I am SO excited to finally be able to share this with you all! For several years we have been following a doctor and her team that have been working on a cure for type 1 diabetes. Up until now we have always asked everyone to donate to JDRF. While this has been great and the advancements have been amazing, we have always wanted to bring more attention to Dr. Faustman and her team. We have been donating to her for a few years now. Lee Iacocca has supported her a great deal. His wife had type 1 diabetes and when she died he promised her he would help find a cure!
We know many people know about JDRF and so it is easier to ask for donations. We are wanting to bring more attention to the Faustman Lab and make more people aware that there is an actual cure going through human trials. I'm excited to be able to share this information with everyone when it is going to be a start of a new year! This next year we are going to be doing whatever we can to help raise money to donate to The Faustman Lab. It takes money to find a cure, and she found one so we want to help her and find the money! :-)
I will keep everyone up to date on what we will be doing to raise money. Two things we are going to do this new year is to sell Shanie's Dream Team t-shirts and also awareness bracelets! They are in the works so we will let you all know when they will be available!
For more information about Dr. Faustman and her team or if you would like to donate, please visit www.faustmanlab.org
I'm really excited for this new year and to be able to share the hopes for a cure for type 1 diabetes!!
Hope everyone has a VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR!!
Friday, December 16, 2011
Sunday, December 11, 2011
24/7
Well as most of you may know from my facebook status, we had a rough and very long night last night. First I want you all to know that I am not complaining, I am just simply trying to bring awareness about type 1. And in doing this I need to share what this disease does and explain to everyone that this really is a 24/7 fight.
We had a fun spontaneous trip down to Bakes at 11pm because Shanie just had to have In N Out! SO since we ALL love In N Out it wasn't too hard to talk her dad into driving that far for their food. At 11:47pm Shanie's blood sugar was 252 when she tested before she ate. And we knew she put in enough insulin to cover her food.
At 2:32am she went to 497! At 2:50am she went even higher to 532!! At this point she was starting to feel sick. We know with her that when she gets that high and she starts to feel sick DKA (Diabetic ketoacidosis) is kicking in. If she vomits it starts a vicious cycle that is really hard to get out of and that is how she ended up at the Children's Hospital in ICU in a coma for 2 days! That was when she was 10 years old.
Thankfully her dad was taking care of her so I could get a little bit of sleep. As I slept about an hour and a half, I didn't know she went over 500. He had her change her site and come to find out some tiny little bubbles were in the tube. So she was going without insulin for just a few hours and her body was already in trouble.
I got up and took over so her dad could get some sleep. After her pump change at 3:57am she was down to 448. Of course I couldn't go back to sleep with her that high, so the two of us hung out in her bed watching Nick at Night. :-)
Tested again at 4:43am and she was down to 395, again at 5:21am she was 340, again at 5:58am she was finally down to 293. So at this point I felt okay to get some sleep. Shanie was so tired, she finally crashed out at that point too. I woke up at 9am and checked her again and she was back down to 143!
The bad thing about trying to get her number down, is that you want to keep pumping extra insulin to get her down faster. Her insulin pump is like an IV and slowly drips insulin into her body 24/7, so it takes time for it to get her number down. If we had put extra insulin to get her number down faster, she could have crashed or we would have still been up trying to correct lows. So we just had to wait and keep checking to make sure her insulin was going in.
You never know when nights like this will happen. Some friends of ours had a similar night as well and they were going to Disneyland today! So you just have to fight through the night and just keep going the next day! I'm not asking for a pat on the back, there are millions of us parents doing the same thing. We just need people to be aware that this disease fights our children 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. No matter if they are sleeping, awake or going to Disneyland! It is always fighting against our children so we in turn will always fight back no matter the time of day or night.
We had a fun spontaneous trip down to Bakes at 11pm because Shanie just had to have In N Out! SO since we ALL love In N Out it wasn't too hard to talk her dad into driving that far for their food. At 11:47pm Shanie's blood sugar was 252 when she tested before she ate. And we knew she put in enough insulin to cover her food.
At 2:32am she went to 497! At 2:50am she went even higher to 532!! At this point she was starting to feel sick. We know with her that when she gets that high and she starts to feel sick DKA (Diabetic ketoacidosis) is kicking in. If she vomits it starts a vicious cycle that is really hard to get out of and that is how she ended up at the Children's Hospital in ICU in a coma for 2 days! That was when she was 10 years old.
Thankfully her dad was taking care of her so I could get a little bit of sleep. As I slept about an hour and a half, I didn't know she went over 500. He had her change her site and come to find out some tiny little bubbles were in the tube. So she was going without insulin for just a few hours and her body was already in trouble.
I got up and took over so her dad could get some sleep. After her pump change at 3:57am she was down to 448. Of course I couldn't go back to sleep with her that high, so the two of us hung out in her bed watching Nick at Night. :-)
Tested again at 4:43am and she was down to 395, again at 5:21am she was 340, again at 5:58am she was finally down to 293. So at this point I felt okay to get some sleep. Shanie was so tired, she finally crashed out at that point too. I woke up at 9am and checked her again and she was back down to 143!
The bad thing about trying to get her number down, is that you want to keep pumping extra insulin to get her down faster. Her insulin pump is like an IV and slowly drips insulin into her body 24/7, so it takes time for it to get her number down. If we had put extra insulin to get her number down faster, she could have crashed or we would have still been up trying to correct lows. So we just had to wait and keep checking to make sure her insulin was going in.
You never know when nights like this will happen. Some friends of ours had a similar night as well and they were going to Disneyland today! So you just have to fight through the night and just keep going the next day! I'm not asking for a pat on the back, there are millions of us parents doing the same thing. We just need people to be aware that this disease fights our children 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. No matter if they are sleeping, awake or going to Disneyland! It is always fighting against our children so we in turn will always fight back no matter the time of day or night.
Wednesday, December 7, 2011
Cute Boys = Good Blood Sugar!
Okay, I'm sure you are all saying....WHAT? LOL!
Well we have found this to be true with Shanie. We have no idea if this is true for anyone else. When we told her doctors at UCLA they thought it was funny. But it is now a fact in her chart! :-)
We first noticed it when we went to Disneyworld in 2009. Her numbers, for the most part, were great. We started to notice that whenever she would see a cute boy for an extended amount of time, or see lots of cute boys, she would go low. We seriously started to watch this. Hey whatever works, right? LOL! We did find out that this is in fact true for Shanie.
We just got back from spending two days at two places that Shanie does not care for, Legoland and Seaworld. Mostly she doesn't like them because they are not her beloved Disneyland, LOL! What we did find out this time was that in fact it is cute boys that keep her blood sugar levels down.
