The other day I realized on this blog, which started out as enjoying eating out with my family and traveling, that I really don't mention the diabetes factor in our lives. I'm the one with Type 1 diabetes, diagnosed at 22 years old, just 3 months after Jackie and I's wedding in 1993. Since then, I've been on an insulin pump now 19 years and in the last 5 years, I've had a blood sugar sensor off and on (the technology changes, thankfully, and they're dang really expensive).
I've been using the Dexcom sensor pretty regularly. I blogged about it in 2012, it's hard to believe it was that long ago. I use the sensor most especially during long bike rides and the half marathons (Jackie and I entered the Oklahoma City half marathon next Sunday...we haven't run since the Little Rock Half in March, yikes!). It helps me to know where my blood sugar is heading and it helps to prepare for what's ahead.
The reason I'm bringing all this up is Jackie had a state rotary convention in Little Rock and we killed some time at the Argenta Art Tour in North Little Rock. It's very similar to my fabulous sister-in-law's Picnic-n on Front Street in Wynne. She's president of the Cross County Arts Council and came up with the idea to bring people to downtown Wynne for food, wine and art. It's been a real success and this year's event is next weekend and it is turning out to be the biggest one. GO KARA!
Anyway, at the Argenta Art Tour, we toured around, had a glass of wine and enjoyed the beautiful weather. We were headed to the Arkansas Travelers Minor League baseball game at 7. When you have a delayed meal, the Dexcom sensor was getting mad and alarming me of the low blood sugar. While standing in line for the baseball game, the line was a hundred people long, we had to wait another 30 minutes to get in the ballpark to eat dinner (yes, I know...why would you look forward to eating at a ballpark with all the good North Little Rock restaurants? Well, I love BBQ nachos so it was worth the wait). Jackie asked me why I didn't have something to eat? 99% of the time I do but I wanted to lighten my purse for all the walking and took out my peanut m&m's. So with the insulin pump turned off, beeping every 10 minutes and my sensor alarm going off, I sounded like some kind of weapon alarming...hahaha. Then Jackie gives me his usual lecture about taking care of myself and always keeping food on me. Needless to say, it was all good. The nachos kicked in while he was in the corn dog line.
I think I may have to share some diabetes stuff from time to time on here to keep it real. I think I've always just moved along like it's no big deal, which it really isn't, but the older I get the idea of mortality kicks in. I've taught Jackie and Chloe both how to prick my finger if I'm passed out to check my blood sugar. They know if I'm angry or if I can't talk, to ask me what my blood sugar is and the new addition to our family Buddy, the standard poodle, has already shown that he knows if my blood sugar is too low.
I have checked with Le Bonheur Children's Hospital in Memphis about a trial I heard of that can give children of Type 1 diabetics injections to keep them from becoming diabetics later in life. If we could do anything to prevent this disease from passing down to her, we would. As my first endocrinologist in Springdale, Ark., told me in 1994, "if you're going to pick a disease, this is the one to have". I've been thankful that it is manageable when so many other things are not. But dang it, we all have to listen to the alarms when I'm low in public and wonder if a bomb is going to go off...:)
Tandem, my insulin pump company, has added the Dexom 4G to its pump and it's in FDA-land trying to be approved as a single unit instead of two...
http://www.healthline.com/diabetesmine/tandem-diabetes-pumpcgm-combo-news-plus-an-inside-
look
And there's another article about a pump, sensor and glucagon that really mimics a pancreas:
http://insulinnation.com/devices/pumps-cgm/tandem-scores-big-with-artificial-pancreas-research/
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| Our lovely chickens |
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| Kara had a dinner party for our friend (and fellow insulin pump user) Joy and her new family. Joy was adopted at birth and recently found her birth family. It's a small world, her uncle lives in Wynne. How crazy is that? In the middle there is her paternal grandfather Opa teaching us all how to dance. |
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| Marcel Hanzlik (Joy's uncle that's lived across town from her her whole life), Yvonne (her aunt who lives in Hot Springs), JOY, cousin Kelsey, Opa (her grandfather), Emily and her aunt Susan |
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| Joy with grandfather Opa |
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| Last Wednesday, August came over to show Chloe his baseball uniform. Can you tell how fired up he is??? Dang blurry phone camera |
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| Chloe dogsat for the Bradshaw's next door. We had some training in there too. Here's Chloe teaching Lucy the sit. Chloe also taught them to not bite, COME find me game, no couch unless they're invited and we got them 99% house trained. Go Chloe! |
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