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!

Family Camp (T1D)

October 9-11 we headed up to Warm Beach in Stanwood, WA for our annual Type 1 Family Camp! I'd like to say I had tons of pictures of the boys having a blast...but because they were having such a blast, I rarely saw them to take photos!  So trust me they were there and trust me that they had a great time!

It's wonderful for Zane to be around hundreds of kids who fight the same fight he fights everyday.  It is wonderful for Landon to be around other siblings who's brother or sister have Type 1 and they don't and how to handle that.  And of course it's wonderful for Josh and I to be with other parents dealing with what we deal with day in and day out - having someone who just "gets-it" is a wonderful thing!

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!

Film Crew

No big deal...we just had a little film crew follow Landon and I to pick up Zane from school today and then follow us back home and set up shop in our home and film an interview with yours truly and Zane-man...just an average day in the Alexander house!

Group Health (where I just so happen to work) is upping their sponsorship with JDRF this year and to try and promote the walks/runs that JDRF puts on in the Puget Sound area they (GH) are filming some key people (two of those people are Zane and I) to help with their promotion!  A few weeks ago I was asked if we'd be willing to participate and we obviously jumped at the chance.  Everyone needs wants their 15 mins of fame, right?  Haha, no - quite the opposite.  I might be out-going, but I am extremely self-conscious and not a fan of being on film and especially not in hearing my own voice on film - yuck.  But in the name of Zane and in the name of promoting JDRF and Type 1 Diabetes research...tell me where to sign up!

We had a pre-interview last week and today was filming day.  It was pretty embarrassing walking up to school with a camera following us - we got quite a few looks from cars slowing down wondering what is going on (no filming was done at the school and/or of other kids).  I'm sure they were thinking that there is a Housewives of Snoqualmie Ridge in the making - haha!  Once we were out of the public eye - it was more relaxed and a little less intimidating.  I'm curious to see how they edit it - I'm sure of our 30 mins of talking, only 2-3 mins will be used; but hopefully they are an important 2-3 minutes to get the message across!

Once the final piece is done (should be in a few weeks), I'll post a link so our awaiting fans can see. We'll be signing autographs at select locations in April :)!  kidding!

Nothing quite like being filmed while eating!

They wanted to capture Zane helping with dinner!

One Year Later

Today marks one year since Zane was handed his new way of life (read about his diagnosis story here). One year of making him bleed every time he wants to eat. One year of making him bleed everytime he gets upset, sad or "tired". One year of injecting a man-made hormone into his body so he will stay alive - morning, noon, night and many times in between. One year of middle of the night blood sugar checks. One year of worrying, crying, praying, hugging, comforting. One year of adjusting, smiling, loving, learning, living. One year of interpreting numbers. One year of kicking myself for not paying closer attention in math class in high school. One year of counting carbs and weighing food. One year of wondering how we will ever be able to do this forever, but one year of knowing that we have no choice and knowing that we can and we WILL. One year of overcoming something we never thought we could.

The day before he was diagnosed:

A short 24 hours later - when our lives changed more than we ever knew possible:

Today is very bittersweet for me. I am filled with emotion. I am sad for my little Zane that he (or any child for that matter) was ever diagnosed with Type 1, but I am so happy that we now know we can do this! Making it through the first year is a big milestone in my eyes! I honestly had days during this year that I wondered if we'd make it but then I would have days where I'd say to myself "this isn't ideal, but this isn't so bad, we can do this" and that's just it...this disease is as up and down as my emotions, you have to take the bad with the good. I am slowly starting to learn that I have no control over what his body does, how it absorbs the insulin from one day to the next and that many days are a lot of trial and error. For someone as controlling and "black and white" as I am, that has been very hard for me to get used to, but slowly I'm getting there! I'm slowly learning to not take all of his numbers personally.

Today, I am happy to report that Zane is doing wonderful, healthy, thriving, learning and living his life to the fullest. We do the same things we did a year ago before diagnosis, we still eat out, we still build Gingerbread Houses (actually doing that tonight!), we still go on vacation, we still bribe him with ice cream from time to time, he still earns himself a time-out on occasion, he's still a mama's boy, he still goes to daycare/preschool, we still work full-time, we still LIVE!