Usually when we go someplace that she is not happy about she will stress out and stress causes her numbers to go high and then when her numbers are high, she is really crabby. She hates to feel this way too.
So as we spent the past two days at two places she doesn't care for, she did see a lot of cute boys and babies, another one of her weaknesses. :-) And for the past two days not only were her numbers good, she actually had a good time too! :-)
P.S. She keeps wanting to ask her doctors to recommend a cute boy to follow her around instead of a dog! LOL!
Well we have found this to be true with Shanie. We have no idea if this is true for anyone else. When we told her doctors at UCLA they thought it was funny. But it is now a fact in her chart! :-)
We first noticed it when we went to Disneyworld in 2009. Her numbers, for the most part, were great. We started to notice that whenever she would see a cute boy for an extended amount of time, or see lots of cute boys, she would go low. We seriously started to watch this. Hey whatever works, right? LOL! We did find out that this is in fact true for Shanie.
We just got back from spending two days at two places that Shanie does not care for, Legoland and Seaworld. Mostly she doesn't like them because they are not her beloved Disneyland, LOL! What we did find out this time was that in fact it is cute boys that keep her blood sugar levels down.
Usually when we go someplace that she is not happy about she will stress out and stress causes her numbers to go high and then when her numbers are high, she is really crabby. She hates to feel this way too.
So as we spent the past two days at two places she doesn't care for, she did see a lot of cute boys and babies, another one of her weaknesses. :-) And for the past two days not only were her numbers good, she actually had a good time too! :-)
P.S. She keeps wanting to ask her doctors to recommend a cute boy to follow her around instead of a dog! LOL!
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Never Give Up!!
We have talked to many people about type 1 diabetes. Some have no idea what it is and others deal with it everyday. I cannot tell how different people can be about this one disease!
After 8 years I still get shocked by people's reactions. The ones that shock me the most are the ones that have accepted this disease as a way of life. I have had one mother tell me that basically why worry about a cure. It's already too late for our teenage daughters. WHAT???? Are you kidding me? But then I think that these people may like the attention of having this disease. We are not that way. We want this thing out of our lives forever!
We want Shanie to never have to think about her blood sugar or how many carbs she can eat! We never want her to lose sleep because she is correcting lows all night long. Or like last night we had to change her pump at 4:30am. We never want her to be irritable when her numbers are high (because she is such a sweet loving girl and that is not her, that is the disease). We never want her to be thirsty or have to go to the bathroom all the time because of highs. We don't want her to feel weak and shaky from lows and have to stop what she is doing until she brings her numbers up. We want her to be free from needles and tubes. She does her best not to let this disease slow her down, but sadly since we don't have the control, it has in fact stopped her in her tracks. No matter what you do, it can knock you down at any time! And because we know this is the reality of this disease WE WILL NEVER EVER GIVE UP HOPE FOR A CURE! That is the power we have over this disease! :-)
We know there will be a day when Shanie can say, "I used to have type 1 diabetes!!"
Now, on to people!
Dr. Faustman is now in the middle of a stage 1 clinical trial to test this technique in humans. Using special blood-testing equipment that’s taken years and millions of dollars to develop, her team is measuring whether the BCG vaccine is able to measurably reduce the number of defective t-cells.
For the past several years we have been supporting Dr. Faustman and her team. Here is some info on what she is working on.
In 2003, after over a decade of work, Dr. Faustman became the first person to cure diabetes in naturally diabetic mice. This was not a treatment, like injecting islet cells or transplanting a pancreas. Dr. Faustman’s mice had a genetic disorder that caused them to develop diabetes naturally. Once her mice reached old age (about a year in mice time), she treated them with a two-drug combination to kill the defective t-cells that were destroying their insulin producing function. The stunning result: the mice regrew their beta cells and began naturally producing insulin again! This experiment has been repeated and verified independently by a half dozen labs since. In the past, there have been many false alarms on the “mouse cure” front. Treatments have been sold as cures or a reported cure was unable to be repeated. This is the real deal. The mice had diabetes into their old age, and this treatment cured them. Other labs have verified the results.
Now, on to people!
Dr. Faustman is now in the middle of a stage 1 clinical trial to test this technique in humans. Using special blood-testing equipment that’s taken years and millions of dollars to develop, her team is measuring whether the BCG vaccine is able to measurably reduce the number of defective t-cells.
Support Dr. Faustman’s Research
These clinical trials are 100% self-funded. Because the BCG vaccine is not patented and can be used by anyone, the pharmaceutical companies will not fund these studies. It is up to us to ensure that this moves forward as quickly as possible.
These clinical trials are 100% self-funded. Because the BCG vaccine is not patented and can be used by anyone, the pharmaceutical companies will not fund these studies. It is up to us to ensure that this moves forward as quickly as possible.
Friday, November 25, 2011
Thanksgiving!
As we all know Thanksgiving is about spending time with family, watching football, and of course FOOD!
As most of us just pile our plates high with all of our favorite foods, and yes, go maybe go back for 2nds and sometimes even 3rds. LOL! And let's not forget about all the desserts! How many of you are keeping track of the carbs you are eating?? Probably none of you...unless you are a type 1 diabetic.
We had two Thanksgivings in two days. And with all the yummy foods and all the yummy desserts, Shanie still had to count how many carbs she ate. Actually she really had to "guess" since it is hard to find the exact carb count for everything. And she still had to test her blood sugar many times. More than normal due to her having to "guess", because she could guess wrong and either go high or low. She did go low both days. On one of the days she tested once in front of her little cousin, and then she of course had to test again later and her little cousin said, "You have to do that again?"
Then yesterday while eating with her great grandfather, which he is type 2, he kept saying that he was taking the day off from diabetes. With him being 89 years old, he will never fully understand what Shanie has to go through. And sadly for our baby girl and everyone else with type 1, they can NEVER EVER take a day off from type 1! The closest she gets to "taking a day off" would be that she doesn't have to keep her carbs under 250 grams and she can bolus more than 5 times if she wants. The funny thing about that is she still stayed under 250 grams and she didn't even bolus 5 times. :-) We try to give her as much freedom as we can on holidays, but she still has to keep fighting that monster!
As most of us just pile our plates high with all of our favorite foods, and yes, go maybe go back for 2nds and sometimes even 3rds. LOL! And let's not forget about all the desserts! How many of you are keeping track of the carbs you are eating?? Probably none of you...unless you are a type 1 diabetic.
