Autism Awareness Month

Wow! I've been gone for a bit, haven't I? Guess I really just haven't had a lot to say... until now.

This month is Autism Awareness Month. I'm going to share something very personal and something I'm really not proud of. A year ago if someone mentioned they had a kid with autism I would say something like, "Oh, I'm so sorry to hear that." I would be thinking something like, "try living with diabetes, why don't you"! I'm sure I had never met anyone with autism, or at least had not taken the time to get to know them, their situation, their daily struggles. Last year on May 12th I became "facebook friends" with Laura, mother of a young boy with autism. On that same day Laura posted this.

After reading this note I was overwhelmed with emotion, as I am now by reading it again, and it hit me how much Laura and I have in common. We are both mothers. We each have a child with special needs. We have not walked the same path but we both feel the same raw emotion that comes with not being able to take away the hurt and confusion our children must feel. In the past year that we have been "facebook" friends, Laura and I have become FRIENDS! Just friends. Forever friends. Friends fighting two different battles and now sharing in each others. Laura and her family walked with us in the Walk to Cure Diabetes and we will be walking with her family on April 15th in the Autism Walk. We have shared many emails about the struggles and the blessings that come with our kids different conditions and although autism and diabetes are so very different we can always seem to find parallels that help us to feel understood and comforted by each other.

This month is Autism Awareness Month and I would like to ask all of you to show your support by simply watching a couple of videos:

*Autism ~ Don't let me go
*JC's Story (You all remember JC, the kid who loves Christmas trees!)

If this touches you at all, if you know someone fighting this battle, or a similar battle, and you want to do something to help... Do it! The first step is awareness; educate yourself! The next step is action! Make a donation, join a team, volunteer. If you would like information or resources I know Laura would be happy to help you out, cuz she's awesome like that!

Since building my friendship with Laura I have learned that there are many people in my life who struggle with autism and all that it brings. I knew most of them before, but I didn't know exactly what autism is or what it entails. That being said, I'd like to send a shout out to:

Summer, Linda, Alejandro, Jennifer, Nicole, LaLana (My apologies if I've missed anyone.)

You ALL amaze me! I am in awe and appreciation of all you do for your children every day!

It's Autism Awareness Month!!!

That Time I Cussed Out the Animas Rep

I woke DJ up this morning and her pump was laying next to her, in a bad way. It was no longer attached to her body which means that she hadn't been getting insulin for who knows how long. Normally, not a big deal. Today, I go into panic mode because we are out of supplies.

Our pump supplies used to be on a 90 day automatic shipment and six months ago it stopped. I called the company and they told me the credit card had expired (pump supplies are free through insurance but they need a card number on file) so I call her dad and asked him to take care of it because the insurance is his. He calls me back, tells me it's been taken care of and in a week we get 90 days of supplies. Three months ago, same thing. We're running low on supplies, call the company, expired credit card, call her dad to follow up, he calls me and tells me it's taken care of and a week later we have 90 days of supplies. One week ago today, same exact thing.

Last Tuesday (seven days ago) I notice that DJ has enough supplies for six days, assuming there are no malfunctions. I call the company and go through the 90 day supply conversation again. I tell them I will call her dad and have him call with a credit card number. I do, he does. Presumably everything is now on track. I call the company on Wednesday, because I've been through this before, to make sure everything is taken care of. Their system is down but Stacey assures me she will call me as soon as the system is up. I call the company on Thursday and ask if the system is up. It is. I have received no phone calls. I express my frustration and then move on to the matter at hand. Now I'm told that there is a form that needs to be filled out in order for the 90 day automatic shipments to begin and it's a new year so insurance information needs to be verified (they do this every year for every customer) and that will take a couple of days. At this point I let them know how much we have left in the way of supplies and, because they're not very smart, make it clear that she needs supplies like now. The woman on the phone gives me the prices for expedited shipping. I am thouroughly pissed because I don't think we should have to pay for their repeated mistakes but I let it go. For now. I call DJ's dad again and tell him about the form and the insurance and ask him to take care of the form and send it in and to call with credit card information. I'm kind of seething at this point and I need supplies like NOW so I call the company back again and let them know that I need the supplies expedited, I go over the history of the last six months again and the lady tells me that the supplies have already been expedited and should be here Tuesday (today). I am happy(ish).

