Blog Discovery and Helping Others

Tonight, Riley found out this blog exists. He couldn't believe I had done such a thing...And without his input. He was appauled and had a huge grin on his face at the same time. He doesn't like the picture I picked. He will be working on updating it with a much cooler or "boss" one.

Riley was introduced to 30 Hour Famine at our church youth group last night. He's excited about "Going Hungry So Other's Don't Have To". But how does a kid with diabetes go without food for 30 hours? I called our CDE and they very quickly got back to me and commended Riley for his desire to help others while sacrificing his own comfort. And informed me that he could definitely participate and to use glucose tablets (considered medicinal, not food) and to check his blood glucose every 3 to 4 hours.

If anyone has experience doing these fundraising events where no food is involved, please let me know. Interesting predicament, normally it's all the food at events that causes much thought to figure out how to dose insulin when not during meal times (ie birthday parties, club meetings etc). Since Riley doesn't use a pump, we usually do less insulin and food at the previous meal and hope the event includes physical activity to cover the snacking.

Diagnosis Day 6 Months Ago Today

It was a Tuesday.
He hadn't slept well and complained of being so tired. His father and I decided to let him stay home from school that day to let him get some much needed rest. The aching legs were waking him up several times a night lately. Two weeks earlier, he had a bout of thirst like we had never seen before. He couldn't get enough water. He was keeping a collection on his desk of the water bottles he was going through. And when he wasn't guzzling water, he was making trips to the bathroom. The predictor of our future, my husband, said, "Riley, we're going to keep an eye on this, these are classic symptoms of diabetes." This immediately sent him into hysterics. He didn't know much about diabetes, but he knew he did not want to stick his fingers multiple times a day. The ruckus prompted me to come upstairs to see what was going on.  I immediately tried to calm Riley down by saying, "Of course you don't have diabetes, Dad just means we need to keep an eye on you and see how you feel tomorrow. Don't worry!" I mean, I'm the one who jumps to conclusions, not my stable and thoughtful husband. What in the world?

The day before, Riley had weighed himself. Coincidentally, he was trying to get in shape and losing weight was important to him. He called out after leaving our bathroom where the scale was that he was down to 119. We congratulated him. As soon as he left the room, I got my calendar out to see when his last yearly well-check had been....August 4th. It was September 19th. He had lost 16 pounds in six weeks.

Riley was excited to get a day off from school, we never let him stay home unless he was pretty sick. And he was almost never sick. I ran to the basement (so he wouldn't hear me) and called the pediatrician. I explained to the nurse that I was bringing my son in because I thought he had caught a bug. I described the difficult sleep and maybe I could hear a cough coming on. Then I said, "While he is there, I want the doctor to check him for diabetes."  I described all the symptoms we had noted in the last two weeks: weight loss, the bout with excessive thirst/urinating, and leg cramps that wake him up at night. I went on further to share that it was important not to freak him out-he excites easily-I should know...this apple didn't fall far from the tree.

The doctor was fantastic. He had me believing that cutting desserts and laps during soccer practice for the past month were probably the culprits behind the weight loss and leg cramps. All he needed was some magnesium or something like that...Then, right before we were all done. He said it was a good idea to get a urine sample... just in case.

Envelope Stuffing for JDRF Central Pennsylvania

Last Friday I helped stuff envelopes for the JDRF Gala event here in Central Pennsylvania. The local chapter office is pretty near my home and I thought it was a great opportunity to do something to help as well as meet other T1D families.

Then I met Lyle. He is 66 years old and was diagnosed with T1D during his sophomore year of college at Penn State University almost 50 years ago!

You recall my last post about getting thoughts on diabetes honeymoon, right? Well, I jumped at the chance to talk to the other two volunteers about theirs. Lyle had never even heard the term. And the other volunteer said her son had been diagnosed 1 1/2 years ago and he was still producing some insulin! I was ecstatic. Actually, hopeful is a better word for what I was feeling. I announced that it would be our family goal, I'm sure if we really tried we could make this honeymoon last another year...(I do realize that trying and wishing has nothing to do with how long the pancreas produces insulin).

Then Lyle said that he was also still producing some insulin...after 50 years! I don't know what that means, but it was a wonderful conversation and Lyle gave me permission to share his story here on my "brand new" blog. He was wrestling at Penn State and during a routine physical they found not exactly right blood glucose numbers. He was about 18 years old at the time. The campus doctor told him that most doctors would not immediately put him on insulin, but that she thought it would help save the pancreas function that still existed. That was 1964.  Lyle just got a pump last year and loves it.

Honeymooning-diabetes style

I love the honeymoon. I hate diabetes but at least we're being slowly lowered into the depths. How long does it last? Everyone is different, right?

I've noticed from all the D-blogs I obsess over (as in locate their diagnosis story and cry) that the younger the child is diagnosed, the shorter - if any at all - the honeymoon lasts.

Riley had just celebrated his 13th birthday a month earlier. Now we're almost to the 6 month mark.

It's Been Too Long

I began this blog as a result of an outcry from friends and family who wanted to know the status of my dad's health after he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer back in 2007. It was difficult to even look at this blog after he died on June 2, 2009 ( see below).

But now I'm a blog-reader addict. And every now and then I get so inspired by the stories I read-mostly Type 1 diabetes blogs - that I want to revive my original blog and start again.

So here it is. Wish me luck!

On June 2 at 10:30 pm Bill Ennis left this earth and promptly arrived in Heaven. II Corinthians 5:8 ...to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord.

Billy, Natalie, Glenda, Tim and Bonni were all here to wish him well on his journey. Our sadness is beyond words but our joy is overwhelming-the suffering is over.

Thank you all, friends and family, for your love and support for us and for our dad and husband.

-Bonni, Billy and Glenda

Today, we enjoyed an afternoon baseball game -watching Riley hit the best game ever!

Thank you all for your continued prayers and visits.

Happy Mother's Day!