We had two Thanksgivings in two days. And with all the yummy foods and all the yummy desserts, Shanie still had to count how many carbs she ate. Actually she really had to "guess" since it is hard to find the exact carb count for everything. And she still had to test her blood sugar many times. More than normal due to her having to "guess", because she could guess wrong and either go high or low. She did go low both days. On one of the days she tested once in front of her little cousin, and then she of course had to test again later and her little cousin said, "You have to do that again?"
Then yesterday while eating with her great grandfather, which he is type 2, he kept saying that he was taking the day off from diabetes. With him being 89 years old, he will never fully understand what Shanie has to go through. And sadly for our baby girl and everyone else with type 1, they can NEVER EVER take a day off from type 1! The closest she gets to "taking a day off" would be that she doesn't have to keep her carbs under 250 grams and she can bolus more than 5 times if she wants. The funny thing about that is she still stayed under 250 grams and she didn't even bolus 5 times. :-) We try to give her as much freedom as we can on holidays, but she still has to keep fighting that monster!
Monday, November 21, 2011
What's in a name????
Each year we do the Walk to Cure Diabetes. At these walks everyone has team names. We wanted a team name that was different and meant something to us. Shanie is a HUGE Tim Burton fan and so of course The Nightmare Before Christmas is one of her all time favorite movies.
I think it was at the age of 11, and with Shanie being the creative nut that she is, she drew a picture of Sally with her arm off and needles sticking in her arm. Those of you that have seen the movie will understand the arm being off. :-)
So we decided that this would be the picture to go on the back of her team shirts for the walks. She also drew a little girl with a "thinking" bubble above her head. So we put that on the front of her shirts. And now for the name......
I came up with Shanie's Dream Team. I figured the little girl on the front was dreaming of a cure. And the family and friends that join us each year to help us raise money are for sure the best! And with the best team, we have the famous "Dream Team". So this is who we feel help us with this fight. Shanie's Dream Team. Shanie came up with "The Nightmare Before The Cure". Again, huge Tim Burton fan. This was no surprise. But it all tied in together. She had the little girl on the front dreaming of a cure with her Dream Team helping her fight, and of course for those that live with this disease, it is for sure without a doubt a nightmare!
So Shanie's Dream Team was born! And right now Shanie is living the nightmare before the cure!
I think it was at the age of 11, and with Shanie being the creative nut that she is, she drew a picture of Sally with her arm off and needles sticking in her arm. Those of you that have seen the movie will understand the arm being off. :-)
So we decided that this would be the picture to go on the back of her team shirts for the walks. She also drew a little girl with a "thinking" bubble above her head. So we put that on the front of her shirts. And now for the name......
I came up with Shanie's Dream Team. I figured the little girl on the front was dreaming of a cure. And the family and friends that join us each year to help us raise money are for sure the best! And with the best team, we have the famous "Dream Team". So this is who we feel help us with this fight. Shanie's Dream Team. Shanie came up with "The Nightmare Before The Cure". Again, huge Tim Burton fan. This was no surprise. But it all tied in together. She had the little girl on the front dreaming of a cure with her Dream Team helping her fight, and of course for those that live with this disease, it is for sure without a doubt a nightmare!
So Shanie's Dream Team was born! And right now Shanie is living the nightmare before the cure!
Saturday, November 19, 2011
Happy Holidays with type 1 diabetes....NOT!
So it is that time of year again! Everyone's growing excitement for the holidays!
I know we are like all other families with planning holiday get togethers with family and decorating the house and shopping for Christmas! Everyone is so busy, rushing around, and we are no different. With the exception of one thing. During this time of year you have the festive Christmas music playing in all the stores, the Thanksgiving feasts everyone is preparing for, the travel arrangements you are making, the Christmas gifts you are buying, it is such a joyous time of year.
BUT as we have found the past 9 holiday seasons we have had one extra thing to worry about, Type 1 Diabetes. This disease never takes a break and sometimes with all the excitement it can be harder to fight. Shanie's blood sugar is determined by a number of things. Stress and excitement are just two of these things. So as you can imagine just like all other kids she gets very excited for the holidays. So this can make her blood sugar go all over.
So during all the hussle and bussle and excitement of the holiday festivities, we still have to make sure she is testing enough and she is still counting her carbs. I know everyone is focusing on the joys and excitement of the holidays, as are we, but sadly for our baby girl, type 1 diabetes does not take a break during the fun filled holidays. She still has to fight for her life everyday of the year, including Thanksgiving and Christmas.
I know we are like all other families with planning holiday get togethers with family and decorating the house and shopping for Christmas! Everyone is so busy, rushing around, and we are no different. With the exception of one thing. During this time of year you have the festive Christmas music playing in all the stores, the Thanksgiving feasts everyone is preparing for, the travel arrangements you are making, the Christmas gifts you are buying, it is such a joyous time of year.
BUT as we have found the past 9 holiday seasons we have had one extra thing to worry about, Type 1 Diabetes. This disease never takes a break and sometimes with all the excitement it can be harder to fight. Shanie's blood sugar is determined by a number of things. Stress and excitement are just two of these things. So as you can imagine just like all other kids she gets very excited for the holidays. So this can make her blood sugar go all over.
So during all the hussle and bussle and excitement of the holiday festivities, we still have to make sure she is testing enough and she is still counting her carbs. I know everyone is focusing on the joys and excitement of the holidays, as are we, but sadly for our baby girl, type 1 diabetes does not take a break during the fun filled holidays. She still has to fight for her life everyday of the year, including Thanksgiving and Christmas.
Saturday, November 12, 2011
Dead in Bed Syndrome
Thursday night I received some heartbreaking news. I found out that a 17 year old girl with type 1 diabetes died in her sleep due to the fact that her blood sugar dropped too low and it did not wake her up. I of course lost it and started crying. I don't know this girl or her family, but I can imagine what they are all going through. This is every parents worst nightmare. Every time I think about this I start to cry. As you can imagine it hit way too close to home for me. My baby girl is 15 and we know she has a deadly disease, but for the most part we try to keep the reality of this disease in the background so that we can deal with this disease 24/7. We get into a routine and sometimes get a little false sense of security when things are going well. Sadly when we hear something like this, it not only breaks our hearts, it makes us remember how deadly this disease is that is trying to kill our daughter. And at any moment that can be her! :-(
We have an amazing daughter and bless her heart, when she goes low at night she won't wake me up because she doesn't want to bother me. So she takes care of her correction on her own. I don't want her to ever be alone fighting this disease. Since she won't wake me up I have been setting my alarm all week to wake up a few times during the night to test her. Then I find out that this happened. Of course I am beyond paranoid right now! I do not want her to really know what happened because I don't want her to be worried. That is my job! But as she gets older it is harder and harder to shield her from the reality of this.
