I'm not sure if it's helpful to El yet or not, but I like to point out other people who are dealing with T1D because I think it helps her realize that she's not alone in battling this. It's funny how it seems like I'm starting to find more and more people that I know who are T1D but I was never aware of it! Tuesday night I had an opportunity to introduce Ellee to a lady who has been battling it for 18 years!
A guy that I grew up with opened a gym right down the road from me, and a few of the girls that I went to school with have been talking about going there for cardio classes. I checked into it and decided to try it, because it would be a good change of pace (and more challenging) than just doing work out videos at home! I was told a few months ago that the instructor was T1D, and I found it encouraging that she's as active as she is! Although, after one step class with her, "active" is not quite the word to describe her, more like "insanely energetic"!
Through out the whole class, I was just amazed at her energy level and kept wondering how much her blood sugar was dropping from this workout! To finish off the class, we got on the mats and did some ab work and push-ups. In the middle of a set of crunches I hear "MOMMY!!". Ellee was ready to jump on me and give me a big hug! Josh had brought the girls in to sign a contract for the fight on December 19. As soon as I finished, I went over to talk to "A" and asked if I understood right that she was Type 1. She didn't know me before the class, but it's like she immediately knew because all I got out was "Can I introduce..." when she smiled and said yes, instantly following me back to the play area where the girls were.
She started shooting the standard questions - When, How Old, Symptoms, Diagnosed Level, Meds, etc. We chatted and exchanged diagnosis stories for about 15 minutes! She was in college and is fairly certain that hers came from a bout with mono in high school.
She told me about her bad experience with the pump, which I was very disappointed to hear, but I knew that we will still be looking into it in a few years. I was very interested to hear that she takes very little fast-acting insulin - she prefers to control hers with exercise! She's proof that staying active helps the body naturally regulate sugar levels! It's very encouraging because I was starting to wonder if it was all a myth! Ellee is still honeymooning (her body is still able to produce a small amount of insulin on its own) her body's reaction to exercise has been mixed - one time it raises her sugar quite a bit and another time it drops it dramatically. I have a feeling that for as active as Ellee is, that she'll be able to use this to her advantage down the road!
Thursday, December 3, 2009
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
You know you're the parent of a child with diabetes when ...
- Your 10-year-old daughter looks at a beautiful, pinkish-purple sunset and declares, "That is so pretty! It looks like an infected site!"
- You don't bat an eye when your teen says, "I have alcohol in my room."
- Your child practices her math facts using MultiClix as counters!
- Your non-D child refers to all numbers as carbs - "I'm 3 carbs old!"
- Your six-year-old child announces that she didn't get high at that party and you know exactly what she meant, but the person next to you just looks at the two of you with a concerned face.
- You wake up in the night, see the projection clock that says "5:30" and panic thinking that your child's blood sugar is 530!
- You notice someone giving you a concerned look and realize that they have overheard your cell phone conversation with your teen daughter that went something like this: "You are high? You were high last night too at about this time."
- In your search for change at the bottom of your purse to pay for an item at the register, you also find used test strips
- Your three year old who doesn't have diabetes is pretending to read the carbohydrate information on all the boxes at the grocery store and is saying, "Nope too many carbs for sister" on everything she picks up.
- You come home and ask you son how he is doing and he answers with a number.
- Your child never gets the broken crackers from the box -- it's too hard to count carbs on those broken pieces!
- Everyone in the family says they are "low" instead of hungry!
- You go through a drive-in at Dunkin' Donuts and see the sign that said "High Curb" and you start laughing because you think it said "HIGH CARB."
- You are practicing spelling the word "S-I G-H-T" and your child asks if he should spell the "sight" with his eyes or the "site" on his butt.
- Your six year old runs to the bathroom yelling "I've got to go Type 2!"
- Everytime any one pricks or cut your finger you run for the meter -- you wouldn't what to waste ANY blood.
- You buy laundry detergent not based on brand preference, but on whether the bottle would make a good sharps container.
- Your two-year-old non diabetic says "me too" to get her blood checked and wears an old monitor around her waste in a pump pouch
- For Halloween your child dresses up as a sharps box.
- Your 6-year-old child with diabetes decides to leave syringes and Lantus out for Santa and his reindeer.
- You have the coolest first grader in the entire school -- none of other children have a "beeper" and personal nurse who follows them everywhere they go.
