay

Kieran had, all things considered, settled in well at secondary school. Sure, he had Alfie, who helped no means to an end, but they both had their own struggles the other couldn’t understand. 

Tai helped, able to break everything down and explain their diabetes in a way he understood. He hated that his son had diabetes, but he was glad that he could help.

It had been a long day at school, maths first thing followed by history and english and then double PE. Ever the worrier, Kieran was already convinced he was coming down with something, but it was football so he didn't want to sit out. He adjusted his insulin, grabbed some dextrose tablets and headed out of the changing room with Alfie by his side. 

They had fun, still off the age where they enjoyed PE and causing chaos. The class were in high spirits as they headed back in to get changed. The twins had verb getting slightly more independence too, much to the fraying of Harrison's nerves. They were allowed to walk to the carpark at the end of the street by themselves, but the pair would be picked up by someone from there. 

Kieran was lagging as they left school, a headache starting to brew. He kept chatting away to Alfie though, figuring he probably just needed a drink when they got home. There was no point worrying his brother when their dads were just around the corner. 

"Kieran?" Alfie tried for the third time. "Kieran!"

He turned to him, snapping. "What?!"

Alfie pulled a face. "Don't yell at me. You've just stopped walking and you're ignoring me. Are you alright?"

"Just don't want to talk to your stupid face." He spat, arms folded with no intention to move. 

"Kieran? What have I done? You don't look too great. Where's your phone?"

"Why do you care?"

"Because you're my brother, idiot." He muttered, grabbing Kieran's phone from him and swiping his arm. 

"Hey! Give it back."

"No. Where's your glucose tablets? You had them in PE."

Kieran frowned. He'd left them in his pe kit, and the kit was in his locker. "School."

"Idiot. Do you have any more?"

"How am I supposed to know?" He spat.

"Because it's your bag!" Alfie replied, exasperated. He knew it wasn't his brother, that the hypo was messing with his head, but it always hurt when he spoke to him like that.

"Here, drink this." Alfie shoved a can of pop in his face, rummaging through his own bag - he always kept spares somewhere.

"I'm not thirsty."

"I don't care. Drink it." Alfie snapped, authority in his tone. 

Kieran was slightly taken aback, and did as he was told. He screwed his face up at the taste, moving to put it down. "I'm not drinking it. I don't like it." 

"Kieran, please. You're having a hypo. Just keep drinking it, just one more sip, yeah?"

He grumbled, tears suddenly overwhelming him. He felt rubbish anyway and now Alfie was yelling at him and making him drink things he didn't want to and it just wasn't fair. Kieran shoved his bag away, not caring as the contents spilled across the pavement. 

"Kieran!" Alfie hissed. "Just drink your drink, it'll make you feel better. I need to call dad too, he'll be able to help."

With one hand calling their dad, the other continued to rummage through his bag. He gave a triumphant noise as he grabbed his tablets, shoving several into Kieran's hand. "Chew these."

They seemed better than the drink, so he did as he was told, the wall propping him up more than he was sitting. "Fine."

"Thank you. Keep chewing them and then swallow, yeah? They'll make you feel better." Alfie continued muttering, though he wasn't sure who he was trying to comfort. "Let me check your levels again, hopefully they'll be better."

As he swiped, the phone connected, and relief rushed through him. "Dad." He breathed. "Kieran's having a hypo. I need your help."

Tai had been waiting for the boys, on an early finish at work. When he saw Alfie calling, he assumed it was just to say they’d been caught up or forgotten something and they’d be there soon. He didn’t even get a chance to speak before his son did, and frowned. 

“Okay, where are you?”

"By the shops." 

“I’ll be a minute, yeah? Have you got some sugar into him?” Tai asked, already getting out of the car. 

"I'm trying!"

“It’s okay, you’re doing great.” He said, tucking his phone under his ear as he grabbed his stuff from the glovebox and headed in their direction. “I’m coming, just hold on a minute, yeah?”

"Okay." Alfie turned abxk to Kieran. "Come on, have another tablet, another drink."

Kieran groaned and swiped at Alfie's hands. "I don't feel well."

"Yeah, cause you're having a hypo. This will make you feel better, honest. Please, just one more sip?"

Kieran let himself rest against Alfie, absolutely exhausted. He did as he was asked, though, chewing on another dextrose tablet as he drank. "What am I at?"

"You were 2.8 the second time."

"That's low."

"It was lower. Drink." He encouraged, praying for his dad to hurry up. "You need to finish it all."

Kieran grumbled at his brother. “Can’t you drink it if you’re so obsessed with it?”

"No, I'm not having the hypo. Have another tablet."

He huffed, rolling his eyes, but sipped his drink and obediently reached for another tablet. 

Tai arrived after a few moments, crouching next to his sons. “I’m here.”

"He was 2.2 and he's 3 now but he's all grumpy still."

“That’s good, it’s going in the right direction.” Tai told him. 

"We were playing football and he didn't eat his biscuits at lunch."

“Well, that was daft, wasn’t it?” Tai said gently. “We all make mistakes.”

"Alfie won't stop pestering me." He grumbled. "And he stabbed me? I have my arm thingy for a reason."

“Oh my god, did he?” Tai couldn’t help but tease. “That was mean.”

"I had to!" Alfie protested, suddenly doubting himself. "Because the arm sensor is delayed and he might have been even lower. Right?"

Tai turned to him. “It’s okay, you’re right. You did the right thing.”

