Diaversary Diabetes Carnival o'Fun

Me: Ella, what do you want to do for your First Diaversary?

Ella: Have a party where we play fun diabetes games and invite all of my T1D friends.

Me: What are fun diabetes games?

Ella: Oh, you know. Like check your blood sugar and whoever has the highest & lowest wins...

 

And thus was born our

 

Diabetes Carnival o'Fun

Ella's welcome sign.
I heart Diabdy. Even tho it stingks.
DT1 & DT2 Rock! We Can Rock the Night Away

Carb-Counted Goodies

More Carb-counted goodies

Lots of Buffer (aka crystal lite)

Carb Muncher Game

 

Heart Ring Toss Game

Pop the Balloon with an Insulin Needle



 

Mimi's face-painting booth

Guess the # of Sharps
Go ahead...take your best guess!

And, of course, prizes!!

We had a great time.
I love being surrounded by Type 1 Families.
And Type 1 kids are just the absolute best.

I also had our family photographer, Amy Fink at Belliveau Photography take some photos of Ella & her Diabetes Gear. I LOVE the way they turned out.
Because they show a happy, healthy, joyful girl who just happens to have Type 1 Diabetes.
And who looks darned cute rocking it!

 This is me & my bag o'goodies...

This is my insulin needle... 

 Take that, Diabetes!

I am Strong

Mom told me to check my blood sugar.
This just happens to be my favorite finger to poke.
Mom laughed and said: PERFECT!

 354?? Ummm...I think there's something wrong with the new site!?!

Me & My Low Busters.
I get to eat more candy now than before I was diagnosed!

 

Happy First Diaversary, Ella!

 

 

 

 



366 days ago...

527,040 minutes

how do you measure, measure Leap Year?

Blood sugar checks, at sunset, at midnight, and cups of coffee.

In BGs, in A1Cs, in laughter, in tears.

In 527,040 minutes - how do you measure

Ella's first year?

 

366 days ago...

 

I watched my daughter drink & drink & drink & drink...

and go to the bathroom again and again and again and again.

 

366 days ago...

 

My good friends encouraged me to take her to the doctor on Monday...

because it could be serious.

 

366 days ago...

 

My daughter told me she was so thirsty she couldn't breathe...

and I pushed back the thought of diabetes.

 

366 days ago...

 

She slept in my bed...

because she'd already wet her bed...twice...

and I prayed...

Please, God, please don't let it be diabetes.

 

366 days ago was the last day my daughter did not officially have Type 1 Diabetes.

 

Tomorrow is the one year anniversary of the date of her diagnosis.

 

Her One Year Diaversary

 

Tomorrow we will celebrate the fact that she is healthier now than she was 366 days ago.

That she is alive because we recognized the symptoms.

And because ~90 years ago insulin was discovered.

 

Tomorrow we choose to celebrate the good.

The amazing friends & memories we made over the past 366 days because of diabetes.

And all of the "firsts" that gave us the confidence to know that we can do this.

 

Ella has requested mac n'cheese, pizza & hot dogs for dinner.

So that's what she's getting...

even if it means I have to stay up until midnight correcting her.

 

Tomorrow we celebrate 527,040 minutes of LIVING with Type 1 Diabetes.

 

So...

 

SCREW YOU, DIABETES!

 

We survived our first year.

And we rocked it...

with style.

Even with that one extra day tossed in there thanks to Leap Year.

 

 

 



Cans for a Cure Success!

Last November I posted about our Cans for a Cure (aka Drinking for Diabetes) Drive.

 

Well, Domestic Divo finally got around to sorting & bringing the cans to the recycle center.

 

Before I tell you our grand total, here's a little photo timeline:

 

 

2nd week of November

 

3rd week of November

 

End of November

 

My lovely, once clean, sideyard

Aerial View

 

Ella, helping Daddy sort...

 

...and earning her keep.

 

First trip to the recycle center

Second trip to the recycle center

 

And the grand total, please....

 

$300 !!!

 

Well, $300 plus change but I let Ella keep the change for her dedication & hard work.

 

 

What's really awesome is that my company will 100% match which means we can turn that $300 into

 

$600 !!!

 

600 smacks to be divided between 3 different diabetes research organizations.

 

We're thrilled that this was such a success.

So thrilled that I mentioned to Domestic Divo tonight that we should do this again next year.