- You ask your child how their day at school went and instead of saying "fine" they start rattling off blood sugar numbers
- You ask your child what they had for lunch and they reply 45 carbs!
- Your 3-year-old son with diabetes asks every person who drinks juice, "Are you low?"
- You look in your rear view mirror as your D toddler falls asleep in the car and hope it's not a coma.
- You decide that cavities are a lesser evil than seizures when you're giving your child yogurt in the middle of the night
- You no longer say it's time for dinner -- instead you yell that it's time to check blood sugars.
- You glance at the subject line of an email and it reads "I did my first insertion!" and it's not a porn spam!
- You catch yourself counting the carbs in all the food you or anyone else eats.
- Your child refers to sequel movies as "Type 2".
- You know when School Nurse's Day is and you observe it.
- The only thing worse than a substitute teacher is a substitute school nurse.
- You evaluate measuring cups by how well they will work as serving spoons.
- You can't remember your child's grades, but can recite the A1c and last three blood glucose values any time.
- You never throw needles in the garbage, but you occasionally forget and throw garbage in the sharps box.
- Asked what's sexy in a man, you quickly respond, "Good injection technique and a willingness to do 3 a.m. checks."
- You thought 2 a.m. feedings were a thing of the past once your child was no longer an infant.
- Your child says, "Do I HAVE to take that nasty tasting medicine? Will you ask the doctor if it comes in an injectable form?"
- You realize the saying "Don't cry over spilt milk" was said by someone who never had to look at that milky puddle and try and guess how many carbs it contains.
- Complete strangers come up to your daughter, lift their shirt as high as their waist band and say "Look, I have one too." (meaning a pump, not a belly button!)
- In December, your D child is asked by someone if they're looking forward to Christmas and your child answers, "I'm looking forward to a cure."
- You're at a birthday party and the cake is being handed out and your D child says "It doesn't look good enough for a shot."
- Your three year old child already knows his two and three digit numbers from reading his glucose meter.
- You test your non-D child whenever she begins drinking too much
- You base your entire self-worth on your kid's last A1C!
- Your year is broken up into endo visits every quarter.
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Jealousy
When you think of Type 1 Diabetes and the multiple daily injections... chances are the first things that come to mind are NOT jealousy. But believe it or not, there is one person jealous of Ellee and that person is Danica!
I feel so bad for both of them. For Ellee who has to get the shots because no one in their right minds LIKES them, and for Dani who has no idea what is going on but knows that Ellee gets lots of attention with the shots. In a child's world, this would be along the lines of bad attention is better than no attention.
Not sure if its because Ellee is doing such a good job of tolerating the whole process, but she really does make it look easy and painless. Even if she kicks and cries about it, Danica still watches her in amazement and interest. One of the books that I picked up to read in the hospital when El was first diagnosed was written by a mother. She said that many parents often comment that they may not like what is going on (shots and finger pokes), but they like the fact that they are actually getting attention. And on that same token, I think it's the same thing for the siblings, it may not be positive attention, but some is better than none.
Danica really is fascinated by all of this. I often catch her trying to get into the "poodle bag" and get the test kit out. Or if I leave the test kit too close to the edge of the counter, she sneaks it and tries to poke her finger. One morning, shortly after diagnosis, the girls and I got up and I started making breakfast. I gave Ellee her kit to check her sugar, so she sat down on the step between the living room and kitchen with Dani anxiously watching her, or so I thought! I hear the beep of the meter and Ellee call out:
"Mom, what is Dani's number?" El is learning her numbers, but doesn't always recognize them in digital form.
"Your number is 86"
"No, it's Dani's!"
"What do you mean it's Dani's?" No sooner do I get those words out, Dani is proudly holding up her finger to show me the blood still left on there!
Dani is also fascinated by the shots, even more so since she has started counting! When we give El her shot, we count to five after pushing the plunger in before removing the needle. We do make a game out of this to take her mind off of any pain there may be. My dad is the best with it, as he doesn't count right and gets her laughing as she tries to correct him! I think it's because of the laughter that Dani thinks she's missing out on something fun. The first couple times she's indicated interest, she held her arm out and said "tickle"! Again, not sure if it's a good thing or a bad thing, but its so darn cute! I knew right away that this may not be such a good thing, so I capped the needle, pinched the upper part of her arm, then "jabbed" her fairly hard and started counting. She rubbed her arm a little and walked away! I didn't do it hard enough to cause her great pain, but I wanted to make sure that she understood that it "wasn't nothing" and that there was pain involved with it.
