Sometimes diabetes management itself (blood sugar checks, shots, pump/CGM maintenance, etc) doesn’t feel so bad or like too much. It’s all those related add-ons — co-conditions/diagnoses, longer recovery times, acute illnesses, the lingering effects of diabetes on the body and mind after a low or high, the emotional and financial stresses and the often necessary yet tiring advocacy vs. remaining misunderstood scenarios that can pop up sometimes much too frequently. These things that get tacked on can really drag someone with diabetes down (me included!) and make it hard to keep on going day after day.
Good morning! I hope you had a night of restful sleep and good blood sugars upon awakening. Mine was 104 this morning when I woke up. Can’t beat that! My husband’s sister and her 3 children are flying in this morning from South Carolina. I am so looking forward to seeing them tonight for dinner at my in-laws house and a bunch over the next week. It has been 3 years since I last saw them. In January when I had tickets to South Carolina to visit them, my cat Juniper become very ill. I stayed here to care for her and she miraculously survived. She is lying to the right of me now while my other cat Mabel is on my left. My husband lovingly calls this “Oreo” as they are two little black furry kitties.
Every morning on my Facebook page for Diabetes Light I share a quote – since day one! It is one of the first things I do when I wake up after testing my blood sugar of course and petting my sweet, cuddly cats. If I have a busy morning and somewhere to be early, my husband has mentioned a few times that I should skip posting a quote that day. This is not something I let happen. I feel that someone might need to hear the message I am sharing and that it may add a little light to their day. This is my hope anyway.
Post-ride 2011 — Can you tell how exhausted I am here?!?! : )
How I came to learn about the Tour de Cure…
In 2011 I participated in my first ADA Tour de Cure. A friend I used to work with, Janae, was deeply involved with the event and loved everything about it. She told me all about being a Red Rider (rider w/ diabetes) and convinced me that the Tour de Cure was something I needed to do. She also talked to me about the volunteer opportunities available and encouraged me to help out. I was sold. I signed up for the Tour only a few short weeks before the ride. I also started volunteering my time to help make the ride better for all fellow people with food allergies.
Have you heard about TeamWILD? Or seen the name Mari Ruddy around the diabetes community? Mari is the founder of TeamWILD & CampWILD. WILD representing: We Inspire Life with Diabetes. I love this! Mari has also lived with Type 1 diabetes for over 30 years and survived breast cancer twice! What an inspiration she is! Along with TeamWILD, she also created the idea for the Red Rider jersey for the ADA Tour de Cure. I first heard about TeamWILD last year at the ADA Tour de Cure after-party when I met Mari for the first time. She came over to a group of us and enthusiastically shared about TeamWILD. I thought it sounded really cool but didn’t think I ever might do it. The program was for real athletes after all, right?
Editor’s note: This is a guest post for the American Diabetes Association. It will be featured in the ADA Tour de Cure’s Twin Cities July Red Rider Reader.
New Note (added after original publishing): I mentioned in the original post that I would try making pumpkin maple bars in the future. I made some last night and they were a hit! They were so very good that I will definitely make them again! After posting a picture of them on Facebook last night, I had several requests for the recipe. I have updated this post to reflect the addition of Pumpkin Maple Oatmeal Bars (seen below the Banana Chocolate Almond Bar recipe!)
Hello Red Riders! How is your summer going? Did you enjoy the Tour de Cure this year? I had a blast! It could not have been a more perfect day – weather wise and everything else too. Plus we raised a lot of money to help STOP diabetes. Yay! We had 1,805 riders and so far raised more than $630,000! Woohoo! It is wonderful to see so many people come together for a great cause. And as someone living with Type 1 diabetes I sincerely appreciate each person’s hard-earned efforts helping us move closer to a cure for diabetes. It fills my heart with so much gratitude and hope. I’m already looking forward to next year! June 1, 2013 is the date. Mark your calendars!
I received a special request for this month’s recipe for the Red Rider Reader – ENERGY BARS!! I thought this was a great idea as we are out cycling and active this summer. A healthy energy bar is an ideal snack for anyone before, during or after cycling or any other exercise. Thanks for this fabulous suggestion Janeece Oatman! Janeece is the amazingly talented and passionate Associate Director for the Twin Cities & Rochester, Minnesota Tour de Cure rides.
How would you define D-I-A-B-E-T-E-S? What kind of feelings and emotions come to mind when you think about diabetes and it’s impact in your life? Shannon (from the D.O.C.) recently wrote two diabetes word poems and shared them on Facebook (they are both shared here with her permission). Her daughter Logan, now 15, was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes at the age 12. As a parent of a child with diabetes, Shannon knows diabetes intimately.
Her post inspired me to think about what D-I-A-B-E-T-E-S means to me. Thank you for this inspiration Shannon. The first two poems below were written by Shannon and the third was written by me. Thanks for reading.
Editor’s note: This is a guest post for the American Diabetes Association. It will be featured in the ADA Tour de Cure’s Twin Cities April Red Rider Reader.
Hey Red Riders! Happy Spring to you! I hope this finds you both happy and healthy! I am excited to be bringing you another recipe for our April Red Rider Reader! We have had nice weather early this spring – I hope you are taking advantage of it and sneaking in some early training rides!
I am excited to share this recipe I created with you. It’s ingredients are super yummy yet healthy too! It kind of reminds me of a loaded baked potato! It is also the perfect meal to eat before a training ride for the Tour de Cure or any other workout. In need of a quick, balanced meal — it can also easily be served for lunch or dinner as well.
Looking ahead to another 25 years of life.
25 years. What does this mean exactly? It means I am grateful to be alive. Every day is a gift. I have learned to identify the people and things that are most important in my life and this is what I focus my energy and time on. Today you see, I am celebrating 25 years of life!
25 years ago today I almost lost this life of mine. I was in 6th grade and just 11 years old. I was misdiagnosed for many months as having a virus when I first started getting sick in the fall of 1986 – until that fateful day of February 13, 1987.
Therefore, if the amount of glucose supplied by the blood falls, the brain is one of the first organs affected. In most people, subtle reduction of mental efficiency can be observed when the glucose falls below 65 mg/dl (3.6 mM). Impairment of action and judgment usually becomes obvious below 40 mg/dl (2.2 mM). Seizures may occur as the glucose falls further. As blood glucose levels fall below 10 mg/dl (0.55 mM), most neurons become electrically silent and nonfunctional, resulting in coma. These brain effects are collectively referred to as neuroglycopenia. (link to article).
‘Dead in bed’ syndrome refers to unexplained deaths in young people with Type 1 diabetes. Research shows little definitive evidence as to the cause of this very rare phenomenon. There is a small amount of published evidence looking at the condition. One possible theory has been a link to hypoglycaemia (hypo) during the night. It is suggested that this may compound an abnormal heart rhythm, which can cause death.” (link to article).
I had a scary experience last night. I was sleeping and everything was going fine… so I thought. Since experiencing significant stress from caring for my critically ill cat the last few weeks, I have been completely exhausted and had no problem quickly falling into a deep slumber.
Editor’s note: This is a guest blog post written by my loving husband and biggest supporter, Jaim. We just celebrated our four year wedding anniversary in December.
45… is that bad?
This was my response as my date pricked her finger and pressed it against an electrical device she had pulled from her purse.
We were walking back from a restaurant where we’d had a nice meal and stayed a while to listen to the music. I didn’t realize when we left I was about receive a sobering lesson on the effects of dinner & a beer on someone who’s pancreas doesn’t function like it’s supposed to.