I'm not so sure he's convinced seeing as how he was the one who really did most (OK...almost all) of the work sorting and hauling it down to the recycle center.

 

He laughed and sarcastically mentioned as long as he doesn't contract MRSA he may consider doing it again.

 

So start drinking people - next November will be here before you know it.

48 Questions

OK, DOC, I'll play...

 

1. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE?

No.

2. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED?

Probably yesterday. But never in public. NEVER. I don't know why but I would rather eat glass than cry in public.

3. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING?

Yes. People are always shocked that I write in cursive. It's cursive, people, not hieroglyphics. Did you know they barely teach it in schools any more? For shame.

4. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCH MEAT?

Salami. What I'd for a 6-foot Spicy Italian from Subway right now.

5. DO YOU HAVE KIDS?

Yes

6. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON, WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU?

Absolutely

7. DO YOU USE SARCASM A LOT?

Yes. I am also misunderstood a lot.

8. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS?

No. They ripped them out when I was 33.

9. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP?

If someone paid me

10. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL?

I don't eat cereal

11. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF?

No

12. DO YOU THINK YOU ARE STRONG?

Muscle? No. Personality? Yes.

13. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM?

Anything with swirls & hunks of peanut butter & chocolate

14. WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE?

Their clothes. Go ahead & judge me for being materialistic

15. RED OR PINK?

Pink

16. WHAT IS THE LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOURSELF?

I lack patience

17. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST?

My old self

18. WHAT IS THE TECHNIQUE THAT YOU NEED TO WORK ON THE MOST?

Parallel Parking

19. WHAT COLOR SHOES ARE YOU WEARING?

Nude

20. WHAT WAS THE LAST THING YOU ATE?

Apple chips

21. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW?

Office noise...me typing and some guy in another office talking quite loud

22. IF YOU WERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE?

pink

23. FAVORITE SMELLS?

The smell of onions in the air when they are being picked in the local fields. Weird, I know

24. HOW IMPORTANT ARE YOUR POLITICAL VIEWS TO YOU?

Important enough to believe I am right

25. MOUNTAIN HIDEAWAY OR BEACH HOUSE?

Depends on the season

26. FAVORITE SPORTS TO WATCH?

No thank you

27. HAIR COLOR?

Dark brown

28. EYE COLOR?

Dark Brown

29. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS?

No. I have perfect vision

30. FAVORITE FOOD?

I love pizza. I really do.

31. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS?

Happy Endings...tee hee....tee hee...

32. LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED?

Les Miserable. Russel Crowe, you disappointed me

33. WHAT COLOR SHIRT ARE YOU WEARING?

blue, but it has a pattern. It's new. I got it at KMart for $13 and I love it

34. SUMMER OR WINTER?

Summer

35. FAVORITE DESSERT?

Warm chocolate lava cake with vanilla ice cream. Or creme brulee. Or warm chocolate cake with vanilla ice cream on top of creme brulee. That would be rad

36. STRENGTH TRAINING OR CARDIO?

Thank you for reminding me that I haven't exercised in a year. A YEAR, PEOPLE!!!

37. COMPUTER OR TELEVISION?

Television. Mindless television.

38. WHAT BOOK ARE YOU READING NOW?

I just finished Breakthrough. Does that count?

39. WHAT IS ON YOUR MOUSE PAD?

I don't use a mouse pad

40. FAVORITE SOUND?

My girls' laughter

41. FAVORITE GENRE OF MUSIC?

Depends on my mood. But never punk. NEVER.

42. WHAT IS THE FARTHEST YOU HAVE BEEN FROM HOME?

Tahiti

43. DO YOU HAVE A SPECIAL TALENT?

I can find a song to match any situation and I can find a cartoon character to match any person.

44. WHERE WERE YOU BORN?

Southern California

45. WHERE ARE YOU LIVING NOW?

Southern California...in the EXACT same city I was born. Sad, but true.

46. WHAT COLOR IS YOUR HOUSE?

Beige

47. WHAT COLOR IS YOUR CAR?

Grey

48. DO YOU LIKE ANSWERING 48 QUESTIONS?

Depends on what my other activity options are.

Sick Days are Here Again

Sing with me now...

 

So long healthy times,

go long good times

We are rid of you at last

 

Howdy sick times,

Decent blood sugars,

You are now a thing of the past

Sick days are here again

We are sleep-deprived again

So drink another cup of coffee again

Sick days are here again

Yes, folks, that's right.