We check Dani's sugar every so often. As a parent (and the grandparents too), it's always in the back of your mind to wonder if she will get it. Type 1 is mysterious because no one knows what exactly (or what virus) triggers the immune attack or if it was genetics. Because of that, I like to know where her levels are. The funny thing is that often when I check her, both of the girls have very close to the same numbers! Ellee's is of course with the help of insulin, but it's comforting to know that we have it under control!
I feel so bad for both of them. For Ellee who has to get the shots because no one in their right minds LIKES them, and for Dani who has no idea what is going on but knows that Ellee gets lots of attention with the shots. In a child's world, this would be along the lines of bad attention is better than no attention.
Not sure if its because Ellee is doing such a good job of tolerating the whole process, but she really does make it look easy and painless. Even if she kicks and cries about it, Danica still watches her in amazement and interest. One of the books that I picked up to read in the hospital when El was first diagnosed was written by a mother. She said that many parents often comment that they may not like what is going on (shots and finger pokes), but they like the fact that they are actually getting attention. And on that same token, I think it's the same thing for the siblings, it may not be positive attention, but some is better than none.
Danica really is fascinated by all of this. I often catch her trying to get into the "poodle bag" and get the test kit out. Or if I leave the test kit too close to the edge of the counter, she sneaks it and tries to poke her finger. One morning, shortly after diagnosis, the girls and I got up and I started making breakfast. I gave Ellee her kit to check her sugar, so she sat down on the step between the living room and kitchen with Dani anxiously watching her, or so I thought! I hear the beep of the meter and Ellee call out:
"Mom, what is Dani's number?" El is learning her numbers, but doesn't always recognize them in digital form.
"Your number is 86"
"No, it's Dani's!"
"What do you mean it's Dani's?" No sooner do I get those words out, Dani is proudly holding up her finger to show me the blood still left on there!
Dani is also fascinated by the shots, even more so since she has started counting! When we give El her shot, we count to five after pushing the plunger in before removing the needle. We do make a game out of this to take her mind off of any pain there may be. My dad is the best with it, as he doesn't count right and gets her laughing as she tries to correct him! I think it's because of the laughter that Dani thinks she's missing out on something fun. The first couple times she's indicated interest, she held her arm out and said "tickle"! Again, not sure if it's a good thing or a bad thing, but its so darn cute! I knew right away that this may not be such a good thing, so I capped the needle, pinched the upper part of her arm, then "jabbed" her fairly hard and started counting. She rubbed her arm a little and walked away! I didn't do it hard enough to cause her great pain, but I wanted to make sure that she understood that it "wasn't nothing" and that there was pain involved with it.
We check Dani's sugar every so often. As a parent (and the grandparents too), it's always in the back of your mind to wonder if she will get it. Type 1 is mysterious because no one knows what exactly (or what virus) triggers the immune attack or if it was genetics. Because of that, I like to know where her levels are. The funny thing is that often when I check her, both of the girls have very close to the same numbers! Ellee's is of course with the help of insulin, but it's comforting to know that we have it under control!
Monday, October 26, 2009
Walk to Cure - East Harbor, Lake Erie
Sunday, September 20th
A few weeks after she was diagnosed, I was looking around on the JDRF.org website to see what the future for this disease looked like. There it was, a video of Kevin Kline and a link to the Walk to Cure website! I checked Ohio and found that they were having a walk up at Lake Erie... and of all places, at my favorite campground!!! DONE!!! We were going to do a walk to help raise money! Part of me hoped that we could do this every year and that Ellee would get to the point where she would want to take over and continue to do this annual event without me dragging her! You know, something that she looks forward to!
We ended up camping at Camp Perry since Dad already had the camper set up there from the weekend before. Saturday morning Mom and I took the girls over to Marblehead to that I could try to get some portraits of them. I can't say that it was a sucessful venture, but I did get a few good shots!
When we got back, the girls were bound and determined to go swimming dispite the cold wind! It really would have been great weather to spend the whole day on the beach but the wind was so cold and froze you! It took longer to get the toys, swimmies, bathing suits and everything else together than we were actually on the beach!
The Walk
Dad wasn't done at base yet, so we went over to East Harbor without him. We had no idea what to expect, but the traffic was backed up on the road heading back to the beach! Along the side of the road were little sneakers staked into the ground. I teared up, it was encouraging to see, not to mention so cute! The parking lot on the right side was packed, but we finally found a spot and made the long walk to the party!
