JDRF T1D4ADAY
On Thursday, August 16, 2007 I posted for the first time on Arden's Day in a post titled, "Decided to Share". At the time I wasn't trying to 'launch a blog', I didn't really know what a blog was. Here's proof that I didn't know what I was doing, the image from the first post, the one shown above, it was named "1.jpg" - I was more then a novice. All I wanted was a way to explain what a day in Arden's life was like to the people in my immediate circle of family and friends. So I decided to post something each and every time that diabetes entered our day for one day.
I was so moved by what I was about to do that I, uninvited, emailed (Geez, I'm embarrassed to say this)... emailed everyone in my address book at each diabetes moment. I think that I did that for the first few of the morning and then invited people to follow along for the remainder of the day at a link. I did send a note first, though that doesn't make it much better, announcing my plan. Looking back, people must have thought that I was nuts, and mabe I was. It was a few days before Arden's first diaversary and I was probably extra emotional because I had some lofty and unrealistic expectations about what I imagined the first anniversary would bring. I expected clarity to arrive on that day, strangely I thought the keys to diabetes knowledge were about to be dropped at my door. Anyway, I just put it out there in a big bad way and people responded, and many told me how impactful the experiance was. After that I just kept going...
The JDRF has just announced a program called 'T14ADAY', that invites people to sign up for text messages that will arrive over a twenty-four hour period with the intention of showing someone the extent to which type I is involved in our days. I really think that this is a great idea! Here's more info directly from the JDRF:
Throughout November, we're asking people to better appreciate what people with type 1 diabetes (T1D) experience every day, every hour by taking part in a unique mobile-based challenge: T1D for a Day.
When you sign up for the T1D for a Day text challenge, you agree to receive as many as 24 text messages over a 24-hour period that simulate the constant blood sugar testing, insulin injections, and dietary decisions that confront people with T1D.
While no virtual campaign can recreate the many needles required or the physical and financial tolls of this serious disease, T1D for a Day seeks to deepen understanding of the many heroic steps our friends and loved ones with T1D take each day.
Please sign up for the T1D for a Day challenge now!
There is more information at the this link including how to get started online or with your cell phone. I'm spotlighting this effort from the JDRF becasue I know first-hand how much of an impact what I did all those years ago had on the people in my family and our friends. This is a great oppurtunity for the people in your life, the ones that may be struggling to understand type I, to get a closer look at why you look so tired.
You can find all of my DayOne posts from 2007 here or by clicking on the DayOne tag.
Day Two: 1:11 am
I just finished working on this site and I was going to give Arden a half of a unit of Levemir and go to bed but I just checked her and she is 183. If I give her a half I’m afraid she go low overnight and giving her less then a half of the Lev seems to have no effect on her. Decisions...
I’m not giving her any more insulin until morning... See you then.. I bet she is high when she wakes up... Over 280 I’ll wager. Ahhhh... Good Night.
Video from the start of Arden’s Day
Wake up check her BG, administer the Levemir , Eat breakfast and administer her Novolog then wait to see if I got it right... This was just the first hour of our day...
Day One: This Site
I’m very happy with how it went today regarding the chronicling of Arden’s Day online. Today was a pretty average day. Some days her BG is high and I can’t figure out why or get it down quick enough... That’s called riding high. Some days she rides low and I hardly give her any insulin. But today was pretty average. I kept her in range for the most part and had one high and one low test. Having to give Arden “sugar” to get her up quickly is thankfully not the norm. It happens maybe 2 times a month which is an amazing improvement over last year when it seemed to happen non-stop.
Taking care of Arden is the ultimate in OTJT (on the job training). I’ve been disseminating Arden’s day how we experienced it in the beginning. You get a crash course in what-is-what and then you dive in (actually it feels like you’re pushed in). So today I pushed you into the pool that is caring for a child with Juvenile Diabetes. Once you summon up the nerve to watch the video of me getting Arden’s BG back to good you’ve completed my one day online crash course in Type I.
I sent the emails to you as things were happening today to give you the feeling of immediacy that the disease creates. I won’t be sending the updates like that from here on out. Over the next few days I’ll be adding more pages with different information. I’ll share a few “scary” stories, a few funny stories and show you why there is hope for a cure. I sincerely appreciate the time you’ve given to this so far...
Day One: After the Low
Arden’s BG was 167 when we left to get her hair cut. She had a great time even though see was so tired.
A Recap of her low BG... Everyday I take some time to reflect back on the shots I’ve given Arden and the results they produced. In hindsight I should have given Arden a quarter of a unit less at 1:30 pm. I didn’t give the proper weight to two factors. 1. She has been a bit under the weather over the past couple of days and 2. She sometimes trends lower in the early afternoon. Then again had I gotten to the food 10 minutes sooner none of this happens and her BG would have been near perfect when I checked her at the 2 hour mark. So it goes...
The rest of the afternoon... Here are the rest of Arden’s BG for the day: 7:18 pm she was 348 after an ice cream cone. I gave her a half of a unit then. At 9:15 pm (2 hour mark) she was 220 and at 10:43 pm she was 199. I’m going to let her rise up a bit over the next hour or so and then administer a half of a unit of Levemir around midnight. She should wake up under 200, should. We’ll see in the morning. Good night.
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you. i thought i really knew all about diiabetes but watching the video i saw there is so much to learn