have i told you about nurse amazing?

you've heard all about dr awesome - and met him!

i don't think i've ever talked about the amazing nurse practitioner that i saw for days upon days - for weeks, months, a whole summer - after i was first diagnosed.

i saw nurse amazing regularly. my mom and i would meet with her for a few hours in mornings; she taught me pretty much everything there was to learn about diabetes. on my first visit, i stood at a table in a small room holding a syringe of insulin with my mom and her staring at me, waiting for me to give myself my first injection. it was terrifying. but comforting, because she really is AMAZING. she's the one taught me how to check my blood sugar. who discovered my penicillin allergy (fun times). taught me all about insulin pumps. spent an entire day with me when i finally got my pump and more that i'm sure i'm forgetting ... so involved.

i had appointments with her for a few years through college, and after i graduated and came home, i found out that she was moving out of town and wouldn't be there anymore. it was really sad. she was a big part of my diabetes journey and i wasn't going to see her every few months anymore.

i would always ask about her at dr awesome's office. she kept in touch with them, so i'd get to hear that she was doing well - but never got her contact info because they couldn't give it to me. sad day!

enter the magical, wonderful website called facebook. last year, guess who i found? nurse amazing. we've talked about visiting (she's just a few hours away), she told me about her granddaughter who also has type 1, i've told her all about my husband and we've shared emails with years of catching up ... the time is coming. in april, we're going to visit (after she gets back from florida - JEALOUS.). no date is set in stone yet, but i'm excited to see her and for my husband to meet her.

now, nurse amazing told me i could share her real name on my blog, but what's the fun in that? anticipation is more exciting. so when i do see her, i'll take pictures. and share them here.

what about you? is there someone from your diabetes journey that you've lost touch with and miss? that you'd like to see again? try facebook. seriously. i think almost everyone is there.

diabetes technology

today i met someone who was very impressed with my diabetes technology. i got to tell him all about my insulin pump, other insulin pump options, how long i've been using mine, etc. 

i told him about my dexcom, how much i like it and how useful it is! 

...then, i left it at work. on my desk.

(this has only happened ONCE before!)

the technology is great, when you don't forget it.

diabetes care for kids

a few months ago, the children's hospital in louisville opened the Wendy L. Novak Diabetes Care Center. although i didn't have diabetes as a kid, i was really excited about it - excited for the kids who are living with it now, that they have a great facility to receive services.

recently i saw a billboard advertising the center and it made me smile. maybe a couple people will notice it and learn that their stereotypes are wrong about kids who live with diabetes.

don't mind the power lines.

thrifting with diabetes

as many of my friends and family know, my husband and i are big into thrifting and vintage stuff.

we love to check out different thrift stores, peddlers malls, vintage shops and yard sales. we watch american pickers, thrift hunters, antique roadshow (ok, that show bores me. but he likes it!), toy hunter, pawn stars and more.

we went there!

for the past couple of weekends we've been finding more hidden treasure shops, and there's one common denominator. low blood sugar.

what is this, target? (ok, i searched forever to find a post about lows at target. i swear someone wrote one. but i can't find it. maybe that means i should write it ... long story short, shopping at target causes lows for some reason.)

thrifted!

we've been eating healthier this year too, which means no lingering highs from loading up on crappy carbs. that's a great thing - but not when i forget that walking around all day means i will slowly drop. and then not realize it because i'm busy shopping until the dexcom screams or i feel all shaky and he has to ask if i'm okay.

smart, right? (yeah yeah. i know.)

she lives in our basement. LOVE.

with spring just around the corner (PLEASE PLEASE BE JUST AROUND THE CORNER!), that means one big thing - yard sales. more walking around!

thrifted (and painted) cabinet, pretty much all the glasses are vintage too

i'm going to have to create a 'don't go low' bag or pouch and carry it with me. fruit snacks, juice box, glucose tabs, crackers with peanut butter ... whatever it takes. this business can't interfere with the business of thrifting!

happy valentine's day!

to all my fellow diabetics ... enjoy the cupcakes, sweets, chocolate and insulin.

this is how valentine's day was done when i was a kid:

(i totally gave these barbie cards out)

it's not too late to help kids with diabetes who need insulin! just click here to donate and spare a rose to save a child. 

everyone have a sweet holiday! 

american girl

i loved american girl when i was growing up. i read ALL the books (at the time, there were only kirsten, molly and samantha), i got the magazine and i had two of the dolls. plus i had bitty baby. i even bought my niece bitty baby when she was little - her first 'real' doll.