This really was a great event, a DJ & stage, jump house, balloon animals, activities for the kids, free food, and the Coast Guard had an airboat there! They had an area set up with lots of medical brochures and other stuff. It was wonderful, they had anything from log books, insulin pens, pumps, and support brochures. Carl and Moriah called wanting to know where we were at! It was a very nice surprise because I didn't expect them to drive over from Toledo on their way home from Bass Pro & Cabelos!
When it was time to start the walk they gathered everyone up by the stage. They had all the Type 1s come up and get behind a sign for pictures and I was so disappointed that Ellee did not want to go up there! That would have made a great front page picture for a scrapbook for the event, but oh well! They had a ribon that went between the stage and the entrance to the path and they had a little 6 or 7 year old boy that was just diagnosed cut it... then we were off!!!
We had no idea where were going or how long the walk was except that the website said 3 miles. It started off on a nice grassy path, and it didn't take long for the girls to ride on Josh's & Uncle Carl's shoulders! We soon hit a point where we had to turn and walk up towards the beach. Talk about a great view! We could see the waves (it was pretty choppy that day) between the openings of trees. The path went from a grassy path to a sandy and an occasional concrete pad. We were not prepared for the walk up hill in SAND!! *Note to self - wear sandles next year!*
Ellee got a big burst of energy and wanted me to run with her! Much to our surprise, we were just about to the end! I really don't think it was a full 3 miles, but we still had fun! After everyone else finished, the girls got to play on an air boat that the Coast Guard had there.
We called Dad to see if he was done on base yet and he was just finishing up, so we meet him for dinner. Not sure what it is about being up at Lake Erie, but ice cream is a must when you're up there! Toft's is the big brand up there and it is wonderful! I think we had just as much fun sitting outside of the ice cream parlor as we did at the walk!
A few weeks after she was diagnosed, I was looking around on the JDRF.org website to see what the future for this disease looked like. There it was, a video of Kevin Kline and a link to the Walk to Cure website! I checked Ohio and found that they were having a walk up at Lake Erie... and of all places, at my favorite campground!!! DONE!!! We were going to do a walk to help raise money! Part of me hoped that we could do this every year and that Ellee would get to the point where she would want to take over and continue to do this annual event without me dragging her! You know, something that she looks forward to!
We ended up camping at Camp Perry since Dad already had the camper set up there from the weekend before. Saturday morning Mom and I took the girls over to Marblehead to that I could try to get some portraits of them. I can't say that it was a sucessful venture, but I did get a few good shots!
When we got back, the girls were bound and determined to go swimming dispite the cold wind! It really would have been great weather to spend the whole day on the beach but the wind was so cold and froze you! It took longer to get the toys, swimmies, bathing suits and everything else together than we were actually on the beach!
The Walk
Dad wasn't done at base yet, so we went over to East Harbor without him. We had no idea what to expect, but the traffic was backed up on the road heading back to the beach! Along the side of the road were little sneakers staked into the ground. I teared up, it was encouraging to see, not to mention so cute! The parking lot on the right side was packed, but we finally found a spot and made the long walk to the party!
This really was a great event, a DJ & stage, jump house, balloon animals, activities for the kids, free food, and the Coast Guard had an airboat there! They had an area set up with lots of medical brochures and other stuff. It was wonderful, they had anything from log books, insulin pens, pumps, and support brochures. Carl and Moriah called wanting to know where we were at! It was a very nice surprise because I didn't expect them to drive over from Toledo on their way home from Bass Pro & Cabelos!
When it was time to start the walk they gathered everyone up by the stage. They had all the Type 1s come up and get behind a sign for pictures and I was so disappointed that Ellee did not want to go up there! That would have made a great front page picture for a scrapbook for the event, but oh well! They had a ribon that went between the stage and the entrance to the path and they had a little 6 or 7 year old boy that was just diagnosed cut it... then we were off!!!
We had no idea where were going or how long the walk was except that the website said 3 miles. It started off on a nice grassy path, and it didn't take long for the girls to ride on Josh's & Uncle Carl's shoulders! We soon hit a point where we had to turn and walk up towards the beach. Talk about a great view! We could see the waves (it was pretty choppy that day) between the openings of trees. The path went from a grassy path to a sandy and an occasional concrete pad. We were not prepared for the walk up hill in SAND!! *Note to self - wear sandles next year!*
Ellee got a big burst of energy and wanted me to run with her! Much to our surprise, we were just about to the end! I really don't think it was a full 3 miles, but we still had fun! After everyone else finished, the girls got to play on an air boat that the Coast Guard had there.