What happened to this young girl is often referred to as ‘dead in bed syndrome,’ and its cause is not known. However, it is responsible for approximately 6% of diabetes-related deaths in individuals age 40 or younger. The scariest part is that ‘dead in bed syndrome’ is not necessarily linked to poor blood sugar control, or extreme circumstances. In fact, in most cases the person appears to be perfectly fine the night before and goes to bed, but never wakes up.
Shanie asked me about this a few months ago and I tried to reassure her that she didn't have to worry about this. But how can I keep her from worrying about something that could really happen to her?
These are the moments when I absolutely 1000% positively HATE this disease! How do you protect your child from a monster that you can't see or stop? That is why I will NEVER EVER stop talking about this. If my baby girl has to fight this disease 24/7 than I will tell people about it 24/7!
PLEASE PLEASE understand how important it is for a cure! Seriously, this is a deadly disease!!
We have an amazing daughter and bless her heart, when she goes low at night she won't wake me up because she doesn't want to bother me. So she takes care of her correction on her own. I don't want her to ever be alone fighting this disease. Since she won't wake me up I have been setting my alarm all week to wake up a few times during the night to test her. Then I find out that this happened. Of course I am beyond paranoid right now! I do not want her to really know what happened because I don't want her to be worried. That is my job! But as she gets older it is harder and harder to shield her from the reality of this.
What happened to this young girl is often referred to as ‘dead in bed syndrome,’ and its cause is not known. However, it is responsible for approximately 6% of diabetes-related deaths in individuals age 40 or younger. The scariest part is that ‘dead in bed syndrome’ is not necessarily linked to poor blood sugar control, or extreme circumstances. In fact, in most cases the person appears to be perfectly fine the night before and goes to bed, but never wakes up.
Shanie asked me about this a few months ago and I tried to reassure her that she didn't have to worry about this. But how can I keep her from worrying about something that could really happen to her?
These are the moments when I absolutely 1000% positively HATE this disease! How do you protect your child from a monster that you can't see or stop? That is why I will NEVER EVER stop talking about this. If my baby girl has to fight this disease 24/7 than I will tell people about it 24/7!
PLEASE PLEASE understand how important it is for a cure! Seriously, this is a deadly disease!!
Thursday, November 10, 2011
Type 1 vs. Type 2
I will admit that I do not know all there is to know about Type 2 diabetes. I do have family members with type 2, but I do not live with it or with anyone that has it. So I won't pretend to know about type 2. But I do live with someone that has type 1, so I do know about that! And what I can tell you is what people say about comparing type1 to type 2. So I will tell you some differences.
Type 1 is an autoimmune disease in which the body attacks itself and kills off all the insulin producing cells. The pancreas produces no insulin at all!
Type 2 is a disorder in which the body either does not produce enough insulin or the body is resistant to the insulin that it is making.
Type 1 will NEVER EVER go away no matter what you do!
Type 2 can go away.
Type 1 diabetics have to live on life support. Weather it is through multiple daily injections of insulin or being connected to an insulin pump 24/7. This is how they stay alive. This is their life support. LIFESUPPORT IS NOT A CURE! Until their bodies produce insulin on it's own and they no longer have to inject insulin, A CURE IS NEEDED!
Type 2 diabetics can take a pill to help their bodies use insulin correctly. Some may have to also give injections of insulin for a time, but this is not their life support. And just because they may have to give themselves shots, DOES NOT MAKE THEM TYPE 1! They are still type 2 and it can still go away!
Type 1 diabetics can eat ANYTHING others without type 1 can eat. The only difference is that they have to act as their pancreas with putting in enough insulin to cover what they eat. CARBS, NOT SUGAR, is what they have to watch. A piece of bread is just as dangerous as a piece of candy. They count the carbs, not sugar. And sugar can actually save their life sometimes! :-)
Type 2 diabetics I heard are supposed to watch their sugar.
Anyone that says they are cured from type 1, as Haley Berry said she went from type 1 to type 2, is ignorant and NEVER had type 1. No crazy insane diet can make it go away. Shanie can eat nothing all day long and her blood sugar can still be high! So do not believe in any miracle diet! Trust me, parents of type 1 children would love more than anything in this world for their children not to suffer!
So what do I want you to take away from this? Please do not compare the two. The only thing they have in common is that they both have to do with insulin. But they are not the same beyond that in any way shape or form. And one last thing, please DO NOT try to tell a type 1 diabetic what they should or should not do or eat. They know their disease, and unless you are living with it, you don't know what they have to do. :-)
Type 1 is an autoimmune disease in which the body attacks itself and kills off all the insulin producing cells. The pancreas produces no insulin at all!
Type 2 is a disorder in which the body either does not produce enough insulin or the body is resistant to the insulin that it is making.
Type 1 will NEVER EVER go away no matter what you do!
Type 2 can go away.
Type 1 diabetics have to live on life support. Weather it is through multiple daily injections of insulin or being connected to an insulin pump 24/7. This is how they stay alive. This is their life support. LIFESUPPORT IS NOT A CURE! Until their bodies produce insulin on it's own and they no longer have to inject insulin, A CURE IS NEEDED!
Type 2 diabetics can take a pill to help their bodies use insulin correctly. Some may have to also give injections of insulin for a time, but this is not their life support. And just because they may have to give themselves shots, DOES NOT MAKE THEM TYPE 1! They are still type 2 and it can still go away!
Type 1 diabetics can eat ANYTHING others without type 1 can eat. The only difference is that they have to act as their pancreas with putting in enough insulin to cover what they eat. CARBS, NOT SUGAR, is what they have to watch. A piece of bread is just as dangerous as a piece of candy. They count the carbs, not sugar. And sugar can actually save their life sometimes! :-)
Type 2 diabetics I heard are supposed to watch their sugar.
Anyone that says they are cured from type 1, as Haley Berry said she went from type 1 to type 2, is ignorant and NEVER had type 1. No crazy insane diet can make it go away. Shanie can eat nothing all day long and her blood sugar can still be high! So do not believe in any miracle diet! Trust me, parents of type 1 children would love more than anything in this world for their children not to suffer!
So what do I want you to take away from this? Please do not compare the two. The only thing they have in common is that they both have to do with insulin. But they are not the same beyond that in any way shape or form. And one last thing, please DO NOT try to tell a type 1 diabetic what they should or should not do or eat. They know their disease, and unless you are living with it, you don't know what they have to do. :-)
Wednesday, November 9, 2011
A Mother's Promise
A Poem in memory for the author, for all the children with diabetes.