That nasty cough + fever that lasts FOREVER decided to visit us.

 

I knew it...I just knew it...when Ella started popping blood sugars in the 300's last week.

3 days later she was hacking & snuffling and running a fever.

 

We started out all nambly-pambly with running a temp basal of +35%.

Diabetes laughed at us.

 

That's some ugly-lookin' BGs right there

 

So I finally put on my big-girl pants and cranked that temp basal up to +95% ALL DAY LONG plus an extra 0.25u (we like to say it's "for the homies" because it makes us laugh. Don't ask me why) with every single bolus.

 

I am so thankful to have the DexG4  because I would be scared poopless to be pumping this much extra insulin into her body without being able to see what it's doing.

 

I am AMAZED at how much extra insulin she needs to fight whatever it is she has going on.

Even with all of this extra insulin, her blood sugars look like the landscape of Magic Mountain:

 

Landscape Photo of Magic Mountain:

 

Ella's 12-hour Blood Sugars Today:

 

 

And then, just to mess with me even more, she's high all day and low all night.

And I run her normal basal rate at night.

Riddle me that one.

 

Here's hoping those antibiotics kick in soon...

So we can get some decent numbers during the day...

And some decent sleep at night....

So that Happy Days will be here again.

 

Stay healthy, people.

 

As always, this should NOT be used as medical advice.

For the love of Domestic Divo please do not run a +95% temp basal + give extra insulin for the homies just because it half-way works for us.

 

 

 

Oral Glucose Tolerance Test Take Two

Last September, Livie had her first Oral Glucose Tolerance Test because she tested positive for autoantibodies. 

 

She was 143 at the 2 hour mark and less than 140 is considered normal.

She missed qualifying for the oral insulin trial by 3 points.

 

THREE MEASLY POINTS

 

So last Wednesday we tried again.

 

Starting Sunday night, I carb-loaded her as if she was preparing for a marathon.

Pizza, bananas, pasta - if it had a lot of carbs, she ate it.

Momma wasn't messin' around this time.

 

Wednesday morning I loaded her arms up with "Magic Princess Paste sent from Cinderella that protecsts  skin from ouchies" (aka EMLA cream) and we headed down to Children's Hospital.

 

The last OGTT was horrible. Horrible. We had to wrap Livie up in sheets & hold her down to get the IV in. And the nurse missed the first time, so they had to repeat on the other side.

There was a lot of screaming & bribery involved.

 

This time was so different. The nurse was amazingly calm & had such a way with Livie.

 

When she asked if she could test her blood sugar, Livie held out her hand, stuck up her little finger and announced:

 

"I BRAVE"

 

Yes, baby girl. So brave.

 

Fasting BG 77. Off to a good start.

Time to get the "shot" (IV).

Livie was sitting in her daddy's lap and she start shaking. I took her little left hand in mine and she extended her right arm to the nurse. I shielded her eyes with my hand, turned her face into mine and told her the story of Princess Livie and her new purple dress.

The nurse was an angel. She nailed it the first try and when it was all done, Livie said, with surprise:

"It didn't hurt! I didn't feel it!"

Thank you, Cinderella, and your princess paste. Thank you.

She sucked down the "yummy fruit punch" and then snuggled into Daddy's lap and watched the new Lalaloopsie movie she got at Christmas...twice...lah lah lah, lah lah lah... 

 

 

 I brought my trusty Accu-check Aviva with me so I could get some real-time info because in this day & age waiting a week for lab results is just torturous and last time it was only 1 point different from serum results.

She was 150-something at the 60-minute mark. Eh.
She was 174 (we checked twice) at the 90-minute mark. Ack.

And then, perhaps sensing that I was going to have a nervous break-down if they didn't wake up and get to work, her little islets of langerhans kicked into overdrove for a beautiful 124 at the 2 hour check.

At which point Livie screamed: BANANA.

 

 Then we took her to "HotDonalds" for her post-OGTT Treat

 

 Where DD indulged in a nasty McRib seeing as how it's only available for a limited time.
I declined his offer to "try a bite."

 

 So what does this all mean?

Well,  once we get the real lab results back we should also get a profile that tells us much more about her risk factor. Right now all we know is that she is in the "highest" risk category. Thanks a lot. I need numbers. I need a timeline. My brain doesn't operate off of "most likely sometime in the next 10 years."