"Is he gonna be okay?"

“Of course he is, his sugars are coming up. You did good.”

"I was worried." He whispered to his dad, trying to keep Kieran from hearing it.

“You did great, kid. Don’t worry.” Tai told him quietly, but turned his attention back to Kieran. “I’m gonna need to stab you again in a bit, I’m sorry.”

"You're kidding me."

“I wish I was. I don’t like it much either, but we need to make sure.”

"I feel rubbish."

"Yeah, because you're an idiot." Alfie nudged him. 

"You're the idiot." He replied with a grin.

“You sound better.” Tai joked. “Can you have some more drink for me?”

"Can we buy better pop? I really don't like this one."

“What’s wrong with it?” Tai asked him. “I’ve got some orange juice?”

"Tastes bad."

“Here, try the orange juice.” He offered it to him. 

"Mm, okay."

“Are you starting to feel better?”

"My head is pounding." He admitted. 

“Not surprised. We’ll get you home soon.”

"Am I gonna have to stop PE?"

“No, you’re just going to have to be careful.”

"I didn't mean to."

"Accidents happen."Tai said softly. "I still have them."

"But you're old." Kieran frowned, before blushing. "Not like that!"

"I see how it is." He laughed.  

“I know.”

After a few minutes, letting Kieran sip at the orange juice, Tai squeezed his leg. “Need to check again, and then we’ll get home, alright?”

"Okay. I feel better now, though." He said, offering his hand as the other reached to squeeze Alfie's. 

“Good, that’s good. It’s gonna be a bit of a stab.”

"I know." He sighed heavily, overly dramatic as his dad took the sample. 

“Sorry, I know it sucks.” Tai said, watching the machine. It had come up more now, to a nicer level, and he grinned. “Much better.”

Alfie breathed a sigh of relief from beside them, passing Kieran his phone too. Kieran grinned back. "What is it?"

“Nearly 4, now.”

"So I can stop drinking?"He asked hopefully. 

Alfie shook his head. "You gotta finish it, right dad?"

“He’s right. Finish it please.”

"Okay." He dragged it out, quickly downing the rest of it. "Finished."

“Thank you.” Tai said. “Where’s your stuff?”

"He kicked it over the road." Alfie admitted. "I got most of it back, here."

Tai shook his head. “Of course. Give it here, I’ll carry it.”

"Thanks, dad." Alfie murmured. 

“It’s okay. You’ve got plenty to carry, I’ve got my hands free.”

"Alfie?" Kieran asked quietly. 

“Yeah?” Alfie asked, his attention on his brother. 

"Thank you." He said softly. "Means a lot you were there."

“I’m always gonna be there, idiot. I’m your brother.”

[elevenfifths]

one thing you have to know about me is i’ve been in/had to control whether i lived or died since i was like 6 with very little outside help.

[lizbethart-blog]

The Love of a Parent

Dressed as Spiderman for a Halloween party his sophomore year. My son Daniel, was a huge Marvel movie fan. Primarily, Dan’s high school wardrobe consisted of loose-fitting tees and cargo pants, so a close-fitting costume was telling. He was looking quite slender. By early November he had lost 20 lbs. with no clear explanation as to why. I feared my initial gut reaction. Worried and nervous we…

[type1bodybetes]

Sometimes I'm not even mad at my blood sugars for being so low, because I get to have the sugariest tea known to man

[12percentspider]

Info time: Diabetes and related issues [this is long but I highly suggest reading]

Do you ever see something and you go "that doesn't sound right, but I don't know enough about diabetes to dispute it"? Well, I can help you there. I can help you know enough about diabetes to dispute it if need be. Especially because well, there are seemingly a lot of scams going around where people claim to be diabetic [in my experience it's maybe 3 scammers that just remake] and the information is not very correct in most cases. Not to mention this type of scam pisses me off because I am in fact diabetic, and not only are people preying off of others' lack of information about the chronic condition, but it's also trivializing a serious lifelong condition that can be fatal. If you have now or have lost a loved one to diabetes complications, you are already aware of how dangerous it can be as well as how dangerous misinformation is as well.

What is diabetes? Diabetes is a chronic condition related to the endocrine system- the pancreas specifically. However, if complications get serious enough other parts of the body will be affected. In type 2 diabetes, the body's cells have become resistant to insulin, which is a hormone produced by the pancreas that allows cells to use glucose from the blood- your body's energy it needs to function. When someone is 'type 2', the food that person is eating is not able to fuel them, regardless of caloric content. Glucose is commonly called "blood sugar". It's a type of sugar that is processed and then transported via the circulatory system to your cells where it's needed. With type 1 diabetes (which used to be called "juvenile diabetes"), the pancreas does not produce any/enough insulin for some reason or another, generally because of autoimmune or other damage. [For me personally, I was diagnosed as an adult and had to have it confirmed as type 1 due to the presence of autoimmune antibodies, also apparently my pancreas hadn't quite given up at that point.] As we've seen before, insulin allows your body to use the food you are putting into it. As a double whammy, you can have type 1 with resistance, so not only is your body not producing any/enough insulin, what's there can't be used properly. [RIP Spider who has this] So to explain the effects, think about what happens when you're literally starving. Now imagine that's happening no matter how much you eat. Your body may go into starvation mode and store fat. This can be misleading, which when combined with fatphobia has people concluding that "well, you have diabetes because you're fat, duh". Heck, I have/had diabetic relatives who believed that eating too many carbs will automatically cause the condition because that's what everyone is told/assumes. Eventually, you'd starve and your body would start deteriorating as so. HOWEVER because you would have so much glucose that just sits there because it can't be used, your kidneys are going to work overtime to try and correct this- and they can't do it alone. Your liver can also suffer severe damage. That's not to mention a whole host of other complications that can occur.

