World Diabetes Day

Today is World Diabetes Day, a day devoted to the education and prevention of diabetes. My daughter has Type 1 Diabetes (also called Juvenile Diabetes). There is no "preventing" Type 1 Diabetes. It strikes randomly (although it does run in families) and occurs after the immune system attacks and destroys the insulin-producing cells of the pancreas. So rather than talking about preventing diabetes, I'll focus on the education part - with help from my Dinobeadies for Diabetes. :) 

Diabetics test their blood sugar about 8 to 10 times a day. They poke their fingers, get a tiny blood sample, and put it on a test strip that's inserted in their meter. 

This dino is demonstrating how he tests his blood glucose (but normally the test strip is inserted in the meter when the blood sample is taken).

Within seconds, the meter displays a number - the blood glucose reading is 88, a good number! 70  to about 130 is considered normal blood sugar. If the reading is around 70 or below, the diabetic will want to take some fast-acting sugar to bring it back up to the normal range. Glucose tablets and juice are good for raising the blood sugar. 

Lately we've been using Smarties to treat my daughter's lows. They're just as fast as glucose tabs, and they're a lot less expensive. We have Smarties everywhere - in my car, my purse, my coat pockets, my daughter's lunchbox, her backpack and in her test kit. Don't be a Dum Dum, be a Smartie and always carry fast-acting sugar with you!

When it's time to eat, a diabetic will check her blood sugar first. Then she'll figure out how many carbohydrates are in her meal. Then she has to give herself some insulin. My daughter used to use an insulin pen for her injections, but now she has an insulin pump. She puts the amount of carbohydrates into her pump and the pump helps her figure out how many units of insulin she should have with her meal. Every Type 1 diabetic has their own insulin-to carb ratio, depending on what their body needs. 

I don't have a picture of my daughter's pump because she's wearing it at school. :) So here is a dino showing some of the things needed to make the pump work. These little packages contain the infusion set and the reservoir. The infusion set is inserted into the stomach, upper hip, upper rear or leg. My daughter prefers the sites on her stomach and backside. The site needs to be changed every three days, and the locations need to be rotated so the favored areas can take a break.

Here's the reason I make my mini Dinobeadies for Diabetes. Annie was diagnosed almost two years ago. Since prevention is out of the question, we're focusing on a CURE for diabetes. Proceeds from the sale of my mini dinos will be donated to the Diabetes Research Institute, a leader in cure-based research. 

Find Dinobeadies for Diabetes HERE, and let's make diabetes as extinct as the dinosaurs.

Annie Goes to Washington

These last few days have been a little nerve-wracking. My daughter Annie went on her class trip to Washington, DC, over the weekend. This was her first time away from home for several days (aside from diabetes camp) since being diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes last year. As her parents, we want her to experience everything the other kids her age are doing when it comes to education and activities, so we weren't about to turn this opportunity down because of her diabetes. But we also knew we had to research how to pack for a diabetic so that she would be prepared for anything. I did a lot of research online, and then I talked to my sister-in-law, whose daughter also is type 1. I'm happy to say that Annie had a super fun trip, and her diabetes didn't give her any major issues. She said she went low once in her hotel room, and once at a museum. She didn't have any sugar with her at the museum (she took with her spare meter that didn't have glucose tabs in the side pocket - must fix that!), but she was able to buy something to get her sugars back up in the normal range. Annie had only flown once before, and that was before diabetes. So she made sure to test her blood sugar on the plane to see if it dipped. It was just above normal. 

In terms of packing for a flight, here is my advice:

Pack extra of everything. Annie now wears a pump, so although she had changed her site right before she left and wouldn't have to until she returned, we still packed extra sites and reservoirs. 

Pack any medication - insulin, glucagon - in its original box with the prescription on the outside. 

Pack extra pump batteries, extra medical ID tags, extra glucose tabs or other fast acting sugar (and be sure to keep it with you at museums!).

Pack an extra way to administer insulin. We sent with Annie's insulin pen and a new cartridge and several pen needles, just in case there was a problem with her pump. 

Pack an extra meter. 

Get a letter from your child's doctor that explains that she's diabetic and will be carrying with her all of her supplies.

Put it all in a big ziploc bag and label it. Then keep it in your carry-on bag.

Annie's pump and meters were not supposed to go through the x-ray machine or body scanners (ok to go through metal detectors), so she was pulled aside for a pat-down. One of the teacher chaperones was there with her, and I can't say enough good things about this teacher for all she did to make Annie's trip so easy (I'll write her a note once I'm done with this post). 

Annie kept in touch with occasional texts, so I knew how she was doing and could send reminders to her to test her blood sugar. I think she did a great job! And I'm so happy she got to experience this trip and everything it had to offer. :)

First Diaversary

One year ago today, our daughter Annie was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes. So today is what is called her Diaversary. It's kind of a weird thing to celebrate - the anniversary of receiving a chronic illness diagnosis. But today we celebrated Annie, and the fact that she's been managing her diabetes so well over the past year. Annie has been testing her own blood sugar (8-10 times a day), administering her own insulin - first with a shot, then with an insulin pen, and now she is on an insulin pump. She's had the pump for 6 days now, and so far so good. So instead of about 7 shots a day, Annie does one pump site change (which is like an injection) every three days. 

We are so proud of Annie. This last year has been extremely challenging, but Annie has faced it head on and has handled it really well. She has come a long way since her diagnosis, which I blogged about here. So here's to more healthy years and many more advances for the treatment of Type 1 Diabetes. 

