What's Next?

It's been a month to the day since I returned home after riding across BC for the Cyclebetes National Relay. I've been keeping up with my exercise somewhat, mostly with running, but I feel like I need an extra motivator - I need a race or an event to train for and keep me focussed.

There are three different half marathons coming up during the Canadian Thanksgiving long weekend (Oct 8-10) and I've decided to run one of them, I just don't know which one! Two of them are on Sunday the 9th, and one is on the holiday Monday. The two Sunday races are the BMO Okanagan Marathon in Kelowna, and the GoodLife Fitness Marathon in Victoria. Both offer half marathon distances, both are within about 3 hours of my house and would require an overnight stay the night before. The Kelowna race I have done before. In fact, it was the first ever half marathon I ran. The course is pancake flat, and has some stunning scenery as you run from city center, along the waterfront of Lake Okanagan, to Summerhill winery and back. The weather should be cold but clear. The Victoria marathon, on the other hand, would be totally new to me. I don't know the course at all, but that can make it more fun. The weather is unpredictable in Victoria, however. It could be cool and clear, or it could be heavy rain, or anything in between...

Finally, the Monday race is the North Shore Half Marathon, which is basically in my back yard. It starts about a ten minute drive east of my house and follows the waterfront for 21.2 kilometers, ending about a ten minute drive west of my house. There is one long steep downhill, but otherwise it's flat. Again, weather is unpredictable in early October.

Registration for any of the races can be done up to 2 days prior to the race itself, so for now, I think I'll just keep training and see how I feel come race time!

"Stripless" Blood Glucose Meter: How Does it Work?

A few months ago, my family did a promotional video for Accuchek's new "stripless" meter, called the Mobile. Dylan absolutely loved the meter right away, and I was pretty amazed too, with its ease of use. I mean, let's be honest, those strips are messy, finicky, and just a plain nuisance. But how does the "stripless" meter work, you might be wondering? The Mobile has a cassette inside it, similar to an old music cassette tape popular in the 80's and 90's, only smaller. Inside it has a long tape that collects the blood samples and advanced itself each time you open the meter. Each cassette is good for 50 tests and costs slightly less than 50 strips.

Tonight when we were changing the cartridge, Dylan pulled out the tape in the used cartridge to see what it looked like inside. Pretty neat. So neat, in fact, that I had to take a quick picture and share it here! You can see that it's very long and has the blood collection sections separated by clear tape. For scale, the actual cassette (seen in the bottom left corner) is just under 2 inches tall.

For my original Mobile blog post, including the promotional video featuring Dylan and our family, click here.

*At the time of this post, the Mobile is available in Canada and the United Kingdom only.

To Fund or Not to Fund; the Shenanigans of the Alberta Diabetes Debate

Tuesday night I was watching my local 11:00pm news, reading a book while watching, paying limited attention to the stories until my ears perked up at the mention of the words "diabetes" and "insulin pump." I quickly found myself getting quite upset at the content of the story, so much so that I rewound the article twice to ensure that I had heard everything correctly. I then even hit record on the PVR so that I could re-watch the story in the morning with fresh eyes.

A bit of factual background presented at the offset of the article:
1) "Every 7 seconds somebody around the world dies of diabetes and that number is rising, even though the disease is largely preventable"
2) by the year 2030 there will be an estimated 5 million diabetes diagnoses
3) Diabetes is expected to rise 3% within the current decade
Now the story did not differentiate between Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes, but I am assuming (hoping) that point 1's reference to "preventable" was meant to describe Type 2 only, and that points 2 and 3 refers to all forms of diabetes, be it Type 1, Type 2, LADA, etc.

So here's the deal. In Canada, most provinces provide funding, at least in part, to help offset the outrageous cost of purchasing an insulin pump. They also help with the cost of maintaining the pump (including covering the cost of infusion sets and reservoirs. Sensor/CGM costs are not covered). In BC, where I live, this funding is a recent change, but a much needed one. The current issue involves the province of Alberta (next door to BC, and directly north of Montana) where the government has been debating whether or not they should join the majority of the other provincial and begin to cover insulin pump costs.

It all came to light Tuesday when the CDA (Canadian Diabetes Association) released a report stating that the Alberta gov't will not be providing any funding for insulin pumps, even though they have one of the highest rates of diabetes in the country. The reason stated by the government is that they would prefer to focus on "preventing diabetes" in the first place and that because type 2 makes up 90% of the diagnoses in Alberta, the government feels it's in their best interest to focus on prevention rather than treatment. The CDA has argued, and rightfully so, that over the next 20 years, an insulin pump program could save the province up to $10.8 million. 

The outcome: The Alberta health minister agrees that the statistics presented by the CDA are convincing and the government will continue to keep the issue "on its radar."

My questions for readers are twofold: What type of funding/subsidy options are there for insulin pumps where you live? And do you believe that the government should be responsible for helping families with the costs of an insulin pump and its supplies/maintenance?

Both the footage of the television segment, as well as the print article, can be found here: Alberta has high diabetes rate but won't fund insulin pumps.

Diabetes, Donuts, & Diet Coke

What could these three things possibly have in common, you might ask? Most of the time, nothing, but last weekend they were all present at one common location, an amusement park.We took the kids to Playland this past Saturday, to enjoy the fair before it closes for the season at the end of September.

