Day 15 Prompt: Comment! Pick someone else’s blog post and write a comment to them. Write that comment as your post for today and link back to them to let them know you were inspired.
As usual, I am behind on my HAWMC posts, but still trying to catch up :) For today's prompt, I chose to comment on a post written by fellow HAWMC diabetes blogger. Sweetly Voiced, written by type 1 advocate Melissa Lee, is a blog I've been following regularly since joining the diabetes blogging world.
After reading Melissa's post It's Cuplicated this morning, I knew this was the post I wanted to comment on for today's (actually yesterday's) prompt...
My comment:
"I love this post because I can so relate to it. Be it type 2, gestational diabetes, pre-diabetes, whatever, each comes with its own set of challenges, and each person's blood glucose level reacts a little bit differently to food, insulin, and exercise. But we ALL react. Just because someone is not dependent on multiple daily insulin injections, does not mean they are any less susceptible to the blood sugar spike after eating the granola bar or ice cream sundae or whatever other high carb, high glycemic index food they are ingesting.
And while advice or feedback from a non-doctor, or non-type 1 may be well intended, until someone has "walked a mile" in type 1 shoes, so to speak, I don't think they really get it. I don't think they CAN get it, no matter how good their intentions."
Day 5: What’s your one, three, or five year plan for your Health Activism? Ask me this 5, or even 3, years ago, and I would've spouted on about the big "C" word, and the importance of raising funds for diabetes research. 2 years ago my focus was almost solely on advocacy. Today, to be honest, it's a mixed bag, but overall, I'm focused on the now. While I understand that a cure is not in the immediate future, I so still believe with all of my heart that there is one out there, and that the number one barrier to discovering it is money. As a parent of a child with type 1, I can't stop believing in a cure because it's the ultimate goal, the holy grail so to speak. But do I actively seek a cure and tirelessly fund-raise for it? No, not anymore. And I certainly understand the critical importance and role of advocacy. There are simply too many people who do not receive, or cannot afford, even the most basic of diabetes care, such as insulin and test strips. There are too many children who do not receive government funded insulin pumps, and there are far too many people suffering the side effects of type 1 diabetes, such as blindness, neuropathy, and kidney problems. Type 1 diabetes is a cripplingly expensive disease and we cannot simply sit back while others struggle. We have the opportunity to be not only a voice, but a gateway between those with information, and those without. Today, I'm focused on the now. On the present and nothing more. I'm purposefully letting go of the past, and not worrying about the future. I have wasted far too much time and energy stressing over yesterday, and obsessing over a tomorrow that is beyond my control. The present is where I live, and I'm taking care of myself and my family as best I possibly can. I am learning and growing constantly, and teaching my children to do the same. In terms of diabetes, we are focused on day to day care: regular testing, carb counting, daily exercise, consistent sleep patterns. Tomorrow'a A1c, or future complication risk, is not dictated by what we do in the future, it is based on what we do today, and everyday, one day at a time.
Day 4 Prompt: Create a “care page” – a list of your best resources that someone who is newly diagnosed could go to when starting to advocate for themselves or a loved one.
My initial thought when reading this prompt was to create a list of links to organizations that promote diabetes awareness and raise funds for diabetes-related research. Then I thought maybe I should share a few links to previous posts I've written., You know, our diagnosis story; how I dealt with with my son's diagnosis; how and why I started advocating myself, stuff like that.
But then I really thought about it; about what I would want to know if our diagnosis was today...and the answer was obvious. I would want to know that I wasn't alone. And that I would never ever be alone with diabetes. Because a diabetes diagnosis comes with an open-armed and open-ended invitation to one of the coolest, most welcoming, supportive, and totally awesome communities out there. The DOC really does have all the answers. Have a question? Post a status update on Facebook. Feeling overwhelmed? Send out a tweet. Need a virtual hug? Simply ask, and the response will amaze you.
Diabetes sucks no matter how you tilt your head, but being able to share frustrations, concerns, and day to day dilemmas with others who understand what you're going through is invaluable.
Oh, and if you are looking for links to previous posts, check out:
Day 2 Prompt:Introduce your condition(s) to other Health Activists. What are 5 things you want them to know about your condition/your activism?
