I have told you all about my two little angels that have juvenile diabetes. The oldest angel is 8 and my little one is 6. I thought it would be important to share how we came to know that my daughters had a potentially deadly disease.
My oldest daughter started wetting the bed at the age of 5 and a half , just every once in a while so we didn't think anything of it. Over the course of that year she had severe mood swings, at the end of the day particularly. She was in grade one so I figured that she was just having a hard time going to school every day and she was just tired and hungry. I would give her a snack and she would be right as rain afterwards, so I figured I was right. She just needed something to eat.
Just after her seventh birthday she got a severe sinus infection and was vomiting all night one night. She had black circles under her eyes and looked awful. She lost a pound that week and looked frail. My girlfriend took one look at her and said "She looks awful." I just thought that she looked awful from the sinus infection. I told myself once she put the weight back on she would be fine.
About a week later the bed wetting became so severe that we were having to wake her nightly and she would still wet the bed. I thought she had a sleep/bed wetting disorder as she was also sleepwalking and bed wetting ran in our family so it was no surprise. I started looking into bed wetting treatments and read that I should rule out bladder infections or diabetes. I still had not clued into this possibility. It was too terrible to even consider. As you know the test did come back positive for diabetes. It only takes one little test to discover that your child will need medical care for the rest of their lives. I was numb from shock and kicking myself that I didn't clue in sooner. I have three cousins that have diabetes so I should have known, I felt. There are no other direct genetic links though so I just thought it would be highly unlikely that my daughter would be at risk. No aunts, grandparent, parents or siblings had this disease so why my child? The doctors and nurses assured me I had nothing to feel bad about. Most children fall into a coma before the parents realize something is wrong. My daughter was just at the beginnings of her disease and was not presenting key tones in her urine yet.
We went home feeling shocked and scared to death. We new very little and were sent home after a few hours of training. She wasn't ill and they said that children fair better if they go home where they feel safe and secure. They were right. She had no lows and her sugars were responding well to the insulin.
Three months later in June 2009, my little one was getting up in the night to go to bathroom which was highly unusual for her. She usually slept like a rock. I felt a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach and as all mothers know, you have to listen to that feeling and do something about it. After a week of me noticing her getting up I took it upon myself to check her blood. The meter read her blood sugars at 11.1. I didn't know if that qualified her as a diabetic or not so I called the hospital crying my head off, barely being able to speak. I asked the nurse what the number was to qualify as diabetic and she wasn't sure. She called the doctor and she said 11.1! There was still hope. She had us come in and do some tests and said it could be a bladder infection and not to worry just yet. We took her home and were told to check her sugars two hours after lunch to see where she was at. Her sugars were 22.1. Then I knew and couldn't believe my eyes. It was too much for anyone to bare. I was angry, sad, shocked and numb all at the same time.
But you know, we are all stronger than we know we are. When you have to do something you never even considered a possibility, some how you gather the strength to go on. It gives you a feeling of hope that you never thought possible. We always have hope no one can ever take that away from us.
A year later my daughters are doing their own pokes and my older daughter occasionally does her own shot. They are the ambassadors for the juvenile walk-a-thon and my daughter got up in front of 200 people and presented a speech to everyone without hesitation. I am proud beaond words and I know they will be just fine.
Sally
Thursday, May 13, 2010
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Mother's Day, what a disappointment!
You know how when some talk show hosts or radio personalities ask mom's what they like getting most at mother's day and most mom's will say,"I just love the hand made crafts that my children bring home from school. It's just so sweet."
Well, I guess I fall in a major minority because although I do like the things my children make, let's face it, most of them fall apart unless you enshrine them and are of very little use in every day life. What I want is, "The goods", something I can use to make my every day life more enjoyable, to make all the crap that you do every day worth it. I also want to feel what I'm worth more than that. A paper mache vase of flowers just doesn't cut it in the present department. Also doing nice things for Mom is great but it also doesn't cut it. You can't do one nice day of things for mom and then expect that to be enough when she does those things voluntarily every day of her stinkin life.