A Mother's Promise was written by Gary Hempleman. He had diabetes for 35 years and passed away Dec. 14th, 2002 at the age of 45.
She walks down the hallway in silence so deep,
Keeping watch over him, as her little one sleeps.
With meter in hand, she opens his door,
Making sure not to wake him as she crosses the floor.
She sits on his bedside and brushes his hair,
As he dreams of shooting baskets, without a 'D' care.
She holds his hand softly; his fingers so small,
As she watches and wonders why 'D' came to call.
While she watches him sleeping, so peaceful and warm,
The forces inside him fight a constant 'D' storm.
Will he ever be free of shots and blood testing?
She sits and she wonders as she watches him resting.
The beep of the meter breaks the silence of the night,
A small drop of blood tells if everything's right.
The seconds count down to the final display,
I hate this damn meter; I want to throw it away.
The number is fine, one down, a lifetime to go,
As he turns in his sleep, will he ever know?
Why does this 'D' happen to someone so small?
My son is my hero, but my baby most of all.
She turns at his doorway, looking back one more time,
It's a nightly routine of the very worst kind.
She walks down the hallway and time passes by,
As she sits in the dark, silent, and quietly cries.
I have to stay strong, and for him I will fight,
We'll battle this 'D' with all of our might.
I'll teach him to master and conquer this foe,
This 'D' will not stop him, I promised him so.
A Mother's Promise was written by Gary Hempleman. He had diabetes for 35 years and passed away Dec. 14th, 2002 at the age of 45.
She walks down the hallway in silence so deep,
Keeping watch over him, as her little one sleeps.
With meter in hand, she opens his door,
Making sure not to wake him as she crosses the floor.
She sits on his bedside and brushes his hair,
As he dreams of shooting baskets, without a 'D' care.
She holds his hand softly; his fingers so small,
As she watches and wonders why 'D' came to call.
While she watches him sleeping, so peaceful and warm,
The forces inside him fight a constant 'D' storm.
Will he ever be free of shots and blood testing?
She sits and she wonders as she watches him resting.
The beep of the meter breaks the silence of the night,
A small drop of blood tells if everything's right.
The seconds count down to the final display,
I hate this damn meter; I want to throw it away.
The number is fine, one down, a lifetime to go,
As he turns in his sleep, will he ever know?
Why does this 'D' happen to someone so small?
My son is my hero, but my baby most of all.
She turns at his doorway, looking back one more time,
It's a nightly routine of the very worst kind.
She walks down the hallway and time passes by,
As she sits in the dark, silent, and quietly cries.
I have to stay strong, and for him I will fight,
We'll battle this 'D' with all of our might.
I'll teach him to master and conquer this foe,
This 'D' will not stop him, I promised him so.
Monday, November 7, 2011
JDRF Walk 2011
This past Saturday Shanie's Dream Team did the JDRF Walk to Cure Diabetes. This is an event we do once a year, where we raise money and walk with hundreds of others. Shanie has lots of family and friends that join her team and help us raise money and walk with us early that morning. She loves to see the people that love and support her walking with her. :-) Thank you to all that donated and walked with us! It means more to us than you will ever know!
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
Type 1 Diabetes in a nutshell
A healthy pancreas produces insulin, a hormone that the body uses to change glucose in the blood into energy. Glucose in the blood comes from the food and drink a person consumes.
In people without diabetes, the pancreas maintains a "perfect balance" between food intake and insulin. When a person eats, the pancreas puts out the exact amount of insulin needed to turn the glucose into energy. If the person eats a lot, the pancreas puts out a lot of insulin. If the person eats just a little, the pancreas puts out just a little insulin.
A person with type 1 diabetes doesn't produce any insulin. Without insulin, the glucose builds up in the blood, causing high blood sugar, or hyperglycemia. Very high blood sugars for an extended period of time can eventually lead to coma and death. We found this out with Shanie to be just about 6 hours! :-( She went into a coma after going about 8 hours with no insulin!
Since people with type 1 diabetes can't produce their own insulin, they must put insulin into the bloodstream through injections or an insulin pump. To know how much insulin they need, they have to check their blood sugar level throughout the day and keep track of what they eat.
For people with type 1 diabetes, balancing insulin and food intake can be a difficult formula. Too much insulin in the bloodstream can lead to a hypoglycemic reaction. Hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) is a common problem in people with diabetes. It can be very serious and people with type 1 diabetes often struggle to determine how much insulin to give themselves.
In a simple and perfect world, this question would have an easy answer (e.g., always eat a certain amount of food and inject a certain amount of insulin). However, in reality there is no way to know how much insulin to administer with 100% accuracy.
Many factors influence how much insulin people need to get to the desired "perfect balance" of glucose and insulin. These factors include foods with different absorption rates as well as the effects of stress, illness, and exercise. Since determining how much insulin the body needs to "balance" the amount of glucose is really a best guess, sometimes the guess is inaccurate and high or low blood sugar results.
High blood sugar levels over a number of years can cause serious damage to the body's organ systems. This damage may cause complications affecting the heart, nerves, kidneys, eyes, and other parts of the body. However, careful monitoring could greatly reduce the threat of these complications.
Researchers are also making progress at developing new treatments and technologies to help people with diabetes stay healthy. It's important to remember that people with diabetes can lead active and productive lives, just like anyone else.
It's also important to know that diabetes is not contagious. You cannot catch diabetes from someone who has it. We don't know how type 1 diabetes happens. Researchers continue to study how and why type 1 diabetes occurs in certain children and families. Because at this time, no one knows!
In people without diabetes, the pancreas maintains a "perfect balance" between food intake and insulin. When a person eats, the pancreas puts out the exact amount of insulin needed to turn the glucose into energy. If the person eats a lot, the pancreas puts out a lot of insulin. If the person eats just a little, the pancreas puts out just a little insulin.
A person with type 1 diabetes doesn't produce any insulin. Without insulin, the glucose builds up in the blood, causing high blood sugar, or hyperglycemia. Very high blood sugars for an extended period of time can eventually lead to coma and death. We found this out with Shanie to be just about 6 hours! :-( She went into a coma after going about 8 hours with no insulin!
Since people with type 1 diabetes can't produce their own insulin, they must put insulin into the bloodstream through injections or an insulin pump. To know how much insulin they need, they have to check their blood sugar level throughout the day and keep track of what they eat.
