JDRF Walk to Cure Diabetes PSA 2008

New Hi Lili Hi Lo Tshirt Design

This is our new special edition Hi Lili Hi Lo t-shirt! It was designed for Lili by the ever talented Raina Telgemeier, illustrator of the Baby-sitters Club Graphic Novels! It is a drawing of Stacey, a character in the books, who also has type 1 diabetes.
These will be made for the kids on our team only, or you can buy one for a $10 donation.
How cool is that!

Swim Party Fundraiser!

A site for sore eyes

We have had a rough quarter. Lots of high numbers, lots of bounces and swings, it has been so frustrating for L. Well, we got a clue as to why at clinic last week. I have been so proud of her doing her own shots, but apparently she does them in the same place everytime and has made the sites so lumpy that she has become a bit insulin resistant.
Mystery solved, she is now struggling with lows while we try to adjust back her insulin doses.
By the way, this amazing Manga drawing was done by a 12 year old in taiwan for an awareness raising campaign. To see more check out this website
http://www.changingdiabetes.tw

ONLINE AUCTION benefits JDRF!

Check out this great auction for the JDRF! I learned about it this weekend at the Oregon Diabetes Educators conference. I went to volunteer for our chapter of the JDRF and met some interesting people. An educator told me about this auction put on by best selling author Brenda Novak.

Happy Bidding!

Hillary's Stem Cell Promise

April 11, 2007, Washington, DC - The Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, the world's largest charitable funder of type 1 diabetes research, praised today's historic vote in the U.S. Senate to expand federal funding for embryonic stem cell research with the passage of S. 5, the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act of 2007.

This bill was Vetoed by President Bush. Twice.

Today I went to a town hall meeting hosted by Hillary Clinton. A woman asked her about her stance on stem cell research and she made a promise:

"When I am president I will sign the S.5 bill - it is time to end the war on science."

Hillary, I will vote for you if you will keep this promise.
This is the path to a cure.
Not just for Type 1, but for many diseases.

Here is a link to more about Hillary's views on science and stem cell research
www.hillaryclinton.com/news/release/view/?id=3566

This is an exerpt from her website:
Hillary will restore the federal government’s commitment to science by signing an Executive Order that Rescinds President Bush’s ban on ethical embryonic stem cell research and promotes stem cell research that complies with the highest ethical standards.

Here is a link to the history of the bill
www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=s110-5

And finally, here is a link to what Obama has to say about Stem Cell Research. I also heard him speak recently and he expressed his committment to science as well.
My friend Julia sent me this link:
http://obama.senate.gov/speech/060717-statement_of_su/

Oregonians - lets make our votes count!

I must be dreaming...

I agreed to let L go to an all girls sleepover at her school tonight. There are 35 girls from the age of 7 to 12 and 5 adults. L is they only one with T1.

I must have been asleep when I said yes. Actually, I didn't say yes: Not officially. Her dad bought it as a gift for her at the school auction. "It will be fun for her," he assured me. What about me?

I spent the morning telling a good friend who is one of the chaperones everything I know about diabetes. I can't believe I have asked her to do this. She is being really sweet about the whole thing, but I am really stressed. This is the first time L will draw and inject her shots for dinner and breakfast by herself.

This is a big step for her. It has always been my goal to make sure she can enjoy the same things her friends can. This is a tough test. I am sure I wouldn't hesitate to let her go if she wasn't T1. That is the part that gets me.

She was going low (about 86) when we left, so we gave her a juice box. It was a half hour until dinner, an hour later then we usually have it. Oh, and they have cookies, and popcorn, and pizza, and ARRGH!

Well, she is there, so it is time for me to relax and enjoy my night off.

I promise to try.

The Ravioli Kid

I wrote this book. Yup...But I am not posting it because I feel the need to brag. I am proud of it, indeed, however I need to talk about the irony of this after what happened tonight.

L loves pasta - of course she does, or I would have never written a book called the Ravioli Kid. Tonight I bought some fresh organic ravioli for her dinner. She took one bite, after her insulin shot, of course, and refused to eat it because it had tomatoes in it.

The main character in the book is Stellina Pomodoro. Pomodoro in Italian is tomato. I can't believe I have a child who doesn't like tomatoes. It has been and is one of my favorite foods. More about that some other time.

For those of you familiar with Juvenile or Type 1 Diabetes, if you take an insulin shot, you HAVE to eat. If you don't eat you will go low, perhaps dangerously low. L has done this twice: once at home, once at camp. She had to have a "sugar shot" at camp (glucagon shot) She wasn't very happy about that. Nor was I.

I reminded her about that tonight, urged her to replace her carbs with another food choice, got mad. What else could I do? Have you ever tried to argue with a very drunk person and get their keys from them so they can't drive? That is what it is like to argue with a diabetic who is low.

But this is my child. First, I was angry because she was acting like a stubborn 8 year old, who I wanted send to bed with out dinner. However, that was not an option. The kid must eat, or, well, she could go into a diabetic coma. Nice...

She picked at her ravioli with big crocodile tears running down her cheeks. I had to leave the room and compose myself. Maybe she really didn't understand. I should take the time to teach her about her disease again, I thought. I went back into the kitchen and made her a peanut butter sandwich.

An hour later she says, "mommy, you are gonna be really mad, but I feel low." At least she noticed.

Sigh.

JDRF Hope Gala Save the Date!

Saturday, April 12th
The Governor Hotel
Portland, Oregon

Test Strip Rant

I havn't posted a rant in a while, but here goes. I forgot to reorder test strips and realised we were down to one container of 25 strips. We usually order a 3 month supply that is mail order (another rant for another time) so getting them that way today, was out of the question. I called a local pharmacy and discovered you could buy them over the counter

FOR A DOLLAR EACH
WWWHHHAAATTT????

My daughter uses a minimum of 5 test strips a day. How is anyone supposed to afford this? I mean seriously - is this for real? I did a quick search on the internet for discount suppliers and didn't come up with much of anything.

I am in shock. I feel like I have been living in a bubble. What is my daughter going to do when or if she is not insured? What about everyone else.

Please relpy with words of wisdom. I need a shoulder here friends...