The day after Mother's day, which by the way , I got no present, or card, and was told that, "I got you a Tim Horton's coffee." Like that should be enough. Are you kidding me! Spare me the Tim's and get me a real gift! Getting back to the day after. My daughter was being bratty after school on Monday and I was telling her to smarten up and she looked at me and said, "It isn't mother's day any more." Well, if it isn't mother's day anymore and I have to put up with you now, I should have gotten a really good gift to make up for all the crap I put up with in between.
For all the mother's out there that got no more than a Tim's and a thanks for coming out, I apologize for your less than thoughtful family. And have a spa day on them. That's my opinion and I'm stickin to it.
Sally
Well, I guess I fall in a major minority because although I do like the things my children make, let's face it, most of them fall apart unless you enshrine them and are of very little use in every day life. What I want is, "The goods", something I can use to make my every day life more enjoyable, to make all the crap that you do every day worth it. I also want to feel what I'm worth more than that. A paper mache vase of flowers just doesn't cut it in the present department. Also doing nice things for Mom is great but it also doesn't cut it. You can't do one nice day of things for mom and then expect that to be enough when she does those things voluntarily every day of her stinkin life.
The day after Mother's day, which by the way , I got no present, or card, and was told that, "I got you a Tim Horton's coffee." Like that should be enough. Are you kidding me! Spare me the Tim's and get me a real gift! Getting back to the day after. My daughter was being bratty after school on Monday and I was telling her to smarten up and she looked at me and said, "It isn't mother's day any more." Well, if it isn't mother's day anymore and I have to put up with you now, I should have gotten a really good gift to make up for all the crap I put up with in between.
For all the mother's out there that got no more than a Tim's and a thanks for coming out, I apologize for your less than thoughtful family. And have a spa day on them. That's my opinion and I'm stickin to it.
Sally
Saturday, May 1, 2010
Obsessed with poo?
The question often posed to me is, why are kids so obsessed with poo and the potty? Well, the answer is some what obvious if you really think about it. Toddlers are obsessed with poo because it is one of the few things they can control. No one in the history of man kind has been able to force a human to poo on command. If you think about a child's day to day life from their perspective, it is controlled from the second they get up to the time they go to bed. Unless your a free spirited hippy sort of parent. I try to give as many choices to my kids as possible but they can't control everything, so there in lies to obsession with poo.
My "princess" daughter would hold hers in for days. She would sit on the couch rolled up in a ball in pain from all the toxic waste in her body, because it was unlady like, in her opinion, to poo. We would have to put her on the toilet and she would scream bloody murder until she could no longer hold the glob of toxic waste that smelled like death, in her body any longer. We had her on an adult does of laxatives as directed by our doctor, and she would still manage to hold it in for four days at a time. That's what I call determination! All we could do was watch for the signs and put her on the pot as needed. I thought that Children's Aide would be called at one point. She sounded like she was being tortured, but I assure you the torture was all on us.
My other daughter was three and a half before she would agree to go on the potty. She was fully trained for wetting but didn't think it was necessary to poo on the toilet, so she flat out refused. Finally, I told her that her dance class instructor would not allow her to go to class if she pooped her paints as only big girls that went poo on the toilet could attend. She was trained in two days and never had an accident since.
The moral of the story is, do whatever it takes. If you have to bribe, withhold something, beg for mercy. Whatever will work is whatever will work, and you don't have to feel guilty because some children are stubborn enough they would make Dr. Phil curl up in a ball and cry. He just never met my little "princesses". Have a good day and never take life seriously. It's over before you know it. lol
Sally
My "princess" daughter would hold hers in for days. She would sit on the couch rolled up in a ball in pain from all the toxic waste in her body, because it was unlady like, in her opinion, to poo. We would have to put her on the toilet and she would scream bloody murder until she could no longer hold the glob of toxic waste that smelled like death, in her body any longer. We had her on an adult does of laxatives as directed by our doctor, and she would still manage to hold it in for four days at a time. That's what I call determination! All we could do was watch for the signs and put her on the pot as needed. I thought that Children's Aide would be called at one point. She sounded like she was being tortured, but I assure you the torture was all on us.
My other daughter was three and a half before she would agree to go on the potty. She was fully trained for wetting but didn't think it was necessary to poo on the toilet, so she flat out refused. Finally, I told her that her dance class instructor would not allow her to go to class if she pooped her paints as only big girls that went poo on the toilet could attend. She was trained in two days and never had an accident since.