I am so proud of this kid - I know I say that all of the time - but its true, he just makes my world go around!

One thing I'd like to say on this D-Day Anniversary is a HUGE THANK-YOU to my husband and my in-laws, we couldn't have done this year without you. My mother-in-law sat through EVERY education class Children's offered us our week in the hospital last year and she and my father-in-law are not afraid to take Zane overnight so Josh and I can can have a break. We would be lost without you. And Josh, you are my rock, you are so grounded and level-headed in your thinking when I'm in an emotional rant over #'s and why they aren't doing what I'm trying to get them to do, you have been a shoulder for me to cry on and "punching bag" on the days where I was just plain angry about this disease, you've been there when no one else has. I also know that you are Zane's hero as much as he is yours.


PS I have never punched Josh, that was just a figure of speech :)


Happy D-Day Anniversary Zane, we love you baby - keep on truckin' big guy!

Letter writing day - Tuesday 5/10

Dear Zane,

When you were first diagnosed with Diabetes 141 days ago your daddy and I were a huge bag of mixed emotions. We were scared, we were annoyed, we were un-educated on the disease, we were nervous, we were feeling a little bit of everything; even a little happy...happy because we did know that this disease although something that has to be constantly managed can be managed and we knew there were worse things out there.

You are an amazing 3 year old and I know that you will grow into an amazing 4, 5, 10, 20, 50, 80+ year old (it helps that you have some amazing parents!!) all kidding aside though baby, you are such an inspiration to me. You had no choice to have this happen to you, but you have never asked us why you have Diabetes, you never give us much grief when you need a shot or your blood sugar checked. You already do not remember your life before Diabetes even though it was only 141 days ago that your life changed forever; I think for you, it's a blessing that you won't remember life before, but for your mommy its hard to know that.

There are 3 other kids in your daycare that have Type 1 (we were so lucky to find this place) and the other day you came home and were so excited because you met one of the kids. You said "mommy, another boy at my daycare has Diabetes and he doesn't cry when he gets a shot just like I don't". I wanted to cry when you said that...it was sad to me that that is what you get excited about, but I was also so happy that you knew that you were not alone in this fight. You did ask me one day why all of your friends didn't have Diabetes and I just told you "because GOD didn't make them the same as he made you", I didn't really know how to answer that, but thankfully that was a good enough answer for you.

I want you to know that there is nothing in this life that you cannot do. Your daddy and I will support you in any decision you make and we will do our best to help you achieve every dream you have. Last night after you got out of the bathtub you said to me that you wanted to be a Fireman when you grew up (this was the first time you have ever stated what you wanted to be when you grew up) and I told you "you can be anything you want baby" and you just said "yep"...I hope you believe that because you really can be anything you want. Your daddy and I vow to make sure you have the most normal childhood possible and to not let you miss out on anything because of this disease. We will not let this disease stop you or us, we will fight this tooth and nail. Diabetes is life defining, but it will not define you, you are your own person with or without this disease!

Your daddy and I are doing our best to pave the road for you and we hope and pray to GOD that you will follow the road we paved for you as you get older. Your daddy, brother and I love you more than anything on this earth buddy and we will ALWAYS be here for you. I hope that you never get too old to tell me "I love you mommy, goodnight mommy and I'll stay dry tonight" when you go to bed...ok, I DO hope you get too old to tell me that you'll try to "stay dry tonight", but the others you can tell me forever!!

I love you baby and I hope you never forget or doubt that.

Love your mommy

Ignorance is not Bliss

***Warning this is bound to be a lengthy post and I will be on my soapbox for most of it, but I feel its important information for everyone who knows me or Zane to read***


Last night I got into an argument of sorts with someone on Facebook (I know, real mature!) regarding diabetes...more specifically Type 1 Diabetes. This person read ONE article and watched ONE movie on diseases (diabetes being one of them) and in my opinion considered themselves to be an expert. To say that the things said to me were hurtful is an understatement. I guess in a way I always knew that I'd run into people that would have a negative opinion about Zane's diagnosis or pass judgement, but even so, I was not prepared for it. I was very upset most of last night and all of today, I couldn't even talk to anyone about it without my eyes welling up into tears. I've decided that instead of stewing about it and continuing to be angry about it I would try to use that energy to educate people on Type 1 Diabetes and on Zane's new life, so maybe, just maybe I can help one person not be ignorant or judgemental. I've decided to use this blog as a place to do that.