When people learn that my 12 year old son has type 1 diabetes, the usually make certain assumptions about that the disease is, or where he "got it" from. Sadly, misconceptions are rampant when it comes to type 1 and the volume of incorrect information floating around is abundant. Sometimes it seems easier to tell people what type diabetes IS NOT, rather than what it is.
It is NOT:
caused by eating too much sugar, either as a child or adult, or by sugar at all
caused by any lack of care or neglect on the part of a parent or caregiver
a casual disease that comes and goes. It is 24/7/365.
a result of being obese or overweight, nor does it have anything to do with weight at all
contagious, meaning you can't "catch" it from someone else
a disease with diet restrictions. My son can eat chocolate, sweets, starchy foods, and sugar, just like your child (though when eaten in excess it WILL cause cavities, and lead to obesity and other health issues, just like in your child). We just need to balance his carbohydrate intake with insulin.
curable.
Type 1 Diabetes is an autoimmune disease in which the insulin-producing beta cells in the pancreas are destroyed, causing the body to stop producing insulin, and blood glucose levels to rise. Without insulin, the body cannot survive, so type 1 diabetes IS fatal if untreated. Fortunately, it is treatable with insulin, which can be delivered either via syringes or subcutaneously using an insulin pump. While insulin therapy is far from a cure for type 1 diabetes, it provides patients with a tool with which they can live a long and healthy life.
It is a disease that never sleeps. It IS manageable, but with vigilance and constant care. Blood glucose levels must be checked throughout the day and night, and insulin must be given multiple times per day to keep blood glucose levels within an ideal range. Variations in blood glucose levels throughout the day are to be expected, but readings outside of the target range (highs and lows) should be treated immediately. Food intake must be closely monitored (carbohydrate intake causes a rise in blood glucose), as do activities that burn carbohydrates, such as exercise. Other factors that can, and do, affect blood glucose, include temperature, stress, illness, and hormones.
There is no cure for type 1 diabetes, so utmost attention to diabetes management is critical and lifelong. Ok, so that's a few more than 5 things. It is what it is.
Today marks the first day of the Health Activist Writer's Month Challenge, otherwise known as HAWMC. Every day for the month of April, I'll be writing from a preset list of topics. Feel free to follow, comment, share, or tweet. And should you wish to write your own posts, you can sign up for HAWMC at http://info.wegohealth.com/hawmc and get all 30 prompts. So without further ado, let's get to it!
Day 1 prompt:Why HAWMC? This is our third year of the Health Activist Writer’s Month Challenge – why did you get involved this year? Are you a newbie to #HAWMC or a veteran? I guess you could say I'm a veteran. This is my second year participating in HAMWC; 2012 was my first year, and I'm pumped to be part of the challenge again. Why am I getting involved this year? One word: accountability. If you've been following my blog for a while, you'll have noticed that the entries have been few and far between lately. Not only have I been busy, but diabetes has been on the back burner (knock on wood) in our house lately. It's been one of those rare periods in which things just go as they should, without any unusual incidents, or bumps in the road. And I've realized that when things run smoothly, I don't blog as much. Is it that I only write about the problems diabetes brings to our lives? Jeesh, I certainly hope not, but I think I do. Regardless, I think HAWMC is exactly the kick in the butt I need right now to get me back into a consistent blogging schedule.
Today's Prompt: Create a word cloud for your health condition.
I already did this back on Day 7 of HAWMC, so I thought for today I would do a little diabetes acrostic.
D - Diabetes. Defined as a disease in which the body is unable to produce or use insulin normally.
I - Insulin. The elixir of life. The single most important thing for a diabetic. No insulin = death.
A - A1c. One number that shows the average blood sugar amount for the previous 3 months. The number that tells us how we're doing; our report card.
B - Blood Glucose. The thing we test 6+ times per day, treat, correct, and attempt to control. And what causes all of the problems if it gets too low or too high.
E - Eat well. A balanced diet can help maintain a healthy body weight and better blood sugar control.
T - Type 1. My son's diabetes. The one we've lived with 24/7/365 for six and half years.
E - Exercise. Helps maintain blood glucose control, combats depression and other diseases, controls weight, helps us to feel great.
S - Side Effects. What we hope to avoid, by maintain good BG control. Can include nerve damage, blindness, and kidney failure, among other things.
The First Time I... Write a post about the first time you did something. What is it? What was it like? What did you learn from it?