Second, because her first OGTT was abnormal, the oral insulin trial requires 2 normal OGTTs in a row. However, because I work in clinical research I know there's this little thing called a pre-enrollment eligibility deviation where the doctor can submit, on your behalf, a request for a waiver from certain inclusion/exclusion criteria. In Livie's case, the 3 measly points could very easily be attributed to standard lab deviation. So, fingers crossed it gets approved and we don't have to put her through another OGTT.

Third, it means I go crazy while I wait. Wait for results. Wait for when the big IT is going to happen. I am driving myself insane looking at her & wondering how many more days, nights & holidays we have left with her as a non-diabetic. I feel like ever since we got the initial TrialNet phone call I've been in this downward emotional spiral and I don't know how to stop it.

Yes, Tom Petty: The waiting IS the hardest part.

Oh don't let it kill you baby, don't let it get to you
Don't let it kill you baby, don't let it get to you

The problem, Tom, is that I don't know how to not let it get to me.
I'm desperately trying to figure it out.

Because I get this text in the middle of writing this post:

 

And I shove smarties into my child's mouth when she should be sleeping.

And I worry about the cavities.

And I worry if it's enough sugar...or too much.

And I worry what if she'd already been sleeping. Would she have woken up?

And she says she feels the low in her heart, but not in her fingers yet.

And not in her brain yet.

And I think:

 

Dear God WHY does she even have to deal with this??? 

 

And my heart breaks.

 

And I don't know how it will possibly manage when there's two.

 

You stick, Omnipod!

For some people, the only thing they need to do to prep their pod site is an alcohol wipe.

I think of these people as the lucky ones.

Perhaps Ella has more oil glands than others, but we've always had issues with making the pod stick.

So we've come up with a method.

It's evolved over time...and right now the current method is working well for the winter months.

I'm sure we'll have to switch it up when summer rolls around & she's swimming for 6 hours a day.

But until then, this works for us.

And since several of you have asked, here it is:

 

Cast of Characters

 

 

1. Omnipod & Insulin - for obvious reasons.

2. Goo Gone or De-Solv-It - for the removal of the old pod & sticky stuff. Smells better than Uni-solve & won't remove your furniture finish or nail polish. Plus you can pick it up at your local hardware store for less than $5.00. LOVE IT. Also has a million & one uses around the house.

3. Triamcinolone Acetonide Cream - the newest member of our cast. We love her. Ella used to develop nasty, itchy rashes under her pod and we tried EVERYTHING. Bard's Barrier Wipes, hydrocortisone cream, cortaid spray, hibacleanse... Nothing worked. As soon as we took the pod off, she would itch until she bled. No more with this little lady around. And for some reason it's helped the pod stick. So she gets bonus points. Ask your doctor if you want more information on it.

4. Buzzy - for pain distraction. Does it really work? Who knows. But we use it & she likes it.

5. Alcohol Wipes - to clean/prep site

6. A variety of sticky barriers - We use Skin-prep, Skin-Tac or Cavilon. Whatever works for you.

7. Hypafix tape - for reinforcement. Also useful when you run out of scotch tape & have to wrap a gift in a jiffy.

 

Steps

1. Alcohol wipe new site

2. Rub a small amount of triamcinolone acetonide cream to new site

3. Let cream soak in for 15 minutes. During this time, I usually deactive & remove (using Goo Gone or De-Solv-It) the old pod and prime the new pod.

4. Blot sticky barrier wipe on new site & let dry

5. Stick pod on new site, apply Buzzy and let 'er rip

6. Put a piece o Hypafix across entire pod to reinforce

 

The final product ends up looking likes this:

 

 

We're also big fans of arm or leg bands. You can order them through Bands4Life or Tallygear. We usually throw these on if she's not wearing something tight around her pod like leggings or a tight long-sleeve shirt. Ella says it makes it feel more secure. They come in all types of colors & patterns and are custom-made to fit. Here's a photo of Ella rocking a pink arm band to match her pink dress. Check out Livie's awesome pose.

 

 

 

In the summer months when she's in the water a lot, we use Flexible Sports Tape around the pod. It comes in all sorts of nifty colors so we can match it to her bathing suit. She doesn't like wearing this all the time because it's not as soft as the leg/arm bands. So we only use these when we need to. Here she is at a water park rockin' the purple Sports Tape.

 

 

Hope this helps. Happy sticking!