What is Type 1 Diabetes?
Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease in which the body's immune system attacks a child's pancreas islet cells that produce insulin. Without insulin, the body cannot use food for fuel. The person will die without insulin, there is no cure, it is not preventable and it is not reversible, it is forever. 40 kids will be diagnosed today.
Taking insulin does not cure diabetes.
Insulin keeps people with type 1 diabetes alive, but does not cure the disease. While progress toward finding a cure has been substantial, there is still no cure for diabetes.

Type 1 is not caused by obesity or eating too much sugar.
While obesity has been identified as one of the “triggers” for type 2 diabetes, it has no relation to the cause of type 1 diabetes. Scientists do not yet know exactly what causes type 1 diabetes. Eating too much sugar is not a factor.

Type 1 is not contagious.

Can you still eat sugar and carbs when you have Type 1?
Yes, but, like for every other person in the world, balance and moderation are key. We all need carbs for energy! T1 diabetics are not doomed to a life in artificial sweetener purgatory; they just need to keep the refined sugars to a minimum and cover them with insulin.

Math is your friend!!
When you have type 1, you are always calculating - carbs, correction factors, insulin to carb ratios. Being a T1 or a parent of one requires making friends with your calculator and your left brain.

Not being alert is not an option.


Getting out of the house takes a little more effort.

You can't just throw on your coat and head out the door anymore. Don't forget your insulin, syringes, snacks, test strips/meter, juice/fruit snacks.


With strict adherence to a specific diet and exercise plan, and multiple insulin injections each day based on careful monitoring of blood sugar levels, a person with type 1diabetes can gain some control over his or her blood sugar levels. While the above strategy is the most effective way to achieve and maintain tight control of blood sugar levels, optimal blood sugar control can be very difficult for some patients. Many factors, including stress, hormone changes, periods of growth, and illness can easily cause blood sugar to swing out of control. Teenagers in particular might be susceptible to this problem, as their bodies go through many changes during adolescence. Also, some people with type 1 diabetes find that even though they strive for tight control and follow their meal plan and insulin schedule, they still experience rapid fluctuations in their blood glucose. Those fluctuations do not mean the person with diabetes has done anything wrong.

Diabetes kills more people than breast cancer and AIDS combined in the United States. So, if you know someone who fights this battle, encourage them. They are in a fight for their health and life.

The above information was borrowed from a blog I follow of another mom of a Type 1 child.

The following information is from me and my heart!

There is nothing we could have done to prevent Zane from coming down with this disease. I've played the guilt game enough, but I know in my heart it was nothing of our doing or not doing. Zane did not have his first taste of sugar until his birthday cake at his 1st birthday and even after that he had very little in his diet, he never had soda, rarely had juice and got plenty of exercise, his getting this disease has NOTHING to do with his lifestyle or ours as his parents.

Zane can still eat the same foods as your children, he just has to have insulin to cover what he intakes. He can still have a piece of cake at your child's birthday party, we just need to cover it. Zane can and does still play sports, we just have to make sure his blood sugar doesn't go too low. Zane is still an onry 3 year old and still gets just as many time outs as he did before!! He is a normal child and I will do everything I can in life to make sure he has a normal life.

Am I angry that he was diagnosed with this? YES. Are there days that I am angry with God for him giving my child diabetes? YES. Are there days that I'm scared out of my mind for his future? YES. Are there days that when he sleeps in a little longer than usual that I go into his room panicked and check his blood sugar while he's sleeping to make sure he didn't fall into a diabetic coma overnight? YES. Do I have visions of breaking into his dorm room when he's in college to check his blood sugars? YES. Do I worry about him? EVERY DAY. Do I think we can manage this disease and make sure that he lives a long healthy life? YES. Do I thank God for giving Josh and I the strength to "deal" with this? YES. Would I give up my life tomorrow if it meant he could be free of this disease the rest of his life? IN A HEARTBEAT. Do I think my little boy is the bravest child on this earth? YES. Am I going to lay down and feel sorry for myself or for Zane (or any other T1 child out there)? NEVER Will I ever give up the fight to find a cure in his lifetime? NEVER. Do I truly believe that they will come up with an artificial pancreas in his lifetime? FOR SURE.