The first glucagon shot I ever administered to Dylan was one of the scariest moments of my life. Dylan was having his second hypoglycemic seizure (though his first with me; he was with his father the first time he had a seizure). I had been trained on administering glucagon way back when Dylan was first diagnosed with type 1 diabetes, but had never actually needed to use the shot.
The rest of this post is an excerpt from the previous post Dear Seizure. It has been adapted slightly.
"I rolled Dylan onto his side as best I could, while trying to console my daughter, who was 4 at the time, and sobbing, while my husband raced downstairs to the kitchen to get the glucagon shot (in hindsight, I now keep one in my bedside table). He couldn't find it. "What does it look like?" he called from the bottom of the stairs. "Hurry," I screamed, "It's in a long, thin white box."
OMG, in that brief time, I thought I was going to lose my son. I have never been so frightened. I sat there helplessly watching my baby seize, unable to do anything to help him. Suddenly my husband reappeared in the doorway and I felt the hugest sense of relief seeing him standing there with the diabetes supplies, while I thought, "We weren't too late." He had been unable to locate the shot itself, so he brought upstairs the entire rubbermaid container, in which we keep ALL of the diabetes supplies, and dumped it out on the carpet. I grabbed the glucagon and began to prep it, desperately trying to remember my diabetes training from almost 2 years prior, when the nurse had shown us how to prepare the shot.
My hands were shaking so badly and everything around me seemed to be spinning. I was crying. The only thing I could think of was "please don't die, Dylan, please don't die." I tried to stick the needle into the vial and hit the metal rim instead of the rubber dam. The needle bent to a ninety degree angle, but it didn't break off. I pulled it back straight and tried again. It went in. I shot all of the water in and shook the concoction, way too quickly, and it was all bubbly and foamy. I didn't care, I was desperate and my baby was still seizing. I drew at much as I could into the syringe and when I saw that the syringe was half full, I rammed the needle into Dylan's thigh so hard that if he could have screamed, he certainly would have. I injected what fluid I had in the syringe and then repeated the process, drawing up the last bit of glucagon in the vial and injecting it into his thigh again.
Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, the seizing slowed and then stopped. Dylan was still unresponsive, but after a few minutes his eyes started to focus and he looked at me. In that moment I knew the seizure was finally over. It would still be a long night ahead, as I monitored Dylan and checked his blood every 15 minutes for the remainder of the night, though within 30 minutes of the glucagon shot, he was up to 16.9 mmol/dl (304 mg/dl)."
5 Challenges, 5 Small Victories. Make a list of the 5 most difficult parts of your health focus. Make another top 5 list for the little, good things (small victories) that keep you going.
Diabetes has all kinds of challenges, and parenting a type child adds a whole other unique set of challenges. So what are some of the biggest challenges? Here are just a few of my challenges, and how I keep them in check.
1. Knowing when to step back or let go. Dyl is now 11 and we've been living with type 1 diabetes for over 6 years. He's smart, independent, and responsible. But in spite of all that, stepping back and letting him take control from time to time is hard. Just this afternoon he asked if he could go up to his elementary school and meet a couple of buddies to play some road hockey in the school courtyard. My first instinct was to say no. It's Saturday, the school is closed, no one around, what if he had a low? What if...? What if...? But he needs these opportunities to show me, and show himself, that he CAN take responsibility for his health. Armed with his cell phone, BG meter, and a bottle of dex, I dropped him off and returned home. And yes, he did have a low. He felt it right away, treated it, and went right to playing hockey. That's my guy. A true rock-star.
2. Accepting that a number is just that. It's far too easy to get caught up in the numbers game with diabetes. BG tests, carb counts, A1cs - so many numbers to tell us how we're doing; whether we're succeeding or failing. But I need to remind myself over and over that a number is only that. Celebrate the good, evaluate the bad, then MOVE ON. The next number is a fresh start.
3. SWAG'ing. How many times have we gotten to a restaurant/party/event only to realize we left the meter at home? Too many to count. And how many times have we estimated carbs because we didn't have access to a scale or chart? A lot. SWAG'ing is a part of diabetes and frankly, we've become pretty darn good at it.