So what about it? Well, obviously there are treatments. Insulin injections have existed since the 1920s. There are also medications that can help your body actually use the insulin it's being provided, be it naturally or artificially. So yes, people with diabetes are dependent on prescriptions to survive. My grandma lost a sister in childhood due to insulin treatments apparently not being available in the extremely rural area they were living in at the time. More recently, the israeli occupation has banned insulin from being distributed to Palestinians. [Insulin has also been used historically in psychiatric hospitals to force low blood sugar in psychiatric patients, but that's a whole other rabbithole about psychiatric abuse.] There are resources for the US and beyond if you or someone you know and/or love are in dire straits financially and need help with insulin or other diabetes medications/ related medical help. That's only one aspect of treatment, though. Because pain, stress, hormone changes, other medical issues, and plenty of other factors can raise your blood sugar to dangerous levels, other kinds of treatment to manage other factors may be necessary.

Now that that's out of the way, let's get to specifics. So the most common problem you're going to see mentioned is high blood sugar. We've already covered what the effects are, but what is considered high? For the most part, "high" is 200 milligrams per deciliter. My CGM (continuous glucose monitor) lists "high" as anything 181 or higher but stops giving an exact number after 350. This is why I had a good laugh that time I saw a scammer using an image of a meter reading glucose in the 120s- that's good blood sugar. If you're going to get even more specific you want your pre-breakfast blood sugar to be 80-130. So when you see an accompanying image reading in the 500s, that's extremely dangerous. That's "you're in danger of going into a coma" dangerous.

Insulin pricing? How come I'm seeing people saying they need $300? In the US, pricing cap was set to $35 somewhat recently. What this means is that per insulin pen (as far as I've experienced, the above-linked resource post should have links with better clarification) it's $35. Can't be more than that for one pen. How many doses that provides is very up in the air. It absolutely varies from person to person. I have relatives with type 2 that have to inject a dose of very long-acting insulin weekly, one has gone back and forth with daily doses on top of that. I'm type 1 and have to take one dose of long-acting nightly with injections of a short-acting insulin before every meal, with the exact dosage amounts varying per meal. Insulin is measured in units (there's probably an actual mL amount, both of mine are 100 units per mL with a 3mL pen). How many units someone needs is determined with their medical provider (or care team? When I went to 'diabetes education' after diagnosis I was set up with a "care team").

Edited:

["...pharmacies can refuse to split boxes of insulin pens depending on company/store policy. so if someone lost their insulin and needed to get a replacement because insurance wont pay for more, the pharmacy could make them get a full box of three or five pens."]

via: anon ask (thank you much!!!) So it turns out that yes, with $35 being a cap it would very much likely be for EACH pen, with 3 being $105 in this case and 5 being $175.

But at any rate, if someone is in an emergency situation in the US should be able to get an insulin pen for $35 pretty much when they get to a pharmacy [again, from edit: no, not every pharmacy]. Yes, I get that this can be difficult in some situations, but that's outside the concept of insulin prices.

If someone's blood sugar is over 500 though, they almost certainly need a hospital more than they need an insulin pen. Yes, alright, the actual real single mother on twitter who was the source of the profile images/meter images that whatever the current url for vero-og has stolen and been using for months... that was actually months ago and I'm sure she doesn't need to be told to go to the hospital right now. [That said, if you get an ask from someone and the url is a variation off of 'vero-og' that is a confirmed scammer.] And then on top of that, yes, why would you block people that can get you free or discounted insulin? If someone was offering to save your life for free or find you what you need for far less than what you were expecting to spend, why wouldn't you take it? Unless what you're actually after is money.

SO TO RECAP: Insulin does not cost $300, $350, $370, whatever someone is sending you an ask about. In the US, it is federally capped at $35 per pen, with further resources available, as well as further resources being available internationally. If you need help, please be honest about it. I promise there are people who care, you don't have to try and explain yourself- but it absolutely does not cost that much and if it did, there are ways to lower the cost by quite a bit if there aren't resources to make it free. Diabetes is a lifelong chronic condition that is not caused by "being fat" or "eating too much", it is caused by your body not functioning right and your body can starve no matter how much food you eat. Unfortunately, people have been lying on this site for months if not years claiming to have type 1 with an insulin emergency. These people cannot possibly have diabetes, or they would be well aware that they do not need hundreds of dollars to get their insulin. They are counting on you not knowing this so you will donate to them. The 'vero-og' scammer had been harassing someone who donated and threatening them with the intention of bullying more money out of the donor.

[wellhealthhub]

Let's get cracking and understand this Diabetes in Youth, shall we?

Welcome to our super-duper guide on Diabetes in Youth, folks! At Well Health Hub, we totally get how important it is to give you accurate and reliable info to help you make sense of this condition. In this here article, we’ll dive deep into what causes Diabetes in Youth, the symptoms to watch out for, and how to manage it like a champ. We’re all about empowering parents, caregivers, and young one…

[cripplecharacters]

I have a question which doesn't pertain to a specific disability, but rather to my characters as a whole cast.

I'm writing an older age-range children's book series (they're 13) and someone (who's opinion I do not respect) called my book 'representation circus'.