This child is 100% my hero. He NEVER puts up a fight when we have to check his blood sugar, he NEVER puts up a fight when he has to get a shot. He is 3 years old and wise beyond his years when it comes to medical terminology. He knows just when I need a hug and an "I love you" and he will always know how much he means to me because a day will never go by that I don't let him know.

Please do me a favor and never, ever pass judgement on anyone, especially a parent of a child with any sort of illness or disease. No parent in their right mind would purposely give their child something that they can never take away. Ask questions if you are unsure, don't believe everything you read on the internet or see on tv. Educate yourself and most of all, be a good listener.

Ok, I'm stepping off my soapbox for now, I hope everyone understands a little more about Type 1 and more about Zane's new life.

Love,
Zane's mommy!

Team Zane - its not too late to donate!!

Each year, 13,000 children are diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes (approximately 40 children every day). As most of you know, on December 20, 2010 our 3-year-old son Zane was one of them. The day Zane was diagnosed was a day we will NEVER forget, as it was one of the hardest days of our life. We need to find a cure for this disease and in order to do that there needs to be money to fund the research. One big annual fundraiser for Type 1 Diabetes is the JDRF Nordstrom Beat the Bridge to Beat Diabetes. A large part of Beat the Bridge is for team members to run or walk a mapped out course around the University of Washington, but the biggest part of Beat the Bridge is for team members to raise money for JDRF (the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation). We have put together a team this year in honor of Zane...Team Zane! Our team will be running/walking on May 15, 2011!! If you are able, please help us raise the necessary money to fund the research to find a cure for this disease, so hopefully no other child has to go through what Zane and a million other kiddos are going through. We'd love for this to happen in Zane's lifetime!! Any and all donations are helpful, even just $5.00, it all ads up!! 100% of the money raised goes to the research! Follow these easy instructions to donate! go to http://www.beatthebridge.org/ click on Donate Now click "Search for a Team" and search for Team Zane donate Please do not feel obligated to donate, it is just my job as Zane's mom and as the Team Captain to reach out for donation!! Thank you so much, Josh, Lisa, Zane & Landon

3 Hospitals in One Day!

No, no one in our family is sick or injured!
First this morning we had Zane's regular 3 mo follow up at Children's with his Endocrinologist. I was really looking forward to this appointment because it was going to be the first time Zane's A1C (click on the link there to find out what exactly that is) was going to be checked with 3 solid months of just us managing his blood sugars and I was anxious to see how Josh and I were doing at this. A good A1C for a diabetic should be under 7, Zane's doctor told us that for a child his age and with the length of time he's been diagnosed, a good # would be between 7 & 8. Zane's A1C at diagnosis was a 10, today it was a...ready for this...drum roll please...6.9!!!!!! I could have cried I was so excited! Josh and I gave each other high 5's immediately! The doctor told us that that was outstanding and that whatever we are doing, we are doing it right!!! Honestly, I am so proud of us! We were told by the doctor that we need to keep an eye on his morning blood sugars though since he's been running a little high at night. As of right now, he's fine because he is waking up with a great blood sugar #, but if he starts to wake up a little high its just showing that his pancreas is losing more and more of its insulin producing cells (which is inevitably going to happen very soon) and we'll need to make a change to his insulin regimen, but for now she said its just fine and just keep an eye on it!!

I forgot to take out our camera while at Children's, but here's a picture of Zane at lunch. Look closely and you can see on the paper he's drawing on, his name written in blue crayon...kiddo wrote that all by himself, with no help from us! I was amazed because I didn't even know he could do it, haha. He's been writing a 'Z' for a long time, but that's all I thought he could do on his own...guess he's proved me wrong!! I'm amazed! He also wrote Landon's name, but needed our help on how to spell it!