4. Focussing on other things. Sometimes it feels like our entire world revolves around diabetes, but there is more to our lives than this disease. Staying involved with extended family, participating in sports and school activities, and keeping an active lifestyle, helps us to live life to its fullest.
5. Accepting that I can't take this on myself. The single biggest challenge for the parent of a child with type 1 is not being able to take this disease away from their child. There isn't a day that goes by that I don't wish it was me instead of my son. But since I can't take it on, I arm myself with resources, I educate as best I can, and I teach Dylan how to be independent, how to take control of his disease, and how to live a long and healthy life.
Health Tagline. Give yourself, your blog, your condition, or some aspect of your health a tagline. Make sure it's catchy.
I've been bouncing around ideas in my head for a few days now, and have come up with a few picks. The winning tagline is...
"Because diabetes is more than a number"
My main thought behind this was that I wanted something that could follow my blog name. I also wanted to emphasize the fact that diabetes is NOT just about the numbers. It is SO much more than numbers. It's about diet. It's about exercise. And it's about constant care and vigilance. It's about maximizing life, every single day.
So, there we have it.
"Blood, Sweat & Carbs - because diabetes is more than a number."
Third Person Post. Write about a memory you have but describe it using the third person. Use as many sensory images (sights, sounds, textures, etc) as you can. Don't use "I" or "me" unless you include dialogue.
I am going to use my 2nd and final "Get Out of Post Free" day today and pass on this topic. Back tomorrow!
Give yourself, your condition, or your health focus, a mascot. Is it a real person? Fictional? Mythical being? Describe them. Bonus points if you provide a visual.
Diabetes doesn't have a mascot; heck it doesn't even have an official symbol. The blue circle (the one seen in abundance in November for World Diabetes Day) is about as close to a symbol as we currently have, but it's not universally used, plus it's the property of the International Diabetes Federation. As it stands, the IDF permits the use of the blue circle by anyone for the purpose of promoting diabetes and the diabetes community, and in any publications, etc., as long as it not used for commercial purposes and for anything other than diabetes. For a full explanation of the uses of the blue circle permitted by the International Diabetes Federation, or to download various sizes and formats of the circle, please click here.
There used to be a blue ribbon that was kicked around here and there, and there have certainly been a few other attempts at a diabetes symbol, but so far none has stuck. Personally, I think rather than create a mascot for diabetes, the focus needs to be on promoting the blue circle to a unified and universally recognized symbol for diabetes. I love the color, and I love its simple, yet effective message of unity within the community.
Day 23 of HAWMC is Health Activist's Choice, so I wanted to take this opportunity to remind everyone that I am currently hosting my first ever blog giveaway and I will be giving 1 lucky winner a $200 prepaid VISA gift card! I have reposted the original announcement below, please read it in its entirely for full details.
Originally posted March 27th, 2012
One year already, wow! On March 27th, 2011, I started "Blood, Sweat & Carbs" out of a desire to share my thoughts about raising a child with Type 1 Diabetes. I didn't know what direction it would take, nor how long it would last, yet 1 year and 12,000 hits later, here we are!
I've known for a while that I wanted to do something big for the blogiversary; a special thank you to my readers for their ongoing support, love, and comments. Then I stumbled upon Accu-Chek Canada's "Care to Win" contest and I knew exactly what I wanted to do! Accu-Chek understands that for successful diabetes care, an awesome support crew is a huge benefit, so they want to thank those supporters. How? In conjunction with their "We've Got You" campaign (for more details on the campaign itself, read my earlier post here), Accu-Chek Canada is currently running a contest on Facebook in which they are giving away $200 to one lucky winner, every week for 8 weeks, and a grand prize of a $3500 getaway (click image below to enter). In return, they are asking fans what they would do with the $200 if they won.
So what would I do with $200? Give it to you, dear reader. In fact, that is EXACTLY what I am going to do. Starting today, March 27th, 2012, I am launching my first ever blog giveaway. One lucky winner will receive a $200 prepaid credit card!! The contest is open to anyone, and all you need to do to enter is leave a comment on this post, before midnight (PST), May 6th, 2012, telling me what you would do if you won the $200. Be sure to include your name in the comment. Any comments without a name will be eliminated.
