Some Go Gray...I Go Blue.

Not as much attention as the ice bucket challenge for ALS (which, by the way I think is a GREAT thing to raise money for), but for November...Diabetes Awareness Month someone started the Blue Streak Challenge.  You can temporarily or semi-permanently color part of your hair blue to show your support and raise awareness.

I didn't have to think twice about doing it for Zane and for all of the other kids and adults out there that need just a little bit of awareness raised for the disease that takes control of their life.  I chose to go the semi-permanent route.  As soon as November is done, I'll be getting my hair did back to normal, but I'm happy to spend a month blue for Zane!

Most people that I run into think I did it for the Seahawks...I love my Hawks, but really...dye my hair for them?  I don't think so!  That's ok though, it opens the door for conversation about Diabetes and that's raising awareness...the whole point, duh!

Nurse Anne

We are so unbelievably blessed with our school nurse...she cares for Zane (and the other kids) like he's one of her own.  She always has a smile on her face and never have I seen her the slightest bit stressed out.  She loves her job and she does a great job at it.  As Zane gets older he needs the nurse less and less - he takes on more and more on his own and his teachers do a great job of helping him when needed.  At this time the nurse really only has contact with him if he needs a pump change while at school.

Every year she has done a talk to his class, reads a book (Taking Diabetes to School) and lets the class ask her and Zane questions.  This helps with the kids understanding what goes on with Zane during the days and why he gets extra snacks and juice when the other kids don't.  It also helps so Zane isn't bombarded with questions from his friends at other times during the year - everything is answered up front.  I have never been to her presentation...but thought it would be fun to listen in one time, so I made it a point to go today.  I'm glad I did - it was cute to listen to his friends and their questions.  The most popular ones asked every year (I'm told by Zane and then heard them myself today) are:

1. Does it hurt to poke your finger? Zane says no.
2. Hold old were you when you got Diabetes? Zane says 3 (and he's right!).
3. Can I get Diabetes too? Nurse Anne says that it is very unlikely that any of them will develop it, but that they absolutely cannot get it from Zane (and she's right).
4. Can I see your pump?  Zane is always willing to show it off :)

Such a cute group of kids!

The Faces of T1D

Zane was featured on a poster during the 4-mile walk during Beat the Bridge again this year - we didn't do the walk, so did not see the poster out there - but have heard it was there!  I was sent a copy of what it looked like though - so here you go :)

Beat the Bridge - 2015 Team Zane

Team Zane was at it again this year and we will be every year in some capacity or another until a cure is found or until Zane tells us he's done!  It's the least we can do as his family and friends.

Nothing ceases to amaze me with these kids - they are out there running their hears out, checking blood sugars, chugging juice and all with smiles on their faces.  I don't know how they do it, I really don't. I've poked my finger by accident with his poker and wanted to yell out a non-kid friendly word or two...so to see these kids of all ages (including babies) doing it with out even a flinch brings a tear to my eye.  Sure there are many nights that Josh and I have very interrupted sleep because of diabetes; sure there are days that Zane says he hates it and doesn't want it anymore; sure there are days that I cry over it after I go to bed so no one will see me; sure there are days that I have to break the news to him that he can't have that coveted ice cream he wants so badly because his blood sugar is over 500; sure I want to cry with him when I break that news and sure there are days that I say f*ck it and let him have the ice cream even with a blood sugar of over 500.  There are many crappy things about diabetes, but there are many great things we have gained through it as well. We have really learned who our real friends are.  The friends who relentlessly get up early every year to fight traffic and crowds to come out and show their support for Zane.  The friends who even when they can't be there always go out of their way to make a donation to JDRF to find a cure for him.  The friends who ask us about Zane and the ones who just know by the look on our face that it hasn't been a good day or night and try to be there for us even though they don't know how to fix it.  These are the friends that we will carry with us for a lifetime.  These are the friends that Zane will carry with him for a lifetime.  And to all of you and you know who you are THANK YOU.  It's life, it's our life and it's one that we have adapted too and one that we don't know any different from anymore.

It was a great day out there today!!

Most of Team Zane...a few are missing.

Zane, Logan, Landon & Blake

Zane and his oldest friend Bashir!  Bashir has been out for EVERY.SINGLE.ONE!

Landon, Omar, Bashir & Zane

My perfect little family!

Omar, Neimeh, Bashir, Zane & Yours Truly.  This one raises more money every year
for Team Zane than I'm even able to do - she's amazing and has been a huge supporter!

Some of the boys warming up before their big run, haha!!

