JDRF Diabetes Walk 2011

A1C=7.3!!

Yea, yea, I know it's been a long time since my last post (last June!?) Just a short post today, though, because I wanted to gloat a little about Aaron's A1C. And, (drum roll, please, in case you didn't see the headline of this post)....7.3! Yessss!!! Also, Aaron's pump warranty is up in May or June, and we are considering changing pump brands. Thoughts please? He is currently on a Minimed Paradigm 522. We have been pretty happy with the Minimed pump and the Minimed company. Seems like the two biggest differences between the new Minimed Revel and the other pump we are considering, the Animas (Johnson & Johnson) Ping, is the remote with the Ping, and the fact that the continuous glucose monitor is integrated with the Revel. Since we are probably not going to go the continous glucose monitor route any time soon, the remote issue is the most important to us right now. So, we are leaning toward the Ping. Again, thoughts please? The remote, with the built in carb reference and the ability to control bolus's and basals and other pump functions from the remote, seems like a really great tool.  But, 7.3 with the current Minimed!  Decisions, decisions.

JDRF Diabetes Walk September 26, 2010

Aaron's A1C

We had the pediatric endocrinologist appointment this week, and Aaron's A1C was again 7.7. I feared that it would be higher this time because it seemed to me that his blood sugar was high more often, but negatory! Very pleased about that. We also really like the new Doctor, Dr. Julie Surhigh. We seem to be very good patients according to her and Renee Thurman, the nurse and certified diabetes educator. (Hope I spelled that right, sorry Renee!) Will post more later...promise!

Mom

My Mother passed on May 12, 2010. This is what I wrote in her memorial book:
A wonderful Mother. I will miss calling you, or you calling me, after seeing the first Robin of the spring. I will miss bringing you lilacs in the springtime. I will miss your smile, the twinkle in your eye, when you see your grandkids. Just a few of the many things I will miss. I know that you are in a better place, and out of pain, and that comforts me. How to say thank you for giving me life? The only way I know how. Thank you for being a wonderful Mother.

Aaron's A1C

Just a quick note to post that Aaron's A1C today is 7.7 again. Last time it was 7.6, and the time before that it was 7.7. I gather from our pediatric endocrinologist (who, by the way, is retiring in January) that this is a very good A1C compared to other kids. We would love to get it under 7, but not at the risk of severe lows, so we are VERY happy with 7.7. Aaron is right on the 50th percentile as far as height and weight. Although I would like to see him put on a few pounds, I'd rather him be thin than fat. I will post more after the new year. Happy holidays everyone!

Walk to Cure Diabetes 2009

Aaron's A1C

Aaron's doctor appointment was today, his A1C is 7.7! Yes! We try to keep his A1C under 8.0, so this is a great number. We briefly discussed getting a CGM (continuous glucose monitor) http://forums.childrenwithdiabetes.com/forumdisplay.php?f=18 with the pediatric endo. His feeling (and we agree) is that the con's right now outweigh the pro's. Aaron's control is fairly good, and he is very good about recognizing lows and telling us when he feels low. He has never had a severe low in ten years of dealing with this disease. The additional site on his body is not something that he or us want to deal with. And the fact that CGM technology is less than perfect is a factor. The doctor suggested that it would be great if the CGM companies rented the CGM stuff to try out. We may contact Medtronic about this. Our thoughts on this will probably change in the future, especially when he starts puberty and his numbers are more irregular. But for now, we're going to keep on keeping on and continue as we are doing. Until a cure!

Class Trip to Mackinac

Aaron and I (just us two) went on his 4th grade class trip last Wednesday and Thursday. We had a great time, and his blood sugars were fairly good the whole trip. That's one reason I quit smoking, the teacher made it very clear that there would be no smoking allowed. I really had only planned to not smoke for the duration of the trip, but I found that it wasn't too hard to not smoke, so I kept going!

UPDATE: It has now been 4 weeks since I have smoked!

"Other Stuff"

This falls under "other stuff" in my blog title: It is now day 5 of quitting smoking! I'm chewing Nicorette gum quite often, but truthfully, it has been quite easy so far! I really don't know why that's so, after smoking close to 2 packs a day for about 32 years. I just try not to think about it, which seems to be working well. Granted, it's still early and I have a long way to go, but I do believe I'm over the "hump"! Wish me luck!