Next stop after Children's was off to Swedish to see our good friends Lisa & Daniel and their new BEAUTIFUL baby girl Natalie! I've seen a lot of babies in my day and I am not even kidding when I say this is the most gorgeous baby girl I've ever seen (good thing I don't have any girls or I could be insulting them right now)! She seriously looks like a porcelain doll. Congrats to the new parents, I know you will be great ones!!



Natalie weighed 1 oz bigger than Landon at birth and 3 mos later, here is what the Nilsson's have to look forward to:


Our final medical stop of the day was to Josh's General Surgery consult appointment regarding his gall bladder. We talked to the surgeon for quite awhile only to learn that he will not be the one performing the surgery, haha. Apparently, this doc is getting a 5 week vacation starting next week...must be nice! Anyway, his partner will be doing Josh's surgery on April 26th! We asked to be put on a wait-list if a cancellation comes up sooner, but worse case its on the 26th. Doc told Josh due to his line of work he should stay out of work for 2 weeks, but if he feels fine after a week he's more than welcome to try going back early. Knowing Josh, he'll milk it and be out for the 2 weeks (honestly, who wouldn't though)!! The doc did say he should be fine to run Beat the Bridge on May 15th and if he doesn't feel up to running it, he for sure can walk it! I know Josh wouldn't miss that for the world though!

No picture of Josh getting checked out at the doctor, but here's someone just a little bit cuter:

TEAM ZANE

Many of our friends and family who read this blog probably already received an email from me regarding this, but for those who didn't, here you go!

Each year, 13,000 children are diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes (approximately 40 children every day). As most of you know, on December 20, 2010 my 3-year-old son Zane was one of them. The day Zane was diagnosed was a day I will NEVER forget, as it was one of the hardest days of my life. Now that I have gotten over the initial shock of his diagnosis, been educated on how manageable this disease can be, and seen how Zane has taken it on like it is no big deal, I have decided to try and no longer be mad at the world for this happening to him. I am putting my energy into fundraising to find a cure for this disease, hopefully in his lifetime! What bothers me the most about Type 1 Diabetes is that it is currently incurable and there is no remission. That needs to change. In order to make that change, we need to find a cure...and to find a cure we need to raise money to fund the research!

We will have a team in this year's Nordstrom's Beat the Bridge to Beat Diabetes on Sunday, May 15. We will be dedicating the team to Zane and naming our team after him...Team Zane!

If anyone is interested in making a donation to this incredible cause and a cause that obviously hits home to me, please follow the directions here:

TO DONATE to Zane's Team:
-go to http://www.beatthebridge.org/
-click on Donate Now
-click "Search for a Team" and search for Team Zane
-donate
100% of the money raised for this will go to JDRF (Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation).

If you live in the Seattle area and would like to join our team and either run the 8K run to try and Beat the Bridge or do the 4 mile Family Walk, here is how you can do that:

TO JOIN Team Zane:
-go to http://www.beatthebridge.org/
-click on Register
-click on Join a Team
-enter "Team Zane" name and click "Search for a Team"
-when you see your team, click the "join" link at the right side
-select your participation type and a personal fundraising goal
-if you are a past participant login using your username and password
enter your contact info and continue on with your registration to the end

Thank you to anyone who finds themselves able to donate!

Getting Poked

As everyone knows by now Zane has Type 1 Diabetes and with that he must have his blood sugar checked multiple times a day. Josh and I always are the ones to poke him and test his blood sugar, but last week Zane decided he wanted to poke himself. We are all about letting him have as much control as possible with this disease since its his disease to have to deal with, so we've started letting him poke himself (with some help from us for dexterity reasons) anytime he asks. I know I've said it before and I will say it again (and probably again and again), but I am SO proud of this little man. He has taken this diagnosis and NEVER asked why he has to do all of this and NEVER once complained about it, he is my little hero!

One other thing he's started doing which I'm not sure if I should laugh at or cry at is he's started asking how many carbs are in something he wants to eat. His shots are based off how many carbs he has at a meal (or snack) so he always hears Josh or I making comments on how many carbs are in something...guess he's picked up on the "lingo" even though he has no idea what a carb is! Such a cutie pie!