We called Dad to see if he was done on base yet and he was just finishing up, so we meet him for dinner. Not sure what it is about being up at Lake Erie, but ice cream is a must when you're up there! Toft's is the big brand up there and it is wonderful! I think we had just as much fun sitting outside of the ice cream parlor as we did at the walk!
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Life Lessons - 6 Months
Exactly 6 months ago, I was sitting in the hospital at Lima Memorial thinking that my world has come to an abrupt end and I couldn't possibly imagine how to deal with the news we were just handed. 6 months ago I scrambled for as much reading material as I could find from the library to prepare for a long hospitalization and tearfully called to tell my parents the devistation news. But here we are... 6 months later... and we're still alive!
My motto as of about 5-6 years ago has been "Prepare for the Worse, Hope for the Best" and that has helped us pull through this. I knew that if we could get past the first month, things would get easier. Just like Elizabeth was first born, I knew that if I could get through that first month that things would get easier. And just like with a child as you celebrate any of their birthdays, you look back in amasement at those first few months and are thankful that you some how survived it. Same thing with Type 1.
Don't get me wrong, T1D is a horrible disease. It makes my skin craw just thinking that any child's immune system can attack their body while you have no idea that it's going on and even if you did, you are absolutely helpless to stop it. At the same time, as we have learned to cope with it, I am thankful for T1D and that it wasn't something else, something that would not allow us to bring her home from the hospital.
One of the wonderful moms from TheMomPack said a few words of encouragement that have stuck with me... "It seems like most Diabetics are overachievers". As I see more and more people who have T1D, I believe that this is the case! People who do not let this disease control them, but control the disease. And that is my wish for Elizabeth, is that she learns to control this disease, turn the tables on it, and put it to good use. I loved seeing so many of the nurses at Childrens who were Type 1s working with the newly diagnosed. This was comforting to see that it never slowed them down and that they are using their experience to help us newbies, not just going from second hand knowledge from a textbook at nursing school.
I hate calling Ellee a Diabetic. First and foremost, she is Elizabeth! Period... Plain and simple... Elizabeth! Then secondly, just like a little side note in a book, she has diabetes. But Ellee is so strong, easy going, and has done the best of taking this in stride. She no longer fights us at meal times or complains when we tell her to check her sugar for what ever reason. Occasionally she'll complain that the shot hurts, but as soon as we are done, she has already moved on and is back to playing. My hope for her is that she continues on like this. That she doesn't let it slow her down and that she continues to control the diabetes, not let the diabetes control her.
My motto as of about 5-6 years ago has been "Prepare for the Worse, Hope for the Best" and that has helped us pull through this. I knew that if we could get past the first month, things would get easier. Just like Elizabeth was first born, I knew that if I could get through that first month that things would get easier. And just like with a child as you celebrate any of their birthdays, you look back in amasement at those first few months and are thankful that you some how survived it. Same thing with Type 1.
Don't get me wrong, T1D is a horrible disease. It makes my skin craw just thinking that any child's immune system can attack their body while you have no idea that it's going on and even if you did, you are absolutely helpless to stop it. At the same time, as we have learned to cope with it, I am thankful for T1D and that it wasn't something else, something that would not allow us to bring her home from the hospital.
One of the wonderful moms from TheMomPack said a few words of encouragement that have stuck with me... "It seems like most Diabetics are overachievers". As I see more and more people who have T1D, I believe that this is the case! People who do not let this disease control them, but control the disease. And that is my wish for Elizabeth, is that she learns to control this disease, turn the tables on it, and put it to good use. I loved seeing so many of the nurses at Childrens who were Type 1s working with the newly diagnosed. This was comforting to see that it never slowed them down and that they are using their experience to help us newbies, not just going from second hand knowledge from a textbook at nursing school.
I hate calling Ellee a Diabetic. First and foremost, she is Elizabeth! Period... Plain and simple... Elizabeth! Then secondly, just like a little side note in a book, she has diabetes. But Ellee is so strong, easy going, and has done the best of taking this in stride. She no longer fights us at meal times or complains when we tell her to check her sugar for what ever reason. Occasionally she'll complain that the shot hurts, but as soon as we are done, she has already moved on and is back to playing. My hope for her is that she continues on like this. That she doesn't let it slow her down and that she continues to control the diabetes, not let the diabetes control her.