For people with type 1 diabetes, balancing insulin and food intake can be a difficult formula. Too much insulin in the bloodstream can lead to a hypoglycemic reaction. Hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) is a common problem in people with diabetes. It can be very serious and people with type 1 diabetes often struggle to determine how much insulin to give themselves.
In a simple and perfect world, this question would have an easy answer (e.g., always eat a certain amount of food and inject a certain amount of insulin). However, in reality there is no way to know how much insulin to administer with 100% accuracy.
Many factors influence how much insulin people need to get to the desired "perfect balance" of glucose and insulin. These factors include foods with different absorption rates as well as the effects of stress, illness, and exercise. Since determining how much insulin the body needs to "balance" the amount of glucose is really a best guess, sometimes the guess is inaccurate and high or low blood sugar results.
High blood sugar levels over a number of years can cause serious damage to the body's organ systems. This damage may cause complications affecting the heart, nerves, kidneys, eyes, and other parts of the body. However, careful monitoring could greatly reduce the threat of these complications.
Researchers are also making progress at developing new treatments and technologies to help people with diabetes stay healthy. It's important to remember that people with diabetes can lead active and productive lives, just like anyone else.
It's also important to know that diabetes is not contagious. You cannot catch diabetes from someone who has it. We don't know how type 1 diabetes happens. Researchers continue to study how and why type 1 diabetes occurs in certain children and families. Because at this time, no one knows!
Saturday, October 29, 2011
Halloween = Candy......what's a diabetic child to do????
Well as most of you may not know, children with type 1 diabetes CAN EAT CANDY! Normal, chocolate, sugar filled, yummy candy! How is this possible you ask? Well let me tell you!
Our first Halloween with type 1 diabetes was just 6 weeks after Shanie was diagnosed. So we were still very new at all of this. After her diagnoses we felt like we were dealing with a newborn baby again. We were very careful of everything! Also still being so ignorant about this disease that was trying to kill our daughter we did the only thing we knew how at that moment!
For Halloween we still let Shanie and her younger brother get candy. BUT we decided that we would buy her candy from her and she could go shopping and buy something instead of eating candy. She was fine with this except when she saw her brother being able to eat his candy. NOT FAIR RIGHT?? RIGHT! So we bought his too! LOL!
Of course we quickly learned that she can in fact eat candy just like anyone else! And SUGAR FREE ANYTHING IS NOT GOOD FOR HER! It causes tummy troubles. So NO SUGAR FREE CANDY!
:-) Well, like I said we quickly learned that she could eat just like a "normal" child. The only difference was that she had to put the insulin in to cover the CARBS, NOT SUGAR, but the carb amount from the candy. So instead of her body making insulin to cover her candy like the rest of us, she just has to make sure to put in the right amount of insulin. So now we let her get candy, LOTS of candy! LOL! And yes she does get to eat it all! Just not all at once! LOL! :-) She just has to keep track of the carbs she eats and put in the correct amount of insulin and she is good to go.
So make sure that you don't treat diabetic children any different during Halloween! :-)
Our first Halloween with type 1 diabetes was just 6 weeks after Shanie was diagnosed. So we were still very new at all of this. After her diagnoses we felt like we were dealing with a newborn baby again. We were very careful of everything! Also still being so ignorant about this disease that was trying to kill our daughter we did the only thing we knew how at that moment!
For Halloween we still let Shanie and her younger brother get candy. BUT we decided that we would buy her candy from her and she could go shopping and buy something instead of eating candy. She was fine with this except when she saw her brother being able to eat his candy. NOT FAIR RIGHT?? RIGHT! So we bought his too! LOL!
Of course we quickly learned that she can in fact eat candy just like anyone else! And SUGAR FREE ANYTHING IS NOT GOOD FOR HER! It causes tummy troubles. So NO SUGAR FREE CANDY!
:-) Well, like I said we quickly learned that she could eat just like a "normal" child. The only difference was that she had to put the insulin in to cover the CARBS, NOT SUGAR, but the carb amount from the candy. So instead of her body making insulin to cover her candy like the rest of us, she just has to make sure to put in the right amount of insulin. So now we let her get candy, LOTS of candy! LOL! And yes she does get to eat it all! Just not all at once! LOL! :-) She just has to keep track of the carbs she eats and put in the correct amount of insulin and she is good to go.
So make sure that you don't treat diabetic children any different during Halloween! :-)
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
Help bring awareness about Type 1 Diabetes
Type 1 diabetes is so hard to deal with. And having people that "think" they know because they know about type 2 is so frustrating. I think it's to the point where type 1s just don't want to hear it anymore. I know it frustrates my daughter when she is being told by someone that is not educated about type 1 all about type 2 and if she just does this or that she will be fine. So I think this makes a lot of people that are fighting this disease try to hide or not talk about it.
This disease has messed with the wrong child! As the ones that know me, I have a big mouth and I'm very outspoken! My daughter is the same way! So we are doing whatever we can to bring awareness!
I can't tell you how frustrating it is as a parent to hear people treat this disease that is trying to KILL your child like it is no big deal!! I do admit that before this disease came crashing into our lives, we had no knowledge of it. I refuse to let that happen to anyone else. I want everyone to know about this disease, what it really does, how much it is NOT like type 2 and that it does indeed KILL!!
So whenever you meet someone fighting type 1 please do not tell them about their disease if you do not know about it or if you know about type 2. Ask them how it is or let them talk about it. I know my daughter HATES when people tell her about it when they don't know. But she loves to talk to people that don't know and help them understand.
3 things come to mind that I have heard people tell my daughter that is fighting a deadly disease.
1. WHEN SOMEONE TELLS HER THAT SOMEONE THEY KNOW HAS TYPE 2.
Well it's too bad that they have type 2 but that is not the same disease she has!
I'm not trying to say that people with type 2 are not suffering, but it is a different disease.
2. AT LEAST YOU DON'T HAVE CANCER.
REALLY???????? How dare anyone tell my child that she is "lucky" it's only type 1 diabetes! You have got to be kidding me!! My daughter fights EVERY SECOND OF EVERY DAY & NIGHT to stay alive!!!! So keep your ignorant, stupid comments like that to yourself!!
3. IT COULD BE WORSE.
SERIOUSLY???? Would you ever tell a child with cancer, "Oh it could be worse, you could be dead! At least you are alive" You wouldn't dare! She fights to stay alive and if she didn't then guess what dumbnut she would be dead!! So again keep your ignorant, stupid comments to yourself.
One more thing.....for those of you that think insulin is a cure? INSULIN IS NOT A CURE!!