Proud Parents of a College Graduate!

Just a short post to brag a little bit. We are now the parents of a college graduate! Our oldest Son, Matt, graduated from Ferris State University today!

Aaron's Anniversary

Today is the ninth anniversary of Aaron's diagnosis with diabetes. To be honest, I wouldn't have even remembered had Gloria not reminded me a couple of days ago. I think this is the first time that the anniversary and Easter fell on the same day. And if I'm being totally honest, it really is just another day. My feeling is that there is nothing we can do about him having diabetes, and of course there is no reason to celebrate. We can pray for a cure, and do everything we can to help find that cure, but other than trying to remember what we were doing through those nine years is about it. Nine years is a long time...I remember giving Aaron his bottle with cornstarch at night. I remember feeding him "Gerber Graduates" meals. But other than stuff like that, life goes on!

Aaron was breastfed up until 6 months. He is the only one of our four children who we (I say we metaphorically) breastfed. I'm not a person who normally wonders "what if?", but I do wonder if that had anything to do with him being our only child with diabetes. Even if it were true, there is no going back, and of course, like I said in my last post, I totally don't blame anyone, including ourselves, in Aaron getting diabetes. I've heard theories that cow's milk has a cause in getting type 1 diabetes. I don't really believe that, but who knows? I have often wondered why there isn't some kind of nationwide, or worldwide database or something with the circumstances of each child who gets diabetes, maybe there is a common link or something.

Just some random thoughts on this anniversary day! Until there's a cure!!!

As a father of a type 1 son, I find that there aren't too many bloggers out there with similar circumstances. When I read blogs about diabetes, they're usually someone that actually has diabetes, or the mother of someone with diabetes. And there are some really good ones out there! And as a fairly typical male, I find it really hard to share my feelings. But here goes anyway...

When our Son, Aaron, was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at 11 months of age, my Wife, Gloria, and I knew nothing about this disease. The only thing I really knew was that when I was in high school, a friend had it, and she passed away at a very young age from complications. In fact, me and a couple of other high school friends had gone to visit her after I had been discharged from the Air Force in 1981, and she was blind and could barely walk. Needless to say, it was a very moving visit, and when she passed away soon after our visit, it was heartbreaking. When I had enlisted in the Air Force but prior to actually going on active duty, this friend had made me a photo album with the title "Man of the Hour". Little did I know then how diabetes would touch my life. Of course, things have changed tremendously since then, with the advent of simple blood testing meters, insulin pumps, and such. I can't imagine what my friend and her family went through.

Back in 2000, Aaron was a typical 11 month old, on the verge of walking and discovering the world. He had the typical illnesses, ear infections, colds, etc. But the ear infections he had this time were different in some way. I can't really explain it, but he was acting like there was something else wrong. Of course, we took him to the doctor, who prescribed antibiotics. But Aaron wasn't getting better. I remember we went to get a family picture taken, but there was nothing anybody could do to make Aaron smile. He was a happy, fun-loving baby before this. Looking at that picture now, I can kind of tell that Aaron was sick with more than an ear infection. We took Aaron back to the doctor, and the doctor said that sometimes ear infections are like that, that it sometimes takes a while to recover. But Aaron is our 3rd born, and we had been through many ear infections. We left the doctor and trusted what he told us. I know that we couldn't have prevented Aaron from getting diabetes, and I certainly don't blame the doctors or myself. If I remember right, Gloria had gone to a candle party one evening, and that's when I knew something definitely wasn't right. Aaron kept drinking water but he couldn't hold it down. His diaper was soaked every couple of hours. For some reason, diabetes didn't even cross my mind, even with having a friend with it, and I knew the symptoms. I called Gloria and told her that she needed to come home right away. She did. We waited a night, trusting what the doctor had said about ear infections. I don't remember if she took Aaron to the doctor or just called him the next day, but I do remember getting a call at work from her saying to meet her at the hospital, Aaron was being admitted. I had no idea what was wrong, and I don't remember the drive from work to the hospital. I do remember going up to the pediatric ward and she and Aaron were just walking in at the same time. We gave our baby to the doctors and waited. I have no recollection of how long we waited, but I do remember the doctor coming in and telling us the diagnosis. The only thing that I could ask was "what's the prognosis?" I remember the doctor telling us that there was no cure, that Aaron would have this for the rest of his life. I remember the doctors telling us that it was very, very hard to get a needle in to Aaron's tiny veins. We then went on a comrehensive 3-day training session about diabetes, which is now all a blur to me. I do remember that Aaron was in the pediatric intensive care unit for 3 days. Either Gloria or myself stayed with him the whole time, sleeping in an uncomfortable (for sleeping) recliner at night. Aaron got better, and I remember having to get all the diabetes supplies and having to show them to the doctors and nurses at the hospital before they would release Aaron. Needless to say, it was a very scary time in our lives.