Jump Planet

We attended our first event for Type 1 Diabetes kiddos yesterday at Jump Planet in Bothell and had a blast! We heard about the event about 3 weeks ago and asked Zane if he was interested in going to play with other kids that have to get poked everyday like him and he said "YES" very excitedly! It was kind of hard to see that many kids running around that you knew had the same disease as him and to know that was only a teeny tiny portion of the kids affected in our area; but at the same time it was nice to "see" he wasn't alone in this fight either.

This event was set up very nicely, they even had a "Low Blood Sugar Room" set up full of juice and chips for kids that ended up needing it while playing...thankfully Zane was fine the whole time and avoided that room! And it was FREE :)

We look forward to more events like this in the future, I think its good for Zane as well as for us parents!

I apologize for the quality of photos, they were all taken with my phone because I realized my camera battery was dead when we got there!

As you can tell from these pictures, Zane had a total blast!












And here's what Landon did while big brother jumped his heart out!

Children's Follow-Up

We had Zane's first follow-up appointment at Children's Hospital today (we will be having these every 3 mos from here on out). I was a little nervous for the appointment since this is all still so new to us, I was worried we may be screwing something up. They said Zane's numbers have been GREAT over the last 3 weeks and we are doing everything right. They did not have to make any adjustments to his regimen as of right now. There will be changes down the road because that is the story with this disease, nothing stays the same for long, things are always changing, but for now we are all doing great! Zane did really well at our appointments and I think he enjoyed having the day with just mommy & daddy (Landon stayed home with grandma and grandpa). We went to lunch afterwards and really did have a good day just the 3 of us!

I just have to put it out here that I am SO proud of Zane and how well he has been handling this change in his life. He has adjusted to it better than me that's for sure. He doesn't cry when we have to poke his finger and he takes his shots like a total champ. I am still having a really hard time with his diagnosis and the post-partum pregnancy hormones aren't helping either! I don't like that this is something he has to live with forever, I don't like that he is different than other kids his age, but with the way he has been handling these changes in his life its made it a little easier for me to accept. Zane is such a hero to me.

Entertaining himself (and us) at our appointment:

Pictures

Ok, I'm finally able to post some pictures from our stay at Children's. Although the little man was not happy about being there most of the time, he was such a trooper and SO BRAVE, I am beyond proud of him.

Shortly after arriving, not very happy about being poked and prodded.


Little happier now.


They gave him some drug to make him "loopy and relax" so they could put in his IV, he was HILARIOUS on this drug! I so wish we would've video'd him! He kept calling this his "robot arm".


Lovin' on daddy.


Story time with daddy.


Happy with his evening snack!


Such a cute sleeper, even in the hospital.


Happy with grandma.


Yahoo, we are home!!!

Blood Sugar Update

Zane's blood sugar should always be around 150 they are telling me...every day we've been here its been between 175-450 (usually in the 300-400's). Last night I was able to escape the hospital for the first time since getting here and headed out to get my hair colored (holy crap its dark!!)...I received a text message from Josh informing me that Zane's blood sugar was 125!! AMEN, finally came down! Once I got back from getting my hair it was my turn to check his BS before going to bed...it was 124 (yahoo, still down)! Now, we kind of get into the question of is it getting too low. Nurse told me as long as it doesn't go below 90 we are fine. I checked his BS again at 3 a.m. and it was 142!!! Just checked it again before breakfast (that I'm currently fighting him to eat) and it was 157! We are within range/target, yahoo!!! Of course the docs have reminded me that this will fluctuate a lot, but I'm just so happy he finally has met or been around target at least once, so I do know its possible! The nurse did inform me that we ARE scheduled to discharge today! I'm very happy to hear that. I'm very scared at the same time though. Once we leave here its all on our shoulders, we won't have nurses/docs telling us every minute what to do and when to do it...I normally don't like being told what to do, but in this case I highly appreciate it. Anyway, we will manage, we have no other choice.

Anyway, that is the update for now. Now, I need to fight with him to eat his breakfast...ugh!

Type 1

If you are a friend of mine on Facebook, then you have already heard our family's latest news, but if not or if you just want more detail here you go.

Diagnosis:

Zane was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes on Monday evening and we have been admitted into Children's Hospital ever since.