My daugther has a pump attached to her 24/7. So if you think living on lifesupport is a cure you are WRONG and please stop thinking that!!!!!
Sorry I guess I needed to vent a little bit! :-)
This disease has messed with the wrong child! As the ones that know me, I have a big mouth and I'm very outspoken! My daughter is the same way! So we are doing whatever we can to bring awareness!
I can't tell you how frustrating it is as a parent to hear people treat this disease that is trying to KILL your child like it is no big deal!! I do admit that before this disease came crashing into our lives, we had no knowledge of it. I refuse to let that happen to anyone else. I want everyone to know about this disease, what it really does, how much it is NOT like type 2 and that it does indeed KILL!!
So whenever you meet someone fighting type 1 please do not tell them about their disease if you do not know about it or if you know about type 2. Ask them how it is or let them talk about it. I know my daughter HATES when people tell her about it when they don't know. But she loves to talk to people that don't know and help them understand.
3 things come to mind that I have heard people tell my daughter that is fighting a deadly disease.
1. WHEN SOMEONE TELLS HER THAT SOMEONE THEY KNOW HAS TYPE 2.
Well it's too bad that they have type 2 but that is not the same disease she has!
I'm not trying to say that people with type 2 are not suffering, but it is a different disease.
2. AT LEAST YOU DON'T HAVE CANCER.
REALLY???????? How dare anyone tell my child that she is "lucky" it's only type 1 diabetes! You have got to be kidding me!! My daughter fights EVERY SECOND OF EVERY DAY & NIGHT to stay alive!!!! So keep your ignorant, stupid comments like that to yourself!!
3. IT COULD BE WORSE.
SERIOUSLY???? Would you ever tell a child with cancer, "Oh it could be worse, you could be dead! At least you are alive" You wouldn't dare! She fights to stay alive and if she didn't then guess what dumbnut she would be dead!! So again keep your ignorant, stupid comments to yourself.
One more thing.....for those of you that think insulin is a cure? INSULIN IS NOT A CURE!!
My daugther has a pump attached to her 24/7. So if you think living on lifesupport is a cure you are WRONG and please stop thinking that!!!!!
Sorry I guess I needed to vent a little bit! :-)
Sunday, October 23, 2011
Continuous Glucose Monitoring
How Continuous Glucose Monitoring Works in Diabetes
First, a tiny glucose-sensing device called a "sensor" is inserted just under the skin of your abdomen. The insertion is quick, and is usually not painful. It's very similar to insertion of an insulin pump catheter. Tape is used to hold it in place.The sensor measures the level of glucose in the tissue every 10 seconds and sends the information via a wire to a cell phone-sized device called a "monitor" that you attach to a belt or the waistline of your pants. The system automatically records an average glucose value every five minutes for up to 72 hours.
Results of at least four finger stick blood sugar readings taken with a standard glucose meter and taken at different times each day are entered into the monitor for calibration. Any insulin taken, exercise engaged in, and meals or snacks consumed are both entered into a paper-based "diary" and recorded into the monitor (by pushing a button to mark the time of the meals, medication, exercise, and other special event you wish to record).
After three days, the sensor is removed at the doctor's office and the information stored in the CGMS is downloaded into a computer. You and your doctor or diabetes health care team can then review your blood sugar levels in relation to the other data collected and make any necessary adjustments in your diabetes management plan. The information will be presented as graphs or charts that can help reveal patterns of glucose fluctuations.
When a Continuous Glucose Monitor Is Used
The continuous glucose monitor is not intended for day-to-day monitoring or long-term self-care and it is not a replacement for standard blood sugar monitoring. It is only intended for use to discover trends in blood sugar levels. This helps your health care team make the most appropriate decisions regarding your treatment plan.The main advantage of continuous glucose monitoring is that it can help identify fluctuations and trends that would otherwise go unnoticed with standard HbA1c tests and intermittent finger stick measurements.
For example, the device can capture dangerously low overnight blood sugar levels which often go undetected, reveal high blood sugar levels between meals, show early morning spikes in blood sugar, evaluate how diet and exercise affect blood sugars, or provide up to a 72-hour complete review of the effects of changes made to your therapy by your health care team.
Shanie tried this. First off she hated that the needle and tube that is injected into her tummy was thicker and longer than her pump. She also hated being hooked up to yet another device. While she wore it, she said it was painful. While this technology is great, it just wasn't for her.
Friday, October 21, 2011
Supplies for a type 1 diabetic
As a parent you always worry about your children. As a parent of a type 1 diabetic child you have a few things more to worry about.
Last night as we were going to bed Shanie needed to test her blood sugar. She needed new test strips. So as I go to our cabinet to find a new box, there were none to be found. So I go to our closet where we keep boxes of all of her extra supplies, no test strips. So of course panic kicks in. We have a few extras stashed. So I go out to our van and find our back up stash. Thankfully there were some in there. However, when I have to find our back up, I get very nervous because that means that we are really really low in supply.
How do we let this happen you ask? With everything we need to make sure our daughter stays alive once in awhile something gets overlooked. Or we "think" we have it. We have supplies in the van, in the kitchen, in our closet and in a few backpacks. Here is a list of the things we have to have.....
Pump, reservoir, infusion set, insulin, lancets, glucagon, syringes, blood sugar meter, test strips, injector, ketone sticks, batteries for her pump, batteries for her tester.
We have to have all these things to keep her alive. So sadly yes sometimes something is overlooked. But that is why we do our best to stay on top of this and help her fight this deadly disease! We will never let her fight it alone. We will do everything in our power to make sure she always has everything she needs! :-)
Last night as we were going to bed Shanie needed to test her blood sugar. She needed new test strips. So as I go to our cabinet to find a new box, there were none to be found. So I go to our closet where we keep boxes of all of her extra supplies, no test strips. So of course panic kicks in. We have a few extras stashed. So I go out to our van and find our back up stash. Thankfully there were some in there. However, when I have to find our back up, I get very nervous because that means that we are really really low in supply.
How do we let this happen you ask? With everything we need to make sure our daughter stays alive once in awhile something gets overlooked. Or we "think" we have it. We have supplies in the van, in the kitchen, in our closet and in a few backpacks. Here is a list of the things we have to have.....
Pump, reservoir, infusion set, insulin, lancets, glucagon, syringes, blood sugar meter, test strips, injector, ketone sticks, batteries for her pump, batteries for her tester.