Well, in proofreading this, I see that I really still haven't shared my feelings with you! More or less just a story about Aaron's diagnosis. Going to have to work on that still...

3rd Place in the JDRF Walk T-shirt Design Contest for the 3rd Year in a Row!

Aaron's A1C

Aaron's 3-month pediatric endocrinologist appointment was today. Good news...his A1C was 7.6! That's the lowest it's ever been! Way to go!! (Patting ourselves on the back).

A Major Milestone!

Yesterday, 11-20-2008, Aaron checked his own blood sugar for the first time! For me, this may be a bigger milestone than taking his first steps or being potty-trained! Some of you may be thinking that your son or daughter was checking their blood sugar years before they were 9. Well, we have never really pushed Aaron (encouraged, yes, pushed, no) to do this, feeling that when he was ready he would do it. Well, that day has arrived! In fact, he wanted to do it 3 times. I teased him that now he'll have to learn how to do his own site changes...he didn't think that was too funny. He can already give himself his boluses (with supervision, of course). I think this is the beginning of the end of his dependence on Mom and Dad!

"Jay Cutler was recently diagnosed with type 1 diabetes" Rick Reilly: Jay Cutler didn't plan on being a role model - ESPN The Magazine

Rick Reilly: Jay Cutler didn't plan on being a role model - ESPN The Magazine

This Years JDRF Walk

Just got an e-mail stating the results of this year's JDRF walk to cure diabetes. Our team, Pop and Aaron's Aces, raised $1200! Thank you, thank you, thank you! In total, the two walks raised over $1.7 million!! Great result considering the weather that weekend!

D-Blog Day

Happy D-Blogger Day! Since this is officially D-blogger day, (click on title to find out more about Gina Capone, who started this annual tradition), I thought it would be appropriate to update my blog (finally). Not to mention an opportunity to tell you a little more about myself. Because my Wife, Gloria, does the bulk of the diabetes stuff for our Son, Aaron, it's a little difficult to write about caring for his diabetes (although I do everything on Sundays and Mondays while she works, and we also share changing Aaron's site changes and discuss strategies regarding diabetes). Gloria is not a blogger, and is not the writer in the family (that would be me). I do the internet stuff, including blogs and forums and such.

We are in the process of deciding whether to change health insurance again. I am a postal worker, and have the Federal Employee's health insurance choices, which offers many choices in health care. Last year we switched from Health Alliance Plan (or HAP, a Michigan only health plan) to Blue Care Network (Blue Cross's HMO). While not entirely unhappy with the switch, we are more than likely going to switch back to HAP, mainly because we can get all of Aaron's diabetes supplies (he is pumping with the minimed 522) through one company. We were very happy with this when we were covered by HAP previously.

We continuously are trying to get Aaron's A1C down. He has had type 1 d since he was 11 months old (he's 9 now), and, knock on wood, we have never had to use glucagon, nor has he ever had a low where he had a seizure. But his A1C hovers right around 8.0, which is too high in my book. To that end, we are hopefully gonna try a continous glucose monitor this coming year. We hate the thought of adding another thing attached to his thin body, but the A1C has got to come down one way or another.

As I write this, I'm IM'ing my 22 year old Son, Matt, who is away at Ferris State University. Happy birthday, Matt! Matt and Aaron are buddies, which is a genuinly beautiful thing. Matt calls every night to say goodnight to us and Aaron and Emily (our 6 year old daughter) (sorry if this embarasses you, Matt!), and they are fellow gamers and exchange tips and tricks frequently.

That's it for now, please feel free to comment! Hope you have a great week!

Just a quick update; we raised over $1000 for our JDRF walk in September! Thank you, one and all, for helping us to help find a cure for diabetes! Promise I will update my blog further after the elections.