Fast forward to today. Not having a pump for a day is not the end of the world, just a lot of work. I figure out how much insulin DJ needs with her breakfast, give her instructions for the day and head to work. I feel pretty calm by the time I get on the road and I call the company just to ensure the supplies will be here by the end of the day. I tell the lady I need to inquire about the order and she tells me that they tried to verify insurance yesterday but it was a holiday... She didn't even get a chance to finish her sentence. I. Went. OFF! "YOU MEAN TO TELL ME THEY HAVEN'T EVEN SHIPPED???" I may have blacked out at this point. I know there was more yelling, a lot of cussing, crying and a promise that I will be writing a formal complaint. One week ago I ordered supplies and you're telling me that you just tried verifying insurance yestereday? Unacceptable!

Rocket science it is not. Life or death, not really. It is however a complete lifestyle change for my child if she does not get to use her pump and has to go back to needles. It is also a huge customer care issue. Where we stand now is that her dad is taking it on. I called Kaiser (who we don't even have pump insurance through) and they are working on getting us emergency supplies through their pump representative.

I am so diappointed in the pump company but I am so grateful that Kaiser rocks! I'm a little afraid to follow up on the supplies, I'm sure the company has me listed in a special database for the crazies. So be it. When it comes to my kid and her health, I'll be the crazy bitch. Gladly.

Diabetes~Trying to Suck the Fun Out of Everything

Every year at Christmas DJ and I do quite a bit of baking. We have a few favorites and this year we've decided to make Russian Tea Cakes, Candy Cane Cookies, Peanut Butter Balls (haha. you said balls), Pumpkin Bars and I'm going to try to squeeze some sugar cookies in there too. We have already made the tea cakes and started on the balls (i'm so immature) and have taste tested, maybe a little more than necessary. We're gonna need more tea cakes if we hope to share with our friends.

We are not a family that is full of traditions so this one is pretty important to me and both DJ & I enjoy it a great deal. The baking really is as fun as the eating. Thanks to diabetes I used to dread the eating. Not the actual eating, but the trying to figure out how many carbs are in each treat. What you're supposed to do is figure out all the carbs in each ingredient, add all the carbs together and divide by the number of servings in the recipe. What a pain in the arse and what usually ends up happening is guessing at the number of carbs and ending up with extreme highs or lows. Well. No more!

When I'm looking for new recipes I usually go to allrecipes. Towards the middle of the page you can see the nutrition information. If you click on the + sign you can see how many carbs are in each serving as well as a plethora of other information. This looks like the same tea cake recipe we use, you should give it a shot.

If you already have a recipe you enjoy you can to go to websites like this one or this one and enter your recipe information and, wa-la, it does the math for you. I've mentioned before what a math nightmare diabetes can be. I'm pretty sure these tools were developed just for me and I'm happy to share with you. My nearest and dearest friends. Consider it a Christmas gift from me to you.

***Disclaimer: The gingerbread village above came to us in a box. Nutrition information was available on the label. 32g of treat = 18g of carbs

My Kid Will Never Be A Soldier (Thank God)

Joining the military is quite the process. Let's focus on the medical piece of it, for just a minute. This is my stab at infusing Diabetes Awareness Month and Veteran's Day. I googled "Can people with diabetes join the military" and came up with this information. Not only can you not have diabetes, you can't have: gastritis, anal fissures, artificial openings (wtf), anemia, braces, gout, hyperthyroidism (I have this), endometriosis, hermaphroditism, scurvy, missing thumbs or big toes, the list goes on and on. I can't make this shit up people, that's why I attached the link. I was really looking for a yes or no answer, what I got was so much more entertaining.

Okay. Why am I glad my baby will never be a soldier/sailor/airman? There's the obvious reason. There's a war going on people! I already worry about her every second of every day, the last thing I need is for her to go off to war. The second reason, probably the bigger reason: I know what goes on when 18-year-old kids join the military! I know what happens when 18-year-old girls join the military. I was one of them! I'm not going to go into detail, not too much anyway, but there are a LOT of men in the military. In fact, there are more than twice as many men that women. Also, when you're 18 and in the military some rules just don't seem to apply like they do in the civilian world. I was stationed at Ft. Polk Louisiana right out of high school (after basic and AIT). We could go to the bars in town or on base and get trashed! Just like the "old" folks. We could buy alcohol on base, as though we were old enough to drink. In fact, I can't think of anything the 21 and older soldiers were doing that we were ever excluded from.