We have to have all these things to keep her alive. So sadly yes sometimes something is overlooked. But that is why we do our best to stay on top of this and help her fight this deadly disease! We will never let her fight it alone. We will do everything in our power to make sure she always has everything she needs! :-)
Friday, October 14, 2011
Central Cal Type One
There is a new organization to help type one diabeteics. It is called Central Cal Type One. Last night we had the first fundraiser and it was great! So many people came out to support our kids!
We are so exicted about this group and plan to help out in anyway we can. Our daughter is even excited about this. With her being a teen with type one she talks to a lot of teens online about their thoughts, feelings and frustrations about being a teen and dealing wtih this disease. She tries to stay very positive with her struggles and loves to reach out to others to try to help them. She understands how they feel and what they have to deal with. So with this new group we are excited to start a teen support group.
As most of you know just being a teen comes with its own problems, add dealing with type one diabetes and you have a whole new set of struggles on top of the regular ones. Please keep us in your prayers as we start this new journey and hope to reach out to the teens fighting this battle to let them know they are not alone!
We are so exicted about this group and plan to help out in anyway we can. Our daughter is even excited about this. With her being a teen with type one she talks to a lot of teens online about their thoughts, feelings and frustrations about being a teen and dealing wtih this disease. She tries to stay very positive with her struggles and loves to reach out to others to try to help them. She understands how they feel and what they have to deal with. So with this new group we are excited to start a teen support group.
As most of you know just being a teen comes with its own problems, add dealing with type one diabetes and you have a whole new set of struggles on top of the regular ones. Please keep us in your prayers as we start this new journey and hope to reach out to the teens fighting this battle to let them know they are not alone!
Monday, October 3, 2011
September 15th 2003
Everyone has their own story about how type one diabetes came crashing into their world. They are all different, but still the same. You are going along living your life until one day you hit a brick wall.
This is our story.
This is our story.
Sept.12th is when the nightmare began. I took Shanie to the doctor thinking she had a bladder infection. They did a urine test and we waited thinking no big deal, you get medication and she will be better. When you get a phone call from the doctor herself, you know something is up. She told us that there was sugar in her urine. She thought there may have been a mistake but she wanted to do a blood test. Since it was a Friday she was going to wait until Monday morning. She asked if Shanie was sick. We said no she was fine, so we thought. She told us that if during the weekend she got sick, take her to the ER. We had no idea what she ment by "sick". All weekend we looked up sugar in urine on the internet. It all came up the same, DIABETES. We were scared but hoping for the best.
Monday morning came, Sept. 15th. We went in for the 3 hour blood test.....then the wait.......that afternoon the doctor called. I will never forget what she said, "It's what we thought, she has diabetes". It took everything I had but I managed to stay calm as she told me that we needed to get her to the hospital asap! After I got off the phone with her I told Shanie's dad to come into the bedroom. I told him what she said and we both broke down and cried. We pulled ourselves together and tried to stay calm as we went and told our little 7 yr old daughter that she was sick and we had to take her to the hospital. She was so brave. We had no idea what we were all in for.
When we got the hospital, they did all kinds of tests and threw so much information at us, our heads were spinning. We were in shock and we needed all this information to keep our child alive. She did everything they told her to do. She was confused because she didn't feel sick. We would later learn that we had caught it early and that most children that are diagnosed are really sick. I guess being an over protective parent really paid off. She was in the hospital for three days as we learned how to test her blood sugar and what the numbers ment. We had to learn how to give her shots. I know for most parents you hate it when your children have to go in and the doctor gives them a shot. We are no different. It took all the strength I had to pinch my daugther's little leg to inject the needle myself. It broke my heart every single time. While she was in the hospital I couldn't leave her side. That first night I held her all night long and I could not stop crying. I couldn't sleep. I kept watching the window waiting for the next morning, waiting for the sun to come and waiting for this nightmare to be over. But as the sun started to rise, I was still there next to my daughter, lying in the hospital. This was real. It was a nightmare that would never end and we would have to live it everyday. That was eight years ago. Life with diabetes is like a roller coaster. It has many ups and downs and lots of twists and turns. You never know what to expect. We were very ignorant about type one diabetes. Most people don't understand it. Here are some things I wish people knew about this disease.....
Monday morning came, Sept. 15th. We went in for the 3 hour blood test.....then the wait.......that afternoon the doctor called. I will never forget what she said, "It's what we thought, she has diabetes". It took everything I had but I managed to stay calm as she told me that we needed to get her to the hospital asap! After I got off the phone with her I told Shanie's dad to come into the bedroom. I told him what she said and we both broke down and cried. We pulled ourselves together and tried to stay calm as we went and told our little 7 yr old daughter that she was sick and we had to take her to the hospital. She was so brave. We had no idea what we were all in for.
When we got the hospital, they did all kinds of tests and threw so much information at us, our heads were spinning. We were in shock and we needed all this information to keep our child alive. She did everything they told her to do. She was confused because she didn't feel sick. We would later learn that we had caught it early and that most children that are diagnosed are really sick. I guess being an over protective parent really paid off. She was in the hospital for three days as we learned how to test her blood sugar and what the numbers ment. We had to learn how to give her shots. I know for most parents you hate it when your children have to go in and the doctor gives them a shot. We are no different. It took all the strength I had to pinch my daugther's little leg to inject the needle myself. It broke my heart every single time. While she was in the hospital I couldn't leave her side. That first night I held her all night long and I could not stop crying. I couldn't sleep. I kept watching the window waiting for the next morning, waiting for the sun to come and waiting for this nightmare to be over. But as the sun started to rise, I was still there next to my daughter, lying in the hospital. This was real. It was a nightmare that would never end and we would have to live it everyday. That was eight years ago. Life with diabetes is like a roller coaster. It has many ups and downs and lots of twists and turns. You never know what to expect. We were very ignorant about type one diabetes. Most people don't understand it. Here are some things I wish people knew about this disease.....
She did nothing to cause this./ She did not each too much sugar/ She cannot just take a pill/ She cannot lose weight or change her diet to get rid of this./ She will have it for the rest of her life./ She has to fight this disease 24/7 and she can never take a break from it/ She has to worry about carbs, not sugar./ She has to weigh and measure everything thing she eats./ INSULIN IN NOT A CURE!!!!
Friday, September 23, 2011
Introduction
Hello, My name is Dani and my daughter Shanie is fighting a disease that not many people know about. I wanted to start this blog to help bring awareness to this disease. The disease is Type 1 diabetes. So many people know about type 2 diabetes which in turn makes them "think" that they understand type 1. Diabetes, like cancer, is not all the same. There are a few different kinds. So this blog will be about educating people exactly what type 1 is and how important it is to find a cure!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)