On your marks, get set, GOOOO!

Zane & his Diabestie Lukas!

Zane and his neighbor friend Elliott!

Two beautiful brothers!

Zane and Leo the Lion!

Night Run

Zane and I headed out for a night run tonight. It was a little rainy, very dark...but pretty fun. We saw two deer and I tried to get a picture...but I think there was water on my phone lens so it didn't turn out. But trust me, they were there and they were adorable! Zane said he's never been so close to one before and couldn't stop talking about it.

We were slated to go two miles, but instead I had Mom Fail #456. Landon was throwing a fit that he couldn't go, so in my haste of trying to get us out of the house as quickly as possible I forgot to a. have Zane check his blood sugar and b. forgot to bring anything with us in case he felt/went low. Whoops. 

.82 of a mile into our run his CGM goes off saying "Falling" which means he's dropping quick. And he was dropping from an already pretty low number. Crap. We turn around to head back home, but still have .82 of a mile to get back there, I felt like such an idiot. I was prepared to flag down a car to ask if they had any soda or candy in their car, but he said he felt fine, so we continued trekking it back home. The two deer hadn't moved, haha. 

He survived, he was pretty low, but fine and I learned a huge lesson and won't make that mistake again. And he isn't too scarred because he wants to go again tomorrow (but requested it be light out, haha)!

Love that he's motivating me to get off my butt and move!!  He doesn't let Diabetes stop him, so I surely can't let my laziness stop me. 

Gingerbread Village and more...

I asked Zane what he wanted to do on his Diabetes Anniversary and he said he wanted to go downtown to see the Gingerbread Village at the Sheraton Hotel - which ironically is a big fundraiser for JDRF (Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation)!  You got it buddy!

The weather was LESS than ideal to say the least...but we are true Seattlelites and did not let the rain get to us!  In hindsight, I should've had the boys wear their rain boots, but we all survived - wet feet and pants and all!

Zane and I have been to the Gingerbread Village one other time, but it was a loooong time ago...PD (pre-diabetes) which also means PL (pre-Landon)!  So it was fun to go back!  I'm always amazed at what these culinary artists are capable of!

The first thing we did after finding parking was hit up Starbucks...Zane asked if he could have a caramel frappicinio (a once in a blue moon treat) - because it was his special day, I told him of course!  I had him run over to a table and check his blood sugar while I ordered...he reports back to me with a blood sugar of 43...extremely low!  Good timing for that sugary drink :)

We then walked over to the Sheraton where we had to wait in line for a VERY long time to get to the Gingerbread creations...the boys did amazing in line!  Sure, they got restless from time to time, but they were respectful and they waited very patiently.  It helped they got to see the jolly ol' man himself partway through the line!

It was finally our turn to see the creations and it was worth the wait!!

After the village, we headed over to Westlake for lunch and then our friends Kristin and Luke met up with us for a monorail ride over to the Seattle Center!  This was Landon's first time on it and he was IN LOVE!  He's already informed me that for his birthday he wants to go back to Seattle (he's OBSESSED with downtown Seattle) and ride the monorail and go up to the top of the Space Needle!

Luke & Zane met up with Star Wars while at the Seattle Center!

Four Years w/D

December 20, 2010 a day that will forever be engrained into our hearts, it was the day the world stopped turning for us, it was the day we felt our hearts had been ripped out of our chests...but it was the day that we got our baby back and the day that he started to be well again (although, prior, we had no idea just how sick he was).

4                    Years
48                  Bottles of Insulin
1460              Days
11, 680          Finger Pokes
3, 255            Injections
269                Pump Changes
32                  Lowest Blood sugar
600+             Highest Blood Sugar

Having a healthy, thriving 7 year old son: PRICELESS

This kiddo never ceases to amaze us!  We are so happy he is healthy, so happy for the invention of insulin and so happy that he takes this disease and shows it who's boss!  Zane has officially lived longer with Diabetes, than he ever did without it.  It's weird to think that - but it's true, it is WHO HE IS!  He is going to do great things in life and I cannot wait to see what those things are!

You've we've come a long way baby!

Family Camp

One of the best pieces of advice I could give any family faced with a medical condition in their child is so to find others like you!  It is so nice to know you are not fighting a battle a lone, it is so nice to know that there are other kids who feel exactly like your child does.  It is nice to know that you have someone you can count on to offer a shoulder to cry on, an ear to listen or just a brain to bounce crazy ideas off of!  We have been so lucky to meet some pretty cool Type 1 families through our journey so far.  Some of which have become really good family friends of ours and I truly believe that THEY are the silver lining to this {sometimes} very dark cloud.