But that's not all. After leaving a comment on this post, earn up to 5 extra entries by doing any or all of the following:
4) Follow @bloodsweatcarbs on Twitter and tweet about this contest (1 extra entry)
5) Blog about this giveaway (and send me the link!) (1 extra entry)
The lucky winner will be randomly selected, May 7th, 2012, via draw at http://random.org. Once drawn, the winner will have 72 hours to email me at bloodsweatcarbs@shaw.ca to claim their $200 prepaid credit card or a new winner will be randomly selected.
Health Madlib Poem. Go to languageisavirus.cgi-bin/madlibs.pl and fill in the parts of speech and the site will generate a poem for you. Feel free to post the Madlib or edit it to make it better.
Mine came out making NO sense whatsoever, so I changed a few words around, so it reads a bit coherently.
Diabetes Madlib
I bolus my meals and insulin balances my carbs
I treat my highs and lows and all is steady again.
(I test and I treat my failed pancreas.)
My bg goes down and I'm in shaky and low,
Fast-acting sugar refills my blood:
I poke with a lancet and my tester spits out numbers.
Write a news article on a miracle cure. What's the cure? How do you get there?
I have to admit, I don't like this topic. Don't get me wrong, I would be ecstatic with the announcement of a cure for type 1 diabetes, but we're just not there yet. That being said, there is a ton of research going on right now and any one of the current projects could result in something magical. Here are a few highlights...
A few weeks ago I attended JDRF's "Team Captain Power Lunch" for their upcoming Walk to Cure Diabetes on June 10th and Dr. Jeffrey Matthew, the researcher who launched the Canadian Clinical Trial Network, was one of the speakers. He briefly summarized the highlights of the 45 human clinical trials currently being funded by JDRF in Canada alone, and explained that the focus is currently on how type 1 occurs and where in the process researchers could step in with prevention or a cure. The single biggest stepping stone at this point is money; the current cost to take each individual drug from initial research to human clinical trials is approximately $1 billion! He was extremely optimistic about the 20+ drugs currently being used that DO cure type 1 diabetes in mice, but gave no time frame as to when/if these drugs might be available for human use. He did, however, provide a timeline for the artificial pancreas; the partnership between JDRF and Animas is well underway and they are guaranteeing the artificial pancreas will be available to the public within 2 years!
JDRF is hosting their annual Research Symposium at the Burnaby Firefighters Banquet & Conference Center this Monday, April 23rd at 6:30pm. Presenters include Dr. Richard A. Insel, Chief Scientific Officer, JDRF speaking on an "Update on JDRF's Progress to Cure, Treat, and Prevent Type 1 Diabetes." The other presenter is Chloe Steepe, Founder of Connected in Motion, who will speak about "Breathing Fresh Air Into Diabetes Education."
In other research news there have been numerous posts lately about the recent Medtronic Diabetes Advocates Forum, some of which describe the amazing developments towards a closed loop system for diabetes management. Check out the posts from Sara at Moments of Wonderful, Leighann at D-Mom Blog, Jess at Me and D, Scott at Scott's Diabetes, Amy at Diabetes Mine, for more info this progress (and if I have missed a post about the closed loop system from a guest at the DAF, let me know!) and here's a video (taken and ploaded by Sara Nicastro, MofW) for those who didn't attend the forum.
Research is moving faster than ever before and many exciting projects are currently underway. Could one of them finally lead to cure to a cure for type 1 diabetes? Perhaps. Only time will tell.
Open a Book. Choose a book and open it to a random page and point to a phrase. Use that phrase to get you writing today. Free write for 15-20 minutes without stopping.
Quite: "Your body was designed to move." From:The Book of Better by Chuck Eichten.
I love this quote, and I love that Eichten includes a chapter towards the end of The Book of Better on the importance of exercise for people with diabetes. Exercise is one of the best possible things we can do for our bodies regardless of age, sex, fitness level, or health condition. The simple of act of moving the body has so many benefits.
The importance of exercise on a regular basis cannot be ignored. And I'm not talking about hard-core marathon running or extreme sports; I'm talking about going for a daily walk, riding a bike, or playing a sport. It doesn't really matter what it is, as long as it involves movement (ideally for an hour), is done regularly (at least 3 times per week, but daily is better), and elevates the heart rate. Simple.