Diabetic Mothers
I found this little story shortly after Ellee was diagnosed. This was my Holland story! (There is a side story to that a few people will get! I'll find that story and post it later.) What better way to share it than 6 months after she was diagnosed?!
HOW GOD SELECTS THE MOTHER OF A CHILD WITH DIABETES
by Erma Bombeck
Most women become mothers by accident, some by choice, a few by social pressures and a couple by habit. Did you ever wonder how mothers of children with diabetes are chosen? Somehow I visualize God hovering over earth selecting his instruments for propagation with great care and deliberation. As he observes, he instructs his angels to make notes in a giant ledger.
"Armstrong, Beth, son. Patron Saint Matthew."
"Forrest, Marjorie, daughter, Patron Saint Cecilia."
"Rutledge, Carrie, twins. Patron Saint Gerard. He's used to profanity."
Finally, He passes a name to an angel and smiles, "Give her a child with diabetes." The angel is curious. "Why this one, God? She's so happy."
"Exactly", smiles God. "Could I give child with diabetes to a mother who does not know laughter? That would be cruel".
"But has she the patience?" asks the angel.
"I don't want her to have too much patience, or she will drown in a sea of self-pity and despair. Once the shock and resentment wear off, she'll handle it. I watched her today. She has that feeling of self and independence that is so rare and so necessary in a mother. You see, the child I am going to give her has her own world. She has to make it live in her world and that's not going to be easy."
"But, Lord, I don't think she even believes in you."
God smiles. "No matter. I can fix that. This one is perfect. She has just enough selfishness."
The angel gasps. "Selfishness? Is that a virtue?"
God nods. "If she cannot separate herself from the child occasionally, she will never survive. Yes, here is a woman whom I will bless with less than perfect."
"She does not realize it yet, but she is to be envied. I will permit her to see clearly the things I see .... ignorance, cruelty, prejudice ... and allow her to rise above them. She will never be alone. I will be at her side every minute of every day of her life because she is doing my work as surely as if she is here by my side."
"And what about her patron saint?" asks the angel, his pen poised in mid air. God smiles. "A mirror will suffice."
HOW GOD SELECTS THE MOTHER OF A CHILD WITH DIABETES
by Erma Bombeck
Most women become mothers by accident, some by choice, a few by social pressures and a couple by habit. Did you ever wonder how mothers of children with diabetes are chosen? Somehow I visualize God hovering over earth selecting his instruments for propagation with great care and deliberation. As he observes, he instructs his angels to make notes in a giant ledger.
"Armstrong, Beth, son. Patron Saint Matthew."
"Forrest, Marjorie, daughter, Patron Saint Cecilia."
"Rutledge, Carrie, twins. Patron Saint Gerard. He's used to profanity."
Finally, He passes a name to an angel and smiles, "Give her a child with diabetes." The angel is curious. "Why this one, God? She's so happy."
"Exactly", smiles God. "Could I give child with diabetes to a mother who does not know laughter? That would be cruel".
"But has she the patience?" asks the angel.
"I don't want her to have too much patience, or she will drown in a sea of self-pity and despair. Once the shock and resentment wear off, she'll handle it. I watched her today. She has that feeling of self and independence that is so rare and so necessary in a mother. You see, the child I am going to give her has her own world. She has to make it live in her world and that's not going to be easy."
"But, Lord, I don't think she even believes in you."
God smiles. "No matter. I can fix that. This one is perfect. She has just enough selfishness."
The angel gasps. "Selfishness? Is that a virtue?"
God nods. "If she cannot separate herself from the child occasionally, she will never survive. Yes, here is a woman whom I will bless with less than perfect."
"She does not realize it yet, but she is to be envied. I will permit her to see clearly the things I see .... ignorance, cruelty, prejudice ... and allow her to rise above them. She will never be alone. I will be at her side every minute of every day of her life because she is doing my work as surely as if she is here by my side."
"And what about her patron saint?" asks the angel, his pen poised in mid air. God smiles. "A mirror will suffice."
Monday, October 19, 2009
Camping - with a new twist!
May 15th-17th
I got so rushed trying to get everything caught up that I left out our camping trip to Hocking Hills. That will teach me to blog more often instead of doing it all at once!