Playland is our local amusement, complete with rides, an arcade, carnival games, and way too much of junk food. Plus, we've been experiencing a little heat wave in BC the past week, with temperatures much higher than normal for September. The predicted high for Saturday was 28 degrees Celsius, or 82.4 Fahrenheit, but the actual temperature was closer to 30 degrees (86 F). While this isn't scorching, it's more than hot enough to affect Dyl's blood sugar level. He tends to get low more quickly in the heat, plus at an amusement park there can be a lot of walking involved, so I was bit worried.

The easiest to prevent Dyl from getting low in the heat (other than staying inside), is to keep him hydrated with cool, carb free fluids, so that's what we did. We found these awesome giant refillable plastic cups that can be purchased for $10.00 and then refilled an unlimited number of times. So we immediately got one for each of the kids and every time we passed by one of the concession booths, Dyl would refill his cup with diet coke. In the end, he drank 4 of these gigantic cups of diet coke in a 4 hour period. A bit heavy on the caffeine, yes, but better than being low. And actually, he was still marginally low at one point. Nothing a few mini donuts didn't fix!

Diabetes at School - Does it Get Any Weirder Than This?

First full day back at school today and I have mixed feelings, as it set to be an unusual start this year. Public school teachers in the province of British Columbia are currently in Phase 1 of a strike (the reasons for which are beyond the purpose of my blog). What is a Phase 1 Job Action you may ask? A bit confusing to explain, but basically teachers are not currently performing administrative duties; they are focussing solely on classroom teaching.

Now for most kids, this is no big deal, as it will likely not affect them at all. Even most parents will be unaffected by this change, unless it continues for a while, in which case report cards and parent-teacher meetings could be affected. But we will cross that bridge when and if it comes.

For a child with diabetes, the implications are a little bit more severe. At the beginning of each year, the classroom teacher, a member of the administration, and myself sit down and make sure that we have the best "medical care plan" in place for Dylan (in the US, this would be known as the "504 plan"). The medical care plan is a very effective 3-way partnership between teacher, parent, and administration. So how can that relationship be successful when teachers and administration are not communicating? Dylan is in grade 6, so he does provide the majority of his own care, but we rely on his teacher to keep an eye on him and watch for signs of high or low blood sugars, and the administration to oversee his care, ensure that he tests regularly, record the tests results, and notify me if and when there is a problem. Does this mean the Dylan has to step up and liaise between the 2 groups? Perhaps, but he is a child after all, not to mention the fact that his focus should be on his school work.

The logical conclusion would be that the onus falls on me to step up, as the "parent." As his mom I can speak with both parties and attempt to keep his diabetes care as thorough and stable as possible during this unusual time. Ok, but now let me throw in one more obstacle: I am public school teacher and a member of the same union as the teachers in his school. I am essentially part of the same job action. Where is the line between parent and teacher for me, and at what point am I "crossing the picket line" so to speak (teachers are not physically picketing, but the invisible line is still there)? I find myself in a bit of a conundrum as I am forced to address my personal beliefs about teaching and labor unions, while ensuring that my diabetic son continues to get the best care possible.

Let's hope, for everyone involved, that this labour dispute is resolved quickly and in the best interest of all parties involved. Until then, what?

Cat & Mouse

Couldn't find a physical copy of Jack & Jill, the third installment in the Alex Cross series, in my local library, so I put one of one of their three downloadable copies on hold, but that was almost 3 weeks ago, and I'm still waiting for notification that a copy is ready for download. In the meantime, I skipped ahead to the fourth installment in the series, Cat & Mouse. There is nothing in book four that ruins book three if read out of order. After all, the books are written so that the reader can start reading any book in the series and not be lost. Each book contains adequate explanation in the first few chapters to provide the reader with enough background information. That being said, I would still really like to read Jack & Jill once it's available for download.

He's baaaaaack! Gary Soneji, that is. After escaping from prison, Soneji returns to wrap up his unfinished business with Alex Cross. Add to that a second, and completely independent serial killer, Mr. Smith, and Cross has his work cut out for himself. Then there is the matter of Christine Johnson, the principal of Cross's kids' school, and the widow of one of the victims of book three.

This book was okay, but not nearly as captivating as its predecessors. In my opinion, Patterson has attempted to cram too much into this novel, resulting in a disjointed plot that jumps back and forth between two continents, and two killers. The subplot of Cross's relationship with Johnson, however, is both necessary and enjoyable, and is poised to become a critical turning point in Cross's career and personal life.

Kiss the Girls

Well, it appears that I am flying through James Patterson's Alex Cross series faster than I can review them, but I'm going to try to catch up! I read Kiss the Girls, the second book in the Cross series, a couple of weeks ago, immediately after reading Along Came a Spider. Book two is similar in format to book one; it is equally thrilling, with non-stop action until the very last page. Gruesome killings, brought to life with sadistic and bloody description. Classic Patterson.

This time Alex Cross is hunting 2 killers, aptly coined "Cassanova" and "The Gentleman Caller." The former kills on the east coast, while the latter kills on the west coast., but soon enough it appears that they may actually be working together. Cross is pulled into the massacres after his college-aged niece, Naomi, is kidnapped by "Cassanova" and Cross will stop at nothing to get her back safely.

While Patterson's writing is formulaic and predictable at times, his books read fast and grab your attention right from the first page. Great summer reading, hence why I'm reading the series!