now, american girl is a HUGE company. they have almost 20 characters now, books, crafts, movies, a web site with all kinds of resources for young girls - the list goes on and on. they also have dolls that are made to look like girls. so a girl can pick out their hair color, hair style, color of their eyes, if they have freckles, they pick their clothes and accessories ... there are even wheelchairs, services dogs, braces, hearing aids, glasses and food allergy lunch accessories!

but what did you not see on that list?

anything related to diabetes. no insulin pumps. no CGMs. no insulin pens. no supply bags. no glucose monitors. what's up with that, american girl?

anja and her american girl doll

well, anja busse, a lovely 11-year-old who was recently diagnosed with type 1 diabetes, wants that to change. and she's doing something about it! her mom ingrid sent me an email this week and asked if i'd sign their petition. i did, and you should too!

it's really simple. head on over here and watch the adorable anja's pitch to american girl. then, fill out the info on the right side of the screen - that's it!

the petition needs a little over 98,000 more signatures, and i know with the power of the internet and social media, we can totally make that happen.

please join me and help anja and all the young girls with diabetes enjoy an their american girl dolls with accessories that really make the dolls just like them.

once you've signed the petition, spread the word!

the truth about diabetes.

yesterday, lots of my fellow type 1-ers (yup, just made that term up) were sharing this blog post by jen grieves. go ahead, click that link and go read her post. then come back. i'll wait.

you're back - how did you feel about what she said?

she made the most obvious and true statement about living with diabetes that i've ever read. which is saying a lot, since i've been living with it for almost 14 years.

That’s the thing with diabetes – it’s fine until it’s not fine. 

her statement couldn't be more accurate. it's fine. until it's not.

the majority of the time, i'm fine. no one really mentions my diabetes (except the occasional question about my dexcom or pump). the only time they do is when i say i'm low and they check to make sure i'm okay. it's mainly coworkers who are around me the majority of every day. they know that i have it under control and are understanding when i need to excuse myself to take care of a low (or a beeping pump/dexcom). my husband knows i've got it together, and there have been only a handful of times that i've had to ask him to bring me glucose tabs or juice.

luckily (knock on wood, and all those other luck things), i've never had a low quite as scary as jen's, but it's a fear that lives inside. i don't bring it up, i prefer to not think about it because i take pretty good care of myself, but when i'm not wearing my dexcom - which is also rare - i always have that fear when i go to bed. even if my blood sugar is a good number at bedtime, because YOU NEVER KNOW. diabetes is an evil jerk and can turn on you for absolutely no reason. it doesn't care if you've been holding steady at a number you really like ALL DAY LONG, it will flip the switch and drop you like that.

but when my blood sugars are in range and relatively good, i'm fine. no one even thinks about it or brings it up (that i know of. do you? two friends who are reading this? that's nice of you if you are!). until i'm too low. or until i'm too high [insert bitchy high mood]. and usually, i will tell you i'm fine. not to worry about me.

but, when i'm low. it's hard to explain why i'm not instantly okay right after i've eaten glucose tabs. it takes too much energy and brain power (hey guess what - THAT'S A REAL THING. being confused and not able to get it all together with my thoughts) to explain it. give me 15 minutes. it's hard to think 'i'll be fine in 15 minutes' when i'm shaking and sweaty and trying to force my brain to stay on track.

it's reality. a part of daily living. so if you ask, and i say i'm fine, it's true.

until i'm not.

captain novolin

on saturday night, we hung out with our awesome neighbors watching jimmy fallon clips (don't be jealous of my wild and crazy weekends). one segment he has on his show was do not game, where he showed video games that he doesn't recommend.

one of the video games was captain novolin.

WHAT? am i late to the party? why did i not know this existed? probably because i didn't have super nintendo or play many video games. if you haven't heard of it, watch this clip (skip to 1:49).

Captain Novolin is the only one who can stop such evil aliens as Blubberman and rescue the diabetic mayor of Pineville who was kidnapped by evil aliens. Throughout the game, Captain Novolin needs to avoid the alieninvaders who have the appearance of junk food items such as bouncing cookies and doughnuts while eating healthy meals to keep his blood glucose within a safe zone. Captain Novolin can die if his blood glucose level goes too high or low. Players can earn bonus points by correctly answering questions that relate to diabetes. In addition, the game has a feature whereby a diabetic player can specify the frequency of their real-life insulin injections. [wikipedia]

this game sounds intense. bouncing cookies and doughnuts, insulin injections, captain novolin can die if his glucose levels are too high or low. it's like... real life.  i guess since i was diagnosed at 17, i didn't hear about these cool games as a kid.

has anyone played it?