Anyway, he was obviously wrong and a jerk, but it got me thinking. I have a lot of disabled and otherwise under-represented characters. Is there a point where it could be too much or bad?

For reference, my characters include My lead has c-PTSD, juvenile arthritis, and degenerative astigmatism due to an eye injury (I know that's a lot, but I have all of those things, so I know she's not unrealistic), a girl with a stabilising leg brace, a diabetic who uses an insulin pump, an ambulatory wheelchair user (congenital heart defect effects her ability to walk long distances), a girl with albinism, and a girl with facial scarring. I've worked very hard to research all of these things and make sure it's handled sensitively and there are no stereotypes involved. I've also gone out of my way to pick some under-represented disabilities.

But now I'm wondering if there's a point where I have too many under-represented characters and it becomes offensive in some way? I definitely want to avoid that, but I also wanted my book to be positive representation of a lot of underrepresented things.

Hello,

No, it sounds like you're good. Having six disabled characters in the cast doesn't count as "over-representation" (really, over-representation is pretty much impossible when all characters are represented accurately and sensitively,) you could even make the entire cast disabled and it wouldn't be a "circus." The people who are represented in your book won't think so, a lot of us would be overjoyed to see good representation of our disabilities and the disabled community in literature.

Also, your friend should have worded that better, due to physically and mentally disabled people being used in freak shows at circuses. It probably wasn't intentional, but that's really bad phrasing.

And often, disabled people are friends with other disabled people. Sometimes, an entire friend group can be made up entirely of people who have disabilities (in fact, my friend group has twelve disabled people and my theatre, which does disabled-actor-only plays, can regularly have a cast of anywhere between a couple dozen and over a hundred, so we can be in pretty large groups.) Keeping this in mind is a great way to avoid tokenism in the context of having only one or two disabled characters in a cast that's mostly abled. Keep doing what you're doing, you seem to be doing a good job with representing people who don't usually get representation and that's a great thing.

Mod Aaron

[yokohama-crackhouse]

https://www.tumblr.com/noayman/757434504864546816/donate-to-family-relief-and-survival-from?source=sharehttps://gofund.me/5be510a9Stop 💔😱 Help my kids I don't want to see them die in front of my eyes Donate Republish Share my story😔😭

kr4,224 NOK raised of kr700,000 target

‼️ Only 31 donations since the start of the month!!

Before donating, remember that 100 NOK = 9.12 USD

‼️ Please donate if you can to help save Ayman and his family!!

Their current life displaced is very difficult due to widespread diseases and lack of access to treatment and medicine. Ayman himself has diabetes and issues with his cartilage, his 5 year old son Ahmed contracted hepatitis, in which the medicine needed for treatment is currently very difficult to obtain due to high costs, his 3 year old son has juvenile osteoporosis, and Ayman recently lost his mother to cancer. Please donate if you can, even the smallest amount can make a difference.

[empressofmankind]

POKER FACE (Part I)

[Crocodile x Shivs (F!OC)]

Mature - Murder but no sexy times (yet) - 1.5 k / 5 pg

(A/N) - I felt like writing about what Shivs gets up to when she isn't dealing at the poker table. After all, that is what she does for fun. Not what she does to keep the wheels of Crocodile's machinations going round and round.

This story is set around the same time period as ‘The House Always Win’ and 'On The First Day of Christmas', in Alabaste at Rainbase, mostly in and around their casino, Rain Dinners.

Tag(s): Mafia shenanigans. Graphic violence. Murder. Do I tag these reversed gender roles? It feels stupid. Buy men flowers, gdammit. Mildly diabetes inducing romance.

🐊 🐊 🐊 

Night never truly came to the City of Dreams, for Rainbase was ever lit by the fickle fluorescence of its nightclubs and casinos. Even now, as the evening advanced, the major thoroughfares and the grand boulevard were bright as if mid-day and bustling with diners and gamblers and bingers alike.

Not that it didn’t have quiet spots, darker corners, should you have need of them. The oasis walkways, for example, whose plank paths snaked through the prettier side of Rainbase lake. Early in the day, tourists jostled along the sight-seeing points, hoping to spot the Bananawani basking in the morning sun on Rain Dinners’ rear deck. In the afternoon, locals came here for their lunch breaks, to jog or read a book. Later in the day, lovers would come to watch the sun sink behind the lake.

After sunset, quiet soon settled around the walkways for with the evening came the desert night’s chill, felt here on the edge of Rainbase first and most. Darkness followed in its wake, for no permanent lighting was allowed: it’d disturb the great reptiles.

The waters were still, reflecting the moon high in the sky. The walkways were quiet, if not deserted. In the lee of the tourist boat house, someone moved. The red cherry of a hand-rolled cigarillo illuminated the underside of a fedora, high cheekbones, and glinted in one impatient eye. A brown leather eyepatch engraved with winged boarding saber covered the other.

The runner was late.

Minutes crept by as they waited, watched the Bananawani settle in for the night on the rear deck. Two of the juveniles were still swimming in the oasis, ignoring the matriarch’s curt calls.

“Don't make mommy come and fetch you,” Shivs muttered around her smoke, dry amusement clinging to her words.

“You say that to all your runners?”

That was not the voice she had expected. “What brings you here on this fine evening, Alessio Brando?”

“Can't a bloke drop by for company?”

She noticed the bag he carried, one she knew didn't belong to him. It was their runner's satchel.