The moral of the story is, do whatever it takes. If you have to bribe, withhold something, beg for mercy. Whatever will work is whatever will work, and you don't have to feel guilty because some children are stubborn enough they would make Dr. Phil curl up in a ball and cry. He just never met my little "princesses". Have a good day and never take life seriously. It's over before you know it. lol
Sally
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Respect for Teachers
Yesterday was quite interesting. I worked as a lunch monitor at a local school. Upon arriving everything seemed fairly normal. The children arrived from library and got out their lunches. I was told that some students would be coming in to assist soon and was told my basic duties. The teacher left and I was left with a class full of five year olds. I had no idea what their names were so I tried to introduce myself to as many as possible, in between opening containers, and telling a little girl to stop drinking continuously from the water fountain as she was getting so wet she was near drowning. Then I realized I had no idea how many children were in the room and started counting. Sixteen kids in all!
Well, no one ended up showing up to assist me. The children were done eating within five minutes and mass chaos ensued. They were sward fighting with cardboard tubes, throwing balls and wrestling each other. one of the little girls was a head wager with attitude and I was about to have a panic attack all within fifteen minutes of my arrival. I managed to get the children seated on the carpet for a story which took about five minutes to get them to stop talking and pay attention and three minutes into the story the bell rang for recess. Of course there was one little boy who didn't want to put his coat on so all the other children were standing in line pushing and shoving each other. I finally managed to get both arms in his sweater and get out side. Recess was mass chaos as well with children fighting over balls and arguments needing to be brocken up. And oddly there was a Carny in the parking lot emptying his van. I don't get that one.
After this hair raising event I went back to my other job to learn the joys of STI's. I think that's a safer place to be to be honest. If a teenager does something stupid everyone blames the teenager. If a child does something stupid it's always the fault of the adult in charge.
I definitely have a new found respect for teachers.
Sally
Well, no one ended up showing up to assist me. The children were done eating within five minutes and mass chaos ensued. They were sward fighting with cardboard tubes, throwing balls and wrestling each other. one of the little girls was a head wager with attitude and I was about to have a panic attack all within fifteen minutes of my arrival. I managed to get the children seated on the carpet for a story which took about five minutes to get them to stop talking and pay attention and three minutes into the story the bell rang for recess. Of course there was one little boy who didn't want to put his coat on so all the other children were standing in line pushing and shoving each other. I finally managed to get both arms in his sweater and get out side. Recess was mass chaos as well with children fighting over balls and arguments needing to be brocken up. And oddly there was a Carny in the parking lot emptying his van. I don't get that one.
After this hair raising event I went back to my other job to learn the joys of STI's. I think that's a safer place to be to be honest. If a teenager does something stupid everyone blames the teenager. If a child does something stupid it's always the fault of the adult in charge.
I definitely have a new found respect for teachers.
Sally
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Type 1 diabetes sucks
Hi, like I said I have two little girls that have type I diabetes. I know unless you have children of your own that have it or a close friend that has a child who has it, it probably means very little to you.
This is what a day in the life of a diabetic child looks like. When you wake up in the morning the first thing you wake up to is a basil shot in the butt, arm, leg, or stomach. The next thing you do is wash your hands and then stab any one of your ten fingers with a needle to check your blood sugars. Then you decide what you want to eat and count all the carbohydrates in the foods you will be eating and then you get to give yourself another shot just so you can eat a meal. You check your blood at around 10:30 and have a small snack so you don't fall over from low blood sugars. If your blood sugars happen to go low before snack you get the extreme shakes and you feel like your having a full blown panic attack or like your falling off a building. Try feeling that at five or six years old. You then take a drink of juice and eat something so you don't pass out. You check your blood at lunch and then get another shot at lunch. You check your blood again at afternoon snack and then again at dinner when you get another shot. That's right, my daughters have to get four shots per day and six finger pokes per day just to stay alive. No pressure though, I'm just responsible for keeping them alive. Note: Type 1 diabetes or juvenile diabetes is not caused from eating too much candy. It is an autoimmune disease that robs too many children of their childhood and can strike anyone at anytime.
