My D-blog Entry

Today is the 5th Annual D-blog Day. This year's topic is "6 Things You Want People to Know about Diabetes"..... so here we go.

1. No, she is not going to outgrow it. There is no cure for Type 1 diabetes. She won't get "better" by eating a better diet, taking miracle cures, exercising more, etc. She won't get "better" until we get a cure. Please understand when we say that this is our top priority with charity donations. I don't want to see my girl hooked up to an insulin pump and testing her sugar for the rest of her life.
   
   
2. No, she didn't get it by eating too much sugar or by having a "bad" diet or being lazy. Type 1 diabetes is an auto-immune disease. There is nothing she (or we) did that caused her to get it. Her immune system went wacky and attacked the insulin producing cells in her pancreas, and now they don't work. Not even a little bit. So she has to be on insulin 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. It's a fact of life.
   
   
3. Under control? Really? She's a teenage girl with hormones... what is control? One of the questions we get asked is "Is her diabetes under control?". In a word, no. Is it being managed? Absolutely. You don't "control" diabetes. Not in a hormonal teenager, not in a growing toddler, not in anyone. She can eat exactly the same thing (same amount and everything) twice, and her body will react to it in different ways each time. There will only be control when there is a cure.
   
   
4. Yes, she really can eat that. While a balanced diet is most helpful in managing Type 1 diabetes, she is not restricted on what she can eat. She can have sweets, pizza, etc. She can hang out with her friends at the mall and eat what they do. Whether she has a apple, a piece of pizza, an ear of corn, or an ice cream cone, she has to take insulin for the carbs. A carb is a carb for a Type 1 diabetic. Her insulin pump makes it easier for her to be a normal teenager.
   
   
5. Just because she looks "okay" doesn't mean she feels "okay". Looks can be deceiving. When her blood sugar is high or low, she feels it and it doesn't make her feel good either way. She can have a headache and have problems focusing when she her numbers are high. When they are low, she can have problems talking, thinking, may have numbness in her tongue and fingers. The lows are especially scary. Because of this she carries fast-acting sugar with her and a Glucogon shot. Ask her to show you how to use it. Hopefully you never have to, but it will mean the world to her if you care enough to ask how it works.
   
   
6. Learn the signs of Type 1 diabetes. Left undiagnosed and untreated, Type 1 diabetes can be deadly. From the Mayo Clinic website:

• Increased thirst and frequent urination. As excess sugar builds up in your bloodstream, fluid is pulled from your tissues. This may leave you thirsty. As a result, you may drink — and urinate — more than usual.
• Extreme hunger. Without enough insulin to move sugar into your cells, your muscles and organs become depleted of energy. This triggers intense hunger that may persist even after you eat. Without insulin, the sugar in your food never reaches your energy-starved tissues.
• Weight loss. Despite eating more than usual to relieve hunger, you may lose weight — sometimes rapidly. Without the energy sugar supplies, your muscle tissues and fat stores may simply shrink.
• Fatigue. If your cells are deprived of sugar, you may become tired and irritable.
• Blurred vision. If your blood sugar level is too high, fluid may be pulled from your tissues — including the lenses of your eyes. This may affect your ability to focus clearly.

There are so many other things, and these six are in no particular order, but they are the first ones I came up with. Please, if you have questions, ask us. We would much rather you ask questions you think might be "dumb" or even "insensitive" rather than just assume you know the answer.

Wow...over a year

Oh, my...where has the time gone? A year...no way. It can't have been that long since my last blog post. I think it is quite apparent I will never be a traditional blogger. I just seem to forget.



Well, let's catch up then. Danielle is a senior now. Hard to believe my baby girl is 17 and will be off to college in a year. She's currently looking at Western Carolina University, but has a couple others on her list too. She is taking several AP classes this year and that is keeping her busy with homework. She took Latin I online over the summer. For second semester she is going to take Latin II online and then an online Psychology course from the local community college. She's gotten really involved in the local theater over the summer and is a big part of the tech crew. They love having her and it's a great volunteer outlet for her. She's in her 3rd year of Quiz Bowl, 4th year of Tri-M, and is being inducted into the Beta Club this year. Senior portraits are done. Now the chore of deciding which to order. They all really turned out good, but we definitely have our favorites.