“Meddling in our business, are you?” she said, blowing out smoke.

There was tension in his shoulders. “I know what you and the Crocodile are up to.”

“People have gone the way of the Pharaohs for less.”

“I am thinking this item is worth more than you let on to your runner," Alessio said and gave the satchel a little shake. "Sloppy man, I might add. Left himself wide open.”

“You plan to keep it?”

“I could be persuaded to let you have it.”

Shivs pursed her lips, paused before replying with a note of due reluctance. “I can double.”

“Can you?”

“I'll add it to my Sphinxx tab.” A smirk tugged at her lips, fire briefly reflecting off of teeth. “He won't squint too hard over a little unexpected bump in expenses there.”

“Triple it.”

Shivs crooked an eyebrow, surprised by the amount of balls he was showing. “You know it will be a chore to sell that to anyone else.” She took a lengthy draw from her cigarello before catching his gaze. “Particularly when potential buyers learn this specific piece has gone missing from his private collection.”

She could tell from the way he shifted she had him. “How? No. That is impossible. This is a new acquisition.”

“Back up plans within back up plans, handsome” she said as she tapped the ash from her smoke. “So, double it is, then?”

“Fine. Deal.”

“You are smarter than you look, Alessio.”

He eyed her. “You have the money with you?”

“I do,” Shivs said as she beckoned him closer and reached deliberately slow inside her jacket.

He leaned towards her, though paused when she suddenly cast an alarmed look across his shoulder. Was there someone coming? As his gaze flicked away, he saw her draw something from her jacket that glinted in the moonlight. Reacting on instinct alone he twisted out of her hold, narrowly avoiding the switchblade.

Cussing, he reached behind his back and drew a pistol from the back of his pants.

“Bringing a gun to a knife fight?” she said, regarding the barrel with little concern. “Rude.”

"And I'll use it, too," he threatened.

"Let's do this again." She twirled the knife between her fingers. “Come over here, so I can stab you and relief you of what is already ours.”

“Like hell I will,” he said as he deliberately cocked the gun. “Hand over the money, you scaly cunt.”

“No can do.”

He stared at her, uncomprehending.

“I don't have any with me,” she said with a little shrug. “Now come here and let me stab you, my husband hates loose ends.”

“Don't come any fucking closer, or I'll shoot.”

“Defying me by a body of water? You’re not that smart after all.”

“It has seastone bullets.”

Her eye squinted with amusement as the tides rose within the confines of her ribcage. “You’ll have to fire it first.”

At the wet click of the gun, she actually laughed.

Alessio backed away, eyes widening as his breath came up short. And shorter. And shorter. The gun clanged to the floor as he clawed at his throat, chest. Heaving water onto the planks as he collapsed onto his knees.

"You shouldn't have meddled." Shivs sauntered over and crouched beside him as his face marbled blue. “He really hates loose ends.”

She sat down on the planks and lit another cigarillo as she waited for the convulsions to stop, the twitching limbs to still. It was a convenient way, sure. Next to impossible to differentiate from genuine drowning.

But it was slow.

“Slower than yours, anyway,” she muttered as she gazed up at the gilded backside of Rain Dinners.

When he'd been still for some minutes, she patted his shoulder and rose. With an annoyed sigh, she rolled up her sleeves and grabbed the larger man by the jacket, hauling him towards the water. Sweat beaded on her forehead. Once there, she dropped him, straightened and rolled him into the lake with a shove of her boot.

A splash, and then he sank. Slow, but convenient. No air, no floating.

On the other side of the oasis, the rebellious juveniles slid from under the snoozing matriarch’s attention and into the water.

“I could eat too,” Shivs muttered. Turning away, she picked up the leather satchel and jogged up the steps to the boulevard, disappearing into the evening crowd.

Stopping my a flower-stand, Shivs bought a bouquet with blue lotus.

“A good choice, ma'am,” the florist said as Shivs lifted it from its stand. “She will surely like it.”

“I know he will,” Shivs said, watching the florist scamper to recover as she signed the receipt.

“The blue lotus is a traditionally masculine scent, combined in this bouquet with the-.”

Shivs stopped listening, uninterested in their lukewarm attempt to be inoffensive. She had chosen them because of Nefertem, the flower of creation from whose yellow centre the sun rose every morning and set to every evening. The one whose epithet was ‘He Who Is Most Beautiful’.

Hoisting the satchel over her shoulder, and cradling the fragile flowers in her arm, she made her way back to Rain Dinners.

🐊 🐊 🐊 

As she came down the stairs into the high rollers VIP lounge, Shivs saw Crocodile was already there. And not at her table. His attention shifted from his cards as she approached, putting them face down on the table to free his hand and draw her to his side.

The waistcoat was new; shades of olive stripes with a few subtle lines of gold stitching. He'd combined it with a dusty mauve dress shirt that brought out the warm undertones of his tan skin.

Shivs pursed her lips, shifting the flowers onto her other arm. “Playing at someone else's table, huh?”

A light squeeze at her waist as his gaze flicked up. “You weren't here, honey.”

She leaned down to press a peck against his lips. “Should I do the same when you aren't here?” She wondered just below her breath and savoured the shift in his gaze. “I said I would deal tonight, didn't I?”

“It's eleven thirty.”

“Still tonight,” she quipped. She saw it before it slipped away, a hint of amusement making his bottom lip tug at his cigar.

“Join me,” he said, pulling her closer.