Reaping the benefits is immediate and extensive too. Regular exercise helps maintain a healthy body weight, reduces stress, lowers risk of heart disease and some cancers, reduces the risk of developing type 2 diabetes, enhances sleep, combats depression, and provides energy. Not only that, the endorphins released during exercise make the body and mind feel great. Yes, exercising regularly makes us happy. Simple.
For those with type 1 diabetes, exercise has a whole other slew of benefits. Yes, it can be tricky to find that balance to get ideal blood sugar numbers before, during, and after exercise, but the benefits are too good to ignore. Exercise lowers blood sugar, thus reducing the body's need for insulin. Period. Exercise has also help reduce the massive fluctuations in blood sugar. What does this mean? It means that when moving, the blood sugar of person with type 1 diabetes stays closer to ideal range. And of course, the more the blood sugar stays in the "ideal range" the better the body feels. Simple.
Excuses for why NOT to exercise will always abound. But seriously, with all of the benefits, and the pure ease with which we can move, it's really a no-brainer. Exercise = better health = better life. Simple.
Today's prompt is entitled "Learned the Hard Way." What is a lesson you learned the hard way?
*Ironically, after Sunday's post about writing style, in which I stated how much I hate trying to blog from my iPhone, that is exactly what I am doing today. Deep breaths and patience will see it through.
I've learned a lot of lessons in my lifetime, some easily, others through pain and hardship. But after every lesson learned I have emerged stronger and wiser as a result. Seeing as this is a diabetes blog, I should write about a lesson I've learned about diabetes. There certainly are lots to choose from! I'm going to go in a different direction today though, and take a more personal approach. A very recent lesson. Immediate in fact.
Every Tuesday night my husband and I watch Biggest Loser. It's become our Tuesday night routine and I find myself looking forward to it, sad as that may seem. (Though I force myself to tune out when they see the doctor, because his constant inaccuracies about diabetes drive me mad.) I love watching the extreme transformations each person undergoes over each season, but my favorite part is the challenges. I'm always looking for new exercise ideas and the BL producers come up with some pretty cool challenges for the contestants. In the last couple of weeks, however, the show has been cut from its regular 2 hour time slot down to 1 hour, and rather than cut out some of the drama and in-house antics, they have almost entirely cut out the weekly exercise challenge. In fact, the challenge in tonight's episode was edited right out of the broadcast altogether, except for a 10 second mention by the host at the beginning of the episode. What was the challenge? The best one yet: the contestants had to complete a mini "Tough Mudder." I would have LOVED to see that. (Yes, there are videos on the Internet, but NONE are viewable in Canada).
For anyone who has never heard of Tough Mudder, it is British Special Forces designed 10-12 mile obstacle course comprised running interspersed with 20-30 grueling obstacles. Mudders also take place in tough terrain and at high altitudes where available. Check out the video below for a sample course.
Anyway, after hearing they had completed this challenge, I mentioned to my husband how I would absolutely love to do a Tough Mudder in the near future. His response? "Pffff, (laugh) you? Seriously?"
WTF? To say that there was smoke coming out of my ears would be putting it very mildly. It was insulted, annoyed, angry, and had a range of expletives running through my brain. But then I asked him why it surprised him that I would want to complete a Tough Mudder, and he responded by saying, "Because it's so dirty. I just can't see you running and crawling through mud." Oh, okay. So it's not that he didn't think I COULD do it, but rather that he was shocked I would WANT to do it. Less insulting, yes, though his reaction is totally going to fuel my fire to show him that I can and will complete the challenge.
I learned two very important lessons here.
Lesson #1: Rather than flip out and release the bombshell of expletives I so desperately wanted to share, I bit my tongue and asked for more information. This simple act helped us avoid what could have been a huge and unnecessary argument. I need to remember that one in the future.
Lesson #2: I can accomplish ANYTHING I want to if I set my mind to it and train hard enough. I WILL do a Tough Mudder next summer. And for a practice run, I'll be participating in the Spartan Race (a similar type of event but with options for shorter distances for beginners) here in September 2012.
Pinboard. Create a pinterest board for your health focus. Pin 3 things. What did you pin? Share the images in a post and explain why you chose them.
I've been looking forward to this prompt all month! I already have a Pinterest account with a board dedicated to diabetes, so I've added a few new pins today. To follow me, check out all of my diabetes pins, and my other boards, go to http://pinterest.com/bloodsweatcarbs/.