Every October we head up to Warm Beach (near Stanwood, WA) to attend a weekend Family Camp put on by an organization by the name of ConnecT1d.  This organization is wonderful - they don't raise money for research - there are already wonderful organizations out there that do that.  This org's mission is to bring people and families together who are all fighting the same battle.  They host a variety of events and one of which is Family Camp.  We look forward to this every year, all of us do. The kids play all day and the parents listen to different lectures, break-out sessions, panels, and just get to know others doing what you do every.single.day.

This was the first year that we took Landon with us and he had a blast!  I wondered how Zane would feel about Landon coming because in the years past we've always made it a big deal to Zane that this was HIS weekend with us and HIS weekend to enjoy.  He told me he wanted Landon to come, but I wasn't sure if he really wanted that or just felt it was the right thing to say.  But then on our long drive up there (Friday night traffic through Everett is not awesome) I received a random text from Zane's 1st grade teacher telling me to have a great time at camp this weekend and her exact words were "Zane was all smiles today when he told me that his brother was going for the first time" - can't help but smile myself reading that text!  I knew he was excited if he brought it up on his own to his teacher!

Kid showed me just how much he loves apples...when he'd pick them for snack over Goldfish crackers!

Wasn't going to let one ounce of that jelly go uneaten!

He couldn't get enough apples!

If you aren't in the Type 1 community, you very well may have missed a major event in the beauty pageant world this year.  Miss Idaho made headlines when she wore her insulin pump clipped to her bikini bottoms in the Miss Idaho (and later in the Miss America) pageant.  This was HUGE, especially for little girls!  This did nothing, but prove that Diabetes doesn't need to stop you from anything and you do not need to hide it...be who you are and be proud of who you are!  Anyway - Miss Idaho, Sierra was at Family Camp all weekend!  She spoke a couple times, but mainly was just there to hang out with the kids and families and make little girls' dreams come true when she brought out her crown and sash for them all to try on for pictures!  Made me wish I had a little girl there for a minute...Zane had no interest...even though I asked if he'd do it just for me :)  One of the campaigns that Sierra started because of showing off her pump was #showmeyourpump so Saturday night of camp, she held a Show Me Your Stuff parade with the kids.  Each age group got to go up on stage and show their stuff.  Zane was very excited about this - made sure we put his pump on his leg the night before, so it would be easy to show off the night...well, the night came and he froze, haha!  He pulled out his CGM (continuous glucose monitor) receiver and held it up, but he had no interest in showing off his pump - silly boy!

One of Zane's best friends Luke also has Type 1 - thankfully they love camp too, so we look forward to seeing them every year (even though we are lucky enough to seem them other times throughout the year)!  But these two have a great time together and I love watching their friendship grow.  We've coined them "Diabesties"!

Children's 3 Mos Follow Up

Zane had his regular 3 mos follow up at Children's a few weeks ago - I have a love hate relationship with these appointments.  As much as I know I'm not supposed too...I consider these appointments my quarterly report card on how I/we are doing in taking care of Zane and this silly disease.  I absolutely love his doctor and Zane doesn't mind going to the appointments at all - so really it's a positive experience.

Every appointment we are given what his latest a1c is and this is what I dread most about the appointment.  This last one was 8.0% - I can't remember the one before, but it was somewhere in the 7%'s.  The goal is 7.5% or below - we fluctuate on and/or around that number all the time.  We aren't doing bad, but there is room for improvement.  Zane is healthy, he feels good and he is growing like crazy and really in the end, that is all that matters.

I have a hard time believing that we've been at this for almost 4 years now - wow!  This disease really is 24/7 - it never stops.  Thank God I have an awesome mother-in-law who is very well equipped to handle Zane's D care when I/we need a break or just when they want the boys for a weekend!  We are so lucky.  We have also met some amazing people because of his diagnosis, so I'm a firm believer that everything happens for a reason and that there are silver linings to most dark clouds!

Sure is hard work waiting around for your name to be called to go back and see the doctor!  I love Children's!

D Supplies

Monday was our day to meet with the school nurse.  To say we love Nurse Anne is an understatement! This woman is amazing and a huge player in keeping Zane healthy during the school year.  We went over this year's care plan and adjusted a couple things.   Then we went over the box of supplies we had brought in and made a list of additional supplies that we forgot to make sure we have them on the first day of school.