“Let me change into something nice, then,” she said as she leaned towards him for another kiss.

“I don't hate this,” he rumbled against her lips in Alabastan as he tipped her fedora straight. 

“I know,” she said as she switched as well.

It had annoyed her he hadn't waited, he could tell. His fingertips lingered along her jaw. “Are those for me?”

“Who else, habibi?” Shivs said as she gave the flowers to him. The way he removed his cigar and took a moment to smell them made her smile.

A server came over with a vase.

"Did you acquire the artefact?" Crocodile asked as the server arranged the flowers.

"I have."

Her tone gave him pause. "Difficulties?"

Shivs pursed her lips, irritation flitting across her face. "Alessio sleeps with the Bananawani."

"Good," he said, and watched his reply mollify her pinched expression. “Don’t be long,” he added as he caught her hand, stopping her from leaving just yet.

Shivs let him reel her in for another kiss. “I won't,” she muttered against his lips, squeezed his hand as she rose and let go.

He took his time to watch her leave before returning his attention to his cards. They'd come full circle around the table, but knew better than to complain.

🐊 🐊 🐊 

[faofinn]

29. Lethargy/Exhaustion

@sicktember

The whole family had been rundown as the kids started school, but Kieran never seemed to pick back up. Even the promise of his after school football club picking back up didn't excite him, asking his dads to bring him back home every time.

Tai did his best to reassure Harrison, but his partner ouldn't listen. He couldn’t. There was something wrong with Kieran and everything, every inch of his body screamed they had to do something.

The GP brushed him off, telling him that he was just putting ideas into Kieran's head and making him think he was sick. Harrison struggled to hold his tongue, and when the doctor started suggesting Harrison needed therapy for missing Tai’s illness, he stormed out. Kieran cried the whole way home, convinced his dad was upset at him for causing all the problems.

Tai had been at work for the appointment, unable to get the time off. He’d happily let Harrison go, though. His other half was the one so convinced there was something awry. His clinic was busy, he barely got a chance to catch up on his notes, let alone look at his phone, and when he got in that evening he sought Harrison out. Hopefully the GP had made at least some helpful suggestions.

They hadn't, of course, and Harrison wasn't impressed. Despite wanting to rush out and get another opinion, or beat the doctor up, they'd ended up having a quiet day at home. Even Alfie and Levi had been quiet around Kieran, choosing to let him stay on the sofa with Hars while they caused chaos elsewhere. 

In the kitchen, away from the kids as they played before dinner, Tai leaned on the counter and looked over at his partner. “So, how was it? Kieran’s quiet.”

"Ridiculous. Told me I need therapy."

Tai frowned. “You need therapy? Because your kid is sick?”

"Because they think I'm putting the trauma of what happened with you onto him." He rolled his eyes, frustrated. 

“Well, that’s insane.” Tai huffed. 

"He's not well, Tai. I'm telling you, he's not."

“He does seem a little off.” Tai agreed. 

"I know he's quieter than Alfie, and everything is quieter than Levi, but look at him. He's just so tired."

“He’s been quieter than usual lately, and more emotional too.” He said softly. “They didn’t even agree to anything? Not even some bloods?”

"They agreed to do a referral for me."

“Fucking hell.”

Harrison rested his head against the cabinets. "I can't do this, Tai. I'm scared for him. I know there's something not right."

Tai moved to wrap his arms around Harrison. “A second opinion? We can afford a private GP appointment, I’m sure.”

"And they'll just say the same. Maybe I am just being stupid." He sighed, slowly leaning into Tai. "Maybe I am just feeling guilty because I didn't recognise the signs with you."

Tai kissed his cheek. “Or maybe you’re a dad worried about his kid, who learned from previous experience.” He pointed out. “It’s okay to feel guilty about what happened with me, but that was more my fault than yours, I knew something was wrong and I ignored it. It’s not like you want him to be sick.”

"I want to see him running around and causing mischief again, trying to blame it on Alfie and Levi." Harrison smiled to himself. "He usually gets away with it too, he's too smart for us."

Tai smiled. “Can tell he’s not ours by blood; way smarter than the pair of us combined.”

"Talk about yourself."

He grinned. “Are you sure?”

Hars turned to kiss him. "Mm. Yeah."

“I’m glad our kids have a dad like you looking out for them.”

"I'm only here because of you. Only a dad because of you."

“I might not be a doctor but I’m not sure me being with you is why we have kids, Hars. Don’t think it works that way.”

Harrison laughed, his troubles forgotten for a moment. "Tai! You know what I mean, you idiot."

“I might be good but I’m not that good.”

"Mm, I don't know, mind."

Tai kissed him again. “Missed you today.”

"You must have been so busy."

“I spent my lunch writing notes because I had no time before.”

"I know the feeling."

“I swear everyone was complex today too. Nothing bloody simple.” He grumbled. 

"It's always the way."

“Yeah. I’m sorry the GP was shit, though.”

"I'm just worried about him."

“Yeah. Is there anything we can do?”

"We're just going to have to wait until they can't ignore me."

Tai hummed. “I hope it doesn’t come to that.”

"I'm scared." He admitted quietly. 

“He’s got us to look after him. He’ll be okay.”

"This just hits him how much I can't protect them from everything."

“Part of being a parent. It sucks, doesn��t it? Same as I can’t protect you from everything, as much as I want to.”

"I have to, though. It has to be better for them."

“It’s already better for them. They’ve got, people who care for them, and a nice warm house. Somewhere safe.”