Don't get me wrong, we had fun! (Don't worry ya'll. I'm not going to call you out or go into detail.) We built friendships and formed our own family units that will last a lifetime. I abso-freaking-lutely loved my experience in the military. It's just not something I want for DJ. I can't imagine how my mother must have worried about me. I'm also not completely crazy; I know DJ will make similar mistakes and have similar experiences. I guess I will have to take some solace in knowing she won't be adding the element of potential danger to the mix.

Everybody Makes Mistakes

I've said it before and I'll say it again. I can be a FREAK when it comes to DJ, diabetes and the combination of the two. As crazy as I can get, as perfect as I try to be, even I make some diabetes mistakes.

*Had to call DJ out of class in the 1st grade to give her insulin shot that she should have gotten at breakfast.
*Went to a friends house 30 minutes away, settled in for dinner and realized the insulin was still at home in the fridge.
*Waited until the last minute to buy insulin only to remember that Kaiser pharmacies close early and spending an hour on the phone with baby-daddy trying to get insulin from Walgreen's.
*Paid three times as much for one bottle of said insulin than I would for 90 days worth at Kaiser.
*Too much insulin coupled with not enough food.
*Forgetting to add insulin to DJ's pump before bedtime, causing the pump alarm to go off in the middle of the night. Incessantly.
*Detaching the empty pump from DJ's body and shoving it under the mattress to shut it up.
*Removing the pump from under the mattress and putting it in the kitchen drawer to finally silence it.
*Every time we go to sushi I forget to have DJ take insulin. Do you know how many carbs are in sushi?

This is just what I could think of on the spot. I'm sure there are so many more mistakes I've made on this diabetes journey. I feel better knowing I'm not the only one. Thankfully I've made friends with some other amazing women who have the same kinds of things. When I do something really stupid I just shoot a message to one of my fellow t1d moms and before I know it they have me laughing at myself.

Dia-wuh???

Diabulimia is a term I came across a few years ago when researching complications of diabetes. For me, knowing the possible complications of diabetes helps me to freak out a lot less than being in the dark. Fear of the unknown and all that. In order to understand the seriousness of diabulimia it's important to understand exactly how diabetes works.

This is the way insulin works. When we eat anything with carbohydrates our bodies beta cells produce insulin. This insulin turns the glucose in our body into energy. You might be surprised at what foods contain carbs; it's not just breads and pastas. Fruits, vegetables (peas & corn especially), milk, yogurt, sports drinks (gatorade), juice, regular soda, nuts, ice cream, beans, soups all have varying amounts of carbohydrates. There is a misconception that people with diabetes eat too much sugar or should not have sugar. Diabetics, like anyone else, need carbs. Also, like anyone else they should try to eat more healthy carbs than unhealthy carbs.

In a person with type 1 diabetes, the beta cells (contained in the pancreas) gradually stop producing insulin. With nothing in the system to lower blood sugar, it continues to rise. If left untreated high blood sugar leads to serious complications, one of which is weight loss, and eventually death. Treatment is multiple daily injections of insulin and constant monitoring of glucose levels in the blood. It's a pain the ass, it's uncomfortable for the diabetic and it can be heartbreaking for the family to watch.

Now, what exactly is diabulimia? Diabulimia is when a person reduces or skips insulin doses in order to increase blood sugar and ultimately in order to lose weight quickly. This article can answer your questions about diabulimia. I don't know enough about it to confidently explain the disorder. What I do know is that it scares the hell out of me and that all of us need to be aware of this disorder. Diabulimia is not recognized as a medical disorder. Yet. Hopefully with time and with an increase in awareness we can change that.

Giving the Gift of Funding A Cure

So I am at work today just perusing the internet (if you tell on me I'll deny it) and I came across this really cool website. I'm always on the lookout for something new to advertise diabetes awareness and right now I'm looking for some new shirts for DJ. The queen of the t-shirt! If I find a shirt or two for myself, that would be cool too.

This website has many items you can personalize, which is pretty exciting... to me anyway. They have awareness gear for diabetes, autism, cancer, heart disease, down syndrome; the list goes on and on. So, if you're looking for any personlized awareness gear (and really, who isn't) check this out. I even found a little something for a couple of my fellow t1d moms, if you're reading this I bet you know who you are. I'd post a picture, but I want it to be a surprise.

Absolutely the best part of this is that when I went to check out I was shown how much of my payment is going to awareness. It was about 50%!!! Well, that just made me happier than... looking for a euphemism, all I can come up with are naughty ones... let me just say I was very pleased. Anyway, along with informing me how much is going to a cause it gave me the opportunity to pick a cause from their list. I think this is shear genius and I'm sure I will be hitting up this site again. Soon.