Diabetes Awareness Month

November is American Diabetes Awareness Month. It is also a special month to a host of other illnesses and causes, all very important, but I'll be focusing on diabetes. My daughter was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes 10 months ago, so a cure is at the top of our wish list. 

This is the army of mini Dinobeadies for Diabetes that are on hand right now in my Dinos for Diabetes section. Each one is $10, and proceeds will go to the JDRF. 

**Also, during November, everyone who purchases a mini dino will be entered into a drawing for a FREE bead! It's my way of saying thank you for all the support these little dinos have gotten over the past few months. These mini dinos have already earned over $1000 for the cause! I'm hoping to add a lot to that total during November.

During November I'll photograph the mini dinos with some of the equipment that comes with being a diabetic.

 This little blue dino is staring down the opening of the lancing device. Hold that hole on your finger, and with one quick push of the button a tiny lancet pops out and pierces your skin. This is how diabetics get that much needed blood sample to test their blood sugar. 

Next that tiny drop of blood is put on a test strip that's been inserted in a blood glucose tester. The pink dino above will be sure to throw away her used test strips. She knows that as cool looking as they are, leaving them on the table or the counter is not the best idea.

After a few seconds, the tester reads the amount of sugar in the blood. This dino is in the safe range, at 108. Way to go! Normal is from 70 to 130.

If it's time to eat, then a diabetic has to put insulin into her body before her meal. The orange dino uses an insulin pen for injections. 

The purple dino has picked out a pen needle, which attaches to the insulin pen and is used for the injection, which can be in the stomach, leg or arm. 

The yellow dino is hanging out on some glucose tablets. These sugar tabs help a diabetic with low blood sugar get her numbers up quickly to the normal range. Diabetics should always carry glucose or other fast-acting sugar with them.

Thanks for checking out my new mini dinobeadies for diabetes and all of their equipment! They all hope to help raise money for a cure for Diabetes.

Off to Camp

Yesterday we dropped our daughter off at summer camp. She'll be there for just under a week. She was excited and nervous, much like she was last year when she went to overnight camp for the first time. But this year she's at a new camp - a camp for kids with diabetes. And it's right across the lake from the camp she went to last year. It's completely possible for kids with diabetes to attend regular summer camps, but it's a very big challenge. Annie needs to test her blood sugar several times a day and needs to inject herself with the right amount of insulin before every meal. At a camp that isn't geared toward diabetics, it would definitely take time away from the activities, plus it would be tricky to get the dosing accurate. With Annie's diagnosis being so recent, we were not up for those challenges and we didn't want to put that responsibility on the camp. So we signed her up for diabetes camp, which is really just like regular camp - campfires, swimming, sports - only all the kids there have diabetes. Many of the counselors are diabetics, too (including Annie's cousin, who has attended this camp since she was small). This would be Annie's first time hanging out with other kids her age who are diabetics. Instead of being the only kid taking insulin before her meal, she'd be like everyone else. 

We got Annie to her cabin and unpacked a few things, then she gave us each a fist bump (I know, a fist bump!), told us to be on our way and quickly joined the other girls playing cards. I think she'll be ok. :)

But just in case I packed a little surprise - the OctoSqueedle I bought at Raven's Craft Creations. It's the cutest little octopus, and it has a little red spot on one leg as a reminder to test your blood sugar. Annie will love it. :)

Yesterday also happened to be the day former Cubs third basemen Ron Santo was (finally!) inducted into Baseball's Hall of Fame. Ron Santo, aside from being an outstanding player and the Cubs' hilarious color commentator in recent years, also had Type 1 diabetes. He played pro ball with diabetes, but it wasn't really known at the time. He has since done so much for the cause and was so determined to help raise funds to find a cure. Santo died before he knew he'd be in the Hall of Fame, but not before doing so much good for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. I read that he has raised over $64 million dollars for the JDRF. Awesome. Pretty cool that Annie's first time at diabetes camp coincides with this historic day for Ron Santo.

While Annie's at camp, I plan to make lots of mini Dinobeadies for Diabetes, with proceeds going to the JDRF. I'm hoping to raise over $100 by the time she gets back, so I'd better get torching!

Happy Monday!

Dinobeadies for Diabetes

Today my daughter's school held its annual end-of-the-year Fun Run. It's a 2-mile run that, truth be told, most of the junior high kids walk. But this was the first year the Fun Run would benefit a charity - and the school chose the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. How cool is that? 

Annie is one of two kids in her school with juvenile diabetes. She was pretty excited that the Fun Run was benefitting the JDRF, and the kids raised over $6,000!

Annie and I had decided a while back that I should make a special bead to benefit the JDRF or another diabetes charity. Annie loved the idea of a "diabetes dinosaur," so she was pushing that idea. I knew that my dinosaur beads usually sat in my shop until they were, well, as old as dinosaurs. So I was hesitant because I wanted to pick a bead that people would actually buy. But Annie insisted, so I went with it. I made mini dino beads, which eventually turned into dinobeadies for diabetes. And whaddya know? They've been selling like crazy! In just over a week, these small but mighty dinosaurs have earned over $300 for the JDRF. I am thrilled! I will keep creating these little guys in every color combination imaginable until there is a cure for diabetes.

Annie picked one out for herself yesterday - it's purple, green and pink and I turned it into a charm.

More dinobeadies can be found here.