"You know what I mean." He sighed. "I suppose we better get on with tea, else we'll be in the shit for that."

“Riots will start, and I’m starved.”

"We could always get a takeaway?"

“Oh, don’t tempt me. Maybe that would cheer the boys up.”

"We might as well."

“We’ll cook tomorrow.”

Harrison grinned and set about ordering their takeaway. Even Kieran perked up at it, joining in with the rest of them and bringing back a sense of normality. By bedtime, everyone was exhausted, the boys all arguing they definitely were not tired, but their repeated yawns and dozes on the sofa said otherwise. At some point during the night, Alfie ended up in his dads' bed, complaining sleepily that Kieran kept waking him up. They weren't quite sure why, and when Tai checked on him he was curled up and fast asleep, so they weren't sure it wasn't just Alfie's imagination. 

Time passed as it always did, and Kieran seemed to get worse. He'd ended up being kept off school, too tired to go to school. He wasn't right at home either, all too lethargic and grumpy. He'd lost weight, too, and he'd never had much to lose in the first place. 

The GPs were still no help, but agreed he had lost weight. They put it down to a virus and then washed their hands with him again. The only one that cared even slightly told them to come back in a few weeks if nothing had changed, and then they'd maybe look into bloods and other things.

It had been a week after their last appointment when things reared their head again. Harrison had been unable to sleep, phantom pain making him toss and turn. Tai, as usual, was fast asleep. He had the decency to ask him if he was okay, but he was more asleep than not, and Harrison would have put money on him not remembering it in the morning. 

While not unusual to hear the boys going to the toilet, they seemed to be constantly back and forth. Curiosity got the better of him and, after hearing the tap running for the fourth time in an hour, he padded out onto the landing.  

"Kieran?" He asked quietly. "What are you doing? Is this why you're so tired?"

"Dad?" He asked, rubbing his eyes. "What's going on?"

"I was asking you the same question, Kit. You've been up and down like a yoyo." He said, crouching down.

"I was thirsty."

"What happened to your bottle? Did you not fill it up?"

He nodded. "I drank it all."

"All of it?"

"And then I filled it up and drank that too."

"And you've been going for a lot of wees?"

"I need to go for a wee now."

Harrison's heart dropped. After everything with Taidgh, every doctor deciding he needed therapy instead of listening to him, he was now faced with a terrifying reality.

"Okay, Kit. Can you do me a massive favour? Do you know daddy's bucket he uses sometimes? Do you think you can use that for a wee instead? And then come and see daddy and me when you've washed your hands?"

"Am I in trouble?" He shrunk back, looking up with wide eyes.

"No, squirt. Not at all. Don't be silly, eh? You've done nothing wrong. I just want to have a chat when you're done."

"Okay." Kieran nodded to himself and headed to the toilet again.

Harrison rushed back to Tai, shaking his partner awake before rummaging through his drawers. "Taidgh, wake up. I need you to call Steve or Sheila or Fao. Any of them. They need to look after Alfie and Levi.

Tai frowned, groaning. “What’s going on?” He asked thickly, still half asleep. “Are you alright?”

"Kieran's got diabetes. I'm sure of it."

He sat up, rubbing his face. “Slow down, what’s happened?” He said, reaching to flick the light beside his bed on. 

"I can't find your ketone strips. Where have you moved them to?"

“What’s going on, Hars?” He asked, reaching out to look through the drawer. “They’re the same place they always are. Look.” He found them easily, handing them to him. 

"You must have moved them!" He groaned frustratedly, ignoring Tai’s question and returning to look for his pouch. "They need to stay in the same place so we can get them."

“They were in the same place.” Tai pointed out. “Are you going to tell me what the fuck is going on? It’s 3am.”

"I've told you." He said sharply, stopping as Kieran pushed their door open. 

"Are you and daddy fighting because of me?"

Tai shot Harrison a pointed look, and then turned back to his son. “No, Kit. Dad just woke me up and I was being grumpy. Come here, it’s alright.” He said, patting the bed. 

Harrison ignored the glance, on his own mission. He returned quickly, holding the strip to Tai. "See?"

He had his arm around Kieran, frowning at the strip. He sighed. “Alright.”

"Kieran? Can I have one of your fingers? Just to check your blood like we do with daddy?"

He shook his head, frightened. “No thank you.” He mumbled, hiding against Tai. 

“It’s alright. It doesn’t hurt, I promise.” Tai said gently. “Let your dad do it to me first, then you?” 

"You can even do it to me too." Harrison offered. 

"No." He pressed closer to Taidgh, his face fully hidden against his dad's chest.

Tai rubbed his back. “I know it’s a bit scary, Kit. Your dad and I just want to make sure you’re okay. I’m right here, yeah? Not going anywhere.”

"I'm just thirsty. I'm okay." He said quickly, deciding to make a break for it.

Taidgh wasn’t surprised the poor kid was terrified - Hars was like a man possessed, even if he tried to hide it from him. He wrapped his arms around him, grimacing as he tried to escape. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry. Come on, it’s okay.”

"We don't have to." Harrison finally admitted, reaching to rub Kieran's back. "It's alright to be scared a bit, especially if you're feeling rubbish like you have been for a while."

“Daddy feels rubbish sometimes, and it’s no fun.” Tai said. “And I don’t like having to prick my finger, either. It’s scary, isn’t it? It’s alright not to want to, but your dad wouldn’t ask you to do something scary unless it was important.”