Background:

Zane has not been himself the past couple of weeks, but he also had been sick with a fever/sore throat virus, so we were attributing his "not being himself" to that. One thing that was "different" about him was his excessive intake of beverages/excessive peeing and lack of eating. By excessive beverage intake, we are talking in a 30 min period he would have a tall cup of water, tall cup of milk and right after another tall cup of water and then peeing every 30 mins on the dot and absolutely saturating his pull-up at bed time (when he was normally was staying dry all night). I knew these were all symptoms of Type 1, but also knew there were other symptoms of it that he was not showing, so I had hope that he was just really thirsty! After going back and forth in my head and just not feeling "right" about him I decided to talk to his doctor.

The dreaded news:

I spoke with Zane's doctor Monday afternoon and she said to be safe she would put in an order to have his blood sugar checked. I picked Zane up from daycare about 4 p.m. and headed back to my work (his doctor's office) and had his little finger poked. His blood sugar should be no higher than 150. The lab tech came out to me in the waiting room with a grim look on her face and she said (words I'll never forget) "its 435, you're going to want to go talk to Dr. Thuot". I headed downstairs immediately holding back tears. As soon as I saw his doctor I blurted out "its 435" and started balling. She directed Zane and I into a room immediately, 2 nurses came in and hugged me and tried to calm me down. Zane and I were both just beside ourselves (he only was upset due to he hates being at the doctor). The doctor was on the phone with Children's Hospital at this time letting them know we were on our way. Dr. Thuot came into talk to me and gave me some good words of advice and reassured me that it was all going to be ok and that this was going to be hard, but very doable. After talking to her for a few mins, she directed me to take Zane to Children's immediately and to NOT go home first. I was on the phone with Josh within seconds of getting into the car and he too started to head to Children's at the same time.

Children's:

We sat in the ER exam room for a few hours getting lots of information, having many blood tests, IV's and talks from a slew of doctors. One thing they were checking for was whether he had any acid in his blood. IF he did, it would most likely mean this has been going on for quite awhile and also mean that our stay at Children's would be pretty long with probably a short stay in the ICU. One of the ER docs came in and said that they all just had a little "cheer in the hallway" because he had NO ACID in his blood..AMEN! She said that we caught it just in time and commended us on our instincts to get him checked!! We learned that we will for sure be here through Thursday because there are A LOT of classes that we have to take to learn how to take care of our little man. Their goal is to have us home by Christmas for sure. One little hiccup we've had is that they are having a really hard time regulating his blood sugars and getting his insulin doses correct, its a lot of trial and error I've learned. This is the only thing that might keep us here past tomorrow, but we are hoping the changes they made this morning will work and we can still go home tomorrow...we'll see.

Zane:

Zane is doing ok. He really wants to go home and every time he asks me to do that I start to cry, breaks my heart because I want to go home too and I want him to be happy. He begs me not to have to sleep here again, but yet again I have to make our bed each night to sleep at the hospital. He does not like the finger pokes at all (I've been trained to do them and now do them for him here) and he's not a fan of the insulin shots, but only throws a small fit and is over it w/in seconds of receiving the shot. I know that in the long run this will become a "normal" routine for him, but I think it'll take awhile to get there. We had a rough night last night, he woke up at 2 a.m. and vomited off and on until 4 a.m. and his BS (blood sugar) was really high. The docs final conclusion was that he most likely just had a stomach bug. He ate breakfast fine this morning and is now waiting for lunch. He's pretty moody, but who wouldn't be in his position?!

Baby:

I am still on schedule to have the baby via c-section next Tuesday. Zane will be staying with Josh's parents for a few days/nights while I'm in the hospital. Josh's mom has been attending all of the classes with me, so she too knows how to care for him. I feel bad because they are going to get the brunt of the "newness" of this new life, but there's not much I can do about the timing.

Ok, this is VERY long, sorry, but I wanted to get everyone as up to speed as possible. A lot of people have asked what they can do to help and I can't think of anything except to please PRAY for Zane and for Josh and I (and my inlaws) to be able to understand all of this so we can take the best care of Zane. Please pray that my emotions get in check, because right now I feel like I should be admitted to a psych ward, haha!

I will post some pictures later, having trouble attaching on this laptop due to the file size of the pics.