Matthew is a freshman this year. My little guy is 14 and getting taller everyday. He's doing Chess Club and Engineering Club this year at the high school level. He seems to be enjoying high school and the mix of classes he has. He is really considering taking Latin I online during second semester. He has no interest in Spanish or French and by taking these online, he can satisfy his requirement for two classes of the same foreign language. Latin will go great with his intended field of study - Herpetology - studying reptiles... *shiver*.

I'm keeping busy with knitting. I have a couple of new looms and am loving them. I did a pair of socks for Danielle and am working on some for Christmas presents. Brian and I have started going to the high school football games. I love high school football...it's so real. And we have our "extra" kids in the marching band, so we have a great reason to go. Danielle goes when she can because of theater stuff....Matthew is not interested in the least.

I guess that's a good update for now. I'll be back...but who knows when I'll actually remember to log back on. =)

And the summer is gone....

At least the days of the kids being out of school are gone. The heat seems to be sticking around for a while. It was cooler than normal in June, and I guess it "IS" August.

Matthew turned 13 last Thursday. I am now blessed with two teenagers...and yes it is a blessing. Despite my ramblings some days.

Danielle will be 16 in a few weeks. Time is flying by. She wants to have a party with hot dogs and hamburgers and fixings. Seems to be pretty simple. Of course, she wants to invite 20 people. Guess I had better get myself in gear and get the house cleaned. She spent one week with a friend of hers in Pawleys Island, SC. Other than the sting by the jellyfish, I think she had a great time.

I need to get myself in gear and start working out on the Wii Fit too. That is the reason I got it. I have a plan, and hopefully I won't start making excuses to myself. Danielle has to be on the bus by 6:30 and Matthew doesn't have to be up until 7, so if I use that 1/2 hour in between to work on the Wii Fit, I should be doing good.

I am restraining myself from dragging out the suitcase and packing for my cruise in 8 weeks. It's a vacation with a great friend and a great group of people. A chance for some me time away from the kids and Brian, although I will miss them terribly.

Speaking of that cruise, we will be leaving out of Tampa and cruising to Grand Cayman, Cozumel, Belize and Roatan. Looking forward to all of them, as Cozumel is the only one of those I've been to.

School starts on Tuesday and I hope I remember to take pictures of the kids. Hopefully they will humor me and let me take them.

Last Day of School

Wow...where did the school year go? Yikes. I now have an official 8th grader and a Junior in high school.

Danielle got her driver's permit a few weeks ago. She's driven to the store a few times and here and there. We are all still in one piece. She gets better each time she drives so by the time next May gets here, she will be ready for her license. In NC you have to have your permit for a full year before you can get your license.

I'm going to "try" to do a better job of updating this. I'm not sure if anyone actually follows it, but it is a creative outlet of sorts.

Happy Summer everyone!!!

Ta-Da....it's finished

I finally finished my Pinwheel Afghan. After a few bumps in joining the first and last panel to make a circle (if you ever decide to make one, I can tell you what NOT to do) and taking some time to figure out the best way to attach the points, I finally finished it tonight. Now Matthew and Danielle both want to claim it as theirs.

Back to school

Well, it went better than expected this morning. I thought I would have to fight to get them up and moving after two full weeks off. Danielle was actually up in time to test her sugar AND eat before she walked out the door.

Got most of my to-do list done over the weekend. Still have to get the rest of the Christmas decorations put away and back up in the attic.

I started working on my pinwheel afghan too. It's going to be pretty and so far, it's been an easy to understand pattern. We'll see when I get to the tips (you can see what it will look like by clicking the link on the side).

Hopefully get Matthew to karate tonight. He earned his purple belt at his last class, but between sickness and the holidays, it's been several weeks and I know he would like to have it in his possession. Will try to get pictures of him with it on.

New Year - New Design

Happy New Year!!!

I thought I would take a few minutes today and update the layout of my blog, plus add some links to my favorite webpages and to knitting projects I am working on.

This year I plan to knit, scrapbook, cross stitch and exercise more (don't we all).

Have two concert links to post. The first is to Matthew's first band concert. The second is to Danielle Christmas concert at school (in two segments). She did one other Christmas concert with The Arts Experience, but we didn't get it recorded. These were her final concerts of this school year as they are not doing a Spring Semester of TAE and in school she is taking Musical Theater instead of choir. Enjoy!!







We hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and has a blessed 2009!!!