My brother Carl found a 100 mile Poker Run down in Hocking Hills that was on May 16th. Late Friday afternoon, we took off with my parents, little brother Jason, older brother Carl & his fiance Moriah.
Mom and I prepared for a while for this trip trying to figure out what she can and can't have, do we plan on doing banana boats instead of smores or vise versa. Once the doctor said that we can do the the Insulin to Carb ratio, that helped out tremendiously! It allowed us to plan a regular meal without making sure it was a certain amount of carbs for Ellee.
It was VERY late by the time we got down to Old Man's Cave Friday night. Carl and I were on the motorcycles with Dad following us in the Yukon with the big camper. Josh and Jason got impatient and went ahead to the campground to get the pop-up camper set up. We finally get there and get both campers set up and go to bed!
Late Saturday morning, Josh and I & Carl and Moriah head over to the poker run (which wasn't all that fun because it rained on us).
That evening, it was a "make your own dinner" type of thing! We had stuff for Pizza Pie Irons, Hobo Foil Packs, or Kabobs. Have I mentioned how much I like the Insulin:Carb thing lately?! This is one of those times where I would have gone crazy if I had to make El eat a certain amount of carbs! It was also nice because she didn't eat very many carbs for dinner, which allowed her to eat more of the fun stuff later on! She could eat as many smores and banana boats as she wanted, then we just had to dose her accordingly!
The weekend went really fast and we didn't even get a chance to go hiking. How can you go to Old Man's Cave and not hike?! I some how talked everyone but Mom and Moriah into going down and hiking for about half an hour before we took off. I never cease to be amazed at the differences between Ellee and Dani! I honestly think that Ellee has grandpa wrapped around her little finger because she ended up riding on his shoulders most of the time while Dani (only 18 months old) walked up and down every single step! I did have to give her a ride in a few spots to keep her away from the steep dropoffs!
As a mother, I constantly worry and panic. It's even worse with the diabetes because I think of Ellee's long-term health in addition to the short term. This is just one of the instances where I'm learning that I can't change things to conform to the diabetes, but instead I get to have the upperhand and make the diabetes conform to our life!!!
I got so rushed trying to get everything caught up that I left out our camping trip to Hocking Hills. That will teach me to blog more often instead of doing it all at once!
My brother Carl found a 100 mile Poker Run down in Hocking Hills that was on May 16th. Late Friday afternoon, we took off with my parents, little brother Jason, older brother Carl & his fiance Moriah.
Mom and I prepared for a while for this trip trying to figure out what she can and can't have, do we plan on doing banana boats instead of smores or vise versa. Once the doctor said that we can do the the Insulin to Carb ratio, that helped out tremendiously! It allowed us to plan a regular meal without making sure it was a certain amount of carbs for Ellee.
It was VERY late by the time we got down to Old Man's Cave Friday night. Carl and I were on the motorcycles with Dad following us in the Yukon with the big camper. Josh and Jason got impatient and went ahead to the campground to get the pop-up camper set up. We finally get there and get both campers set up and go to bed!
Late Saturday morning, Josh and I & Carl and Moriah head over to the poker run (which wasn't all that fun because it rained on us).
That evening, it was a "make your own dinner" type of thing! We had stuff for Pizza Pie Irons, Hobo Foil Packs, or Kabobs. Have I mentioned how much I like the Insulin:Carb thing lately?! This is one of those times where I would have gone crazy if I had to make El eat a certain amount of carbs! It was also nice because she didn't eat very many carbs for dinner, which allowed her to eat more of the fun stuff later on! She could eat as many smores and banana boats as she wanted, then we just had to dose her accordingly!
The weekend went really fast and we didn't even get a chance to go hiking. How can you go to Old Man's Cave and not hike?! I some how talked everyone but Mom and Moriah into going down and hiking for about half an hour before we took off. I never cease to be amazed at the differences between Ellee and Dani! I honestly think that Ellee has grandpa wrapped around her little finger because she ended up riding on his shoulders most of the time while Dani (only 18 months old) walked up and down every single step! I did have to give her a ride in a few spots to keep her away from the steep dropoffs!
As a mother, I constantly worry and panic. It's even worse with the diabetes because I think of Ellee's long-term health in addition to the short term. This is just one of the instances where I'm learning that I can't change things to conform to the diabetes, but instead I get to have the upperhand and make the diabetes conform to our life!!!
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