Like I said Diabetes sucks
Have a good day this was food for thought.
This is what a day in the life of a diabetic child looks like. When you wake up in the morning the first thing you wake up to is a basil shot in the butt, arm, leg, or stomach. The next thing you do is wash your hands and then stab any one of your ten fingers with a needle to check your blood sugars. Then you decide what you want to eat and count all the carbohydrates in the foods you will be eating and then you get to give yourself another shot just so you can eat a meal. You check your blood at around 10:30 and have a small snack so you don't fall over from low blood sugars. If your blood sugars happen to go low before snack you get the extreme shakes and you feel like your having a full blown panic attack or like your falling off a building. Try feeling that at five or six years old. You then take a drink of juice and eat something so you don't pass out. You check your blood at lunch and then get another shot at lunch. You check your blood again at afternoon snack and then again at dinner when you get another shot. That's right, my daughters have to get four shots per day and six finger pokes per day just to stay alive. No pressure though, I'm just responsible for keeping them alive. Note: Type 1 diabetes or juvenile diabetes is not caused from eating too much candy. It is an autoimmune disease that robs too many children of their childhood and can strike anyone at anytime.
Like I said Diabetes sucks
Have a good day this was food for thought.
Monday, April 26, 2010
Feeling Slightly Overwhelmed
To start my story I would have to go back about 1000 years. I'm not really that old but some days I feel that way. My story began when I was about 16. I met this really hot skate boarder dude from New Your state and it was pretty hot from the get go. Of course we were thinking with other things than our heads and all too soon I was two weeks late!!!!!!!!!!!! We were crazy enough to get married and raise our bouncing baby boy together. How ludicrous was that. Three years later I had another chubby baby boy. Zoom ahead twenty years. That twenty year old will probably be the death of me but I still love him anyway. My seventeen year old is the joy of my life and I would like to choke him on a regular basis as he would me and it's funny how you can love someone so much and still want to choke them from time to time.
Has your son ever told you after opening his bedroom door and almost falling over from the stench that he can't clean it because he has "plans" and then you threaten his life and he says, "why don't you do it, you don't have a job?" That's the kind of thing I'm talking about. The things that could turn an otherwise mentally stable person over the edge.
By the way, I did divorce my first skater dude husband who is still quite hot but is fairly useless in the fatherhood department and now lives in Guatemala. Doesn't every X-wife wish their X would go there. Quite an irony.
I did remarry some years later to a man that is often asked if anyone has ever told him he looks like Brad Pitt. His name is Harry so could you imagine if his last name was Pitt. How cruel would that be lol. He is the best and sweet. It never even occurred to him he was good looking much less Brad Pitt good looking but he does have a great butt.
We now have two girls who are beautiful and sweet some of the time. Especially when their sleeping. They both were diagnosed with type 1 diabetes within the last year just three months apart. So I'm sure you can imagine my hostility when I asked my son to clean his room and he told me I don't have a job. That's the stuff that causes a mother to go completely mad. Anti depressants are always useful in times like those.
Have a great day
Has your son ever told you after opening his bedroom door and almost falling over from the stench that he can't clean it because he has "plans" and then you threaten his life and he says, "why don't you do it, you don't have a job?" That's the kind of thing I'm talking about. The things that could turn an otherwise mentally stable person over the edge.
By the way, I did divorce my first skater dude husband who is still quite hot but is fairly useless in the fatherhood department and now lives in Guatemala. Doesn't every X-wife wish their X would go there. Quite an irony.
I did remarry some years later to a man that is often asked if anyone has ever told him he looks like Brad Pitt. His name is Harry so could you imagine if his last name was Pitt. How cruel would that be lol. He is the best and sweet. It never even occurred to him he was good looking much less Brad Pitt good looking but he does have a great butt.
We now have two girls who are beautiful and sweet some of the time. Especially when their sleeping. They both were diagnosed with type 1 diabetes within the last year just three months apart. So I'm sure you can imagine my hostility when I asked my son to clean his room and he told me I don't have a job. That's the stuff that causes a mother to go completely mad. Anti depressants are always useful in times like those.
Have a great day
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