"Is it really, really important?" He asked quietly. 

"I think it is, Kit. I think we might have to go and see if Uncle Finn is working in the hospital, too."

“I don’t want to go and see Uncle Finn at the hospital. I’m tired, can I go to bed?”

Harrison glanced at Tai. "I think we really have to go."

“One thing at a time.” Tai said gently. “Can we check your blood first? It’ll take two seconds.” It would be easier if they had all the information before they went in.

Kieran stuck his arm out in a moment of bravery, though tightened his grip on Tai. "Quickly."

“Really quickly. I bet you’ll be much braver than me, eh?” 

Harrison did his best to distract Kieran as he pricked his finger, trying to be as quick as he could for the kid. His hands shook as he took the reading, shaking his head as it came up with an error reading.

"Sorry, Kit. Just gonna squeeze your finger a little bit more." Another error. He looked to Tai, desperation clear on his face. "Just one more go."

He held his breath as it beeped at him, finally coming up with an answer. It didn't fill him with any more hope, the reading simply coming back as "Hi". He turned the machine to face Tai, his expression darkening to fear.

“Look at that there now. So brave, braver than me.” He murmured to his son, proud of him for coping so well. He could tell Harrison was worried, and he wasn’t exactly relieved to see the reading. “Is it the machine? Check it.” He said quietly, offering his hand. 

"Tell you what, Kieran. Why don't you come and sit on my knee now?" Harrison offered. "Let daddy do his?"

Kieran didn’t want to let go at first, but eventually peeled himself away, reaching for his Dad. “Is Daddy poorly?” 

Harrison hesitated. "I think you might be a little bit poorly this time, Kit."

“I feel a bit poorly.” He admitted, snuggling into Harrison. 

Taking the kit off of Hars, Tai quickly checked his own, forcing himself to push through the uncomfy feeling. He usually made Hars do it where he could. It read fine, frustratingly, and even matched what his phone was telling him. Fuck’s sake. 

"I'm not surprised you feel a little bit poorly. You must have been feeling rubbish for weeks."

“I’ll see if I can get a hold of someone.” Tai said quietly, standing up. 

“Am I in trouble?” Kieran asked again. 

"No, no." Harrison promised, kissing his hair. "You're the furthest thing from being in trouble. You've been so brave and amazing."

“I’m sorry.”

"I'm sorry you've been feeling so rubbish for so long."

“That doctor was mean to you. I didn’t mean to make him be mean to you.”

"Can I let you in on a secret?" He pretended to whisper.

Kieran nodded. He was good at keeping secrets. 

"Lots of doctors are mean to me because I've done some really, really silly things. It wasn't your fault in the slightest."

“But you’re a doctor.”

"I am. But you've seen the silly things I've done. Like when I tripped over Alfie's car and my leg fell off!" He kept soothing. "And I've done loads before you were even born! Grandma Sheila and grandad Fred were always telling me off, and then when I was living with grandad Steve, he had to tell me off every day too."

“I’ve done silly things.” Kieran said quietly. “Will they be mean to me?”

"You've only done a tiny amount of silly things, they don't count. And you're far too cute for them to ever be mad at you."

“You’ll stay? Won’t go away?” He asked, as Tai reappeared. 

“Steve’s at work, I couldn’t get through to Sheila, but Fao’s going to come over.” He said, sitting back on the bed. 

Harrison groaned quietly. Of course, nearly all of them were busy. No doubt Fao was rota-ed for the day shift after too.

"Of course I'm gonna stay! I'll make sure to hold your hand as long as I can. Maybe I should super glue it to yours?" He pretended to muse. "That way they can't take us apart."

Kieran laughed despite himself. “Don’t be silly, Dad.”

"No? No super glue?" Harrison sighed. "Hmmm. Maybe we could duct tape us!"

Tai set about getting dressed, letting Harrison keep Kieran distracted. He had their grab bag already, but there wasn’t one for the kids (they never thought about the kids getting sick) and so slipped into Kieran’s room to pack stuff whilst they waited for Fao to arrive. 

Kieran had already started to fall back asleep by the time Fao arrived, latched onto Harrison like a koala. Harrison wasn't surprised in the slightest, and while he wasn't happy with the explanation, at least it gave them something they could fix, in a way.

Fao pulled Hars in for a gentle hug when he arrived, careful not to squash Kieran. “I’ll do the school run in the morning, let me know how yous get on? Do the boys know I’m here?”

"Taidgh told them, I think. I came down with Kieran, he just wasn't settling. Proven me wrong now."

“Kids exist just to prove you wrong.”

 "I've been telling them for weeks."

“It’ll get sorted now, at least you’re on the ball.”

"He's been so brave."

“Gets it from his Dad.”

"Tai has been." 

“And you, idiot.”

"I've been a wreck.”

“You’re plenty brave.” He said. “Go on, get yourselves seen to. I’ll hold down the fort.”

"Thank you, Fao. For everything.”

“Anything for you.” 

He pulled him in for another hug, kissing his cheek. "I'll call as soon as I know."

“It’s okay. Look after your family, yeah?” 

"Someone's gotta." He managed a smile as Tai emerged from the kitchen, snacks and drinks packed for the trip.

Tai stuck his hand out before changing his mind and pulling Fao in for a hug too. After all, they were family. 

Fao patted Tai on the back. “Go on, off you go. Get yourselves sorted, look after each other. I’ll be around if you need anything.”