When most parents are running crazy through Target looking for the right brand of crayons their child's school is requiring...I'm running around my house and to the pharmacy to pick up the life saving supplies that are required to keep Zane healthy and alive during the school day.  Trust me, I'd rather be searching for the perfect crayons instead - but alas I'm not!

This year is different because there will not be a teacher's aid in his class like there was last year.  This year his classroom care will be up to the teacher (and the nurse when she's in) - so this teacher is who responsible to teach 20+ 6-7 year olds how to perfect their reading skills and get them to the next level of math also has to keep an eye on Zane's blood sugar and know what to do with it all.day.long.  I'm slightly nervous for this - this is a new road for us, but not one that hasn't been traveled by many other kids before; so I'm confident that even though there will probably be a few speed bumps - they will cruise right along!

Carrying in his box of classroom D supplies...

Sick

This family has been through the ringer over the last week with stomach bugs, ugh.  Last Wednesday, Zane, Josh and his friend Daniel hiked up Rattlesnake Ridge and had a blast!!

They all had a great time!  Once they were home, Zane was full of energy, telling me all about the hike! He finally settled down enough to head off to bed...just for a few hours and then he barfed all over, ugh!  

Zane slept the entire next day away (in my bed on my side; thanks kid)!

The next morning, Josh was sick, so he assumed it was something they ate after the hike.  Then Friday night and Saturday morning Landon was barfing.  Now we knew it was a bug lurking!

Some of us use barf bowls for hats (this is before it was used).

I "knock-on-wood" never barfed, but had been feeling nauseous everyday since Thursday - today (Tuesday) is the first day I have not felt nauseous.  It's a good thing I know that I can't get pregnant again or I'd have been convinced that may have been my issue this last week - it's been terrible!  I have eaten hardly anything (thanks to that, I'm fitting into clothes I haven't for a very long time, haha - if only that part would last)!  We thought we were through the thick of it.  Then last night happened.

Zane's appetite hadn't fully came back since last Wednesday, but that was nothing to be alarmed about - I mean, it's been almost a week since I've been able to eat -  we weren't concerned at all.  He went to bed last night and about 30 mins later this kid barfed more than any child I've ever seen in my life - it was seriously like the poltergeist was in his room or something - so, so, scary!  Thank the Lord he made it all to the trash can!  I obviously let my boss know immediately that I wouldn't be in today.  Called Children's and got some direction from them...gave Zane some anti-nausea meds and was up every 2 hours (all night long) checking his blood sugar and getting him to sip Sprite to keep the blood sugar up. Thankfully, he was never sick again.  He woke up this morning and it's like nothing ever happened. He is 100% back to himself - most of his appetite is back and he's just happy as a clam! I really hope this bug is finally over...it's been pure hell.

Stomach bugs and Type 1 do not mix well at all - it's seriously one of the worst illnesses a person with Type 1 can encounter.  I avoid anyone who has had a stomach bug in the last 2 weeks like the plague and won't take Zane near anyone's house that has had it in the last 2-3 weeks if at all possible.  I just don't want him to get it.  Thankfully, he's only had it 1 or 2 other times in the last 3.5 years he's been diagnosed and I hope it's a long time before it happens again.  When they cannot keep any fluids down, the body builds up ketones which are essentially poison in the blood stream and the only way to rid of them is by a. fluids and b. insulin.  Problem is - if they cannot keep fluids down, plan (a) is out.  If their blood sugars are silly low (which his were), then you cannot give insulin which means now plan (b) is out.  You aren't left with much now except a trip to the hospital to keep your kid alive.  I'm happy to report, we did not end up there last night (although, I was certain we would).  We were able to keep Sprite down him all night and were able to flush the ketones out!!  His blood sugars have not returned to normal yet (which is normal after a tummy bug) and his body is not absorbing the carbs he's eating, so they are not effecting his blood sugar, so he is not receiving any insulin for the food he's eating yet (again, normal after a tummy bug).  It's almost like he doesn't have Type 1 right now - he's eating freely and getting no insulin for it - I wish it could be like this forever, but soon - his body will readjust and he'll be back on insulin for everything he eats!

Here is what his CGM has looked like almost every night - this is showing his blood sugar trend and remember that for him to be safe overnight, he needs to be above 130 at least (this was taken right before bed the other night): 

I have done more cleaning and laundry in the last week than I think I do in a month!

We are so thankful we made it through this one and really hope that that's it for our family for awhile - especially for Zane!  Thanks to all our friends and family who checked up on us over the last week - I think we'll all survive after all!