This site needs some good news...

Arden got some great news today!  We found a pre-preschool class through our local YMCA that will let Arden attend.  Now the class is only an hour long and I had to promise not to leave the parking lot while she is there but who cares right?

Arden asks all of the time to go to school (to be like her brother) so she is going to love this.  The class runs for one hour once a week and is scheduled at a perfect time of day for us.  Meaning that it shouldn’t intersect with the need for insulin or a peak in insulin.  This should let her feel free of the diabetes for a little bit.

I want to urge more of you (if you’re comfortable doing so) to leave your thoughts and wishes on the site via the “Add a Comment” links at the bottom of each blog page.  It’s not that we don’t appreciate all of the emails because we certainly do!  I just think it may be beneficial for other visitors to see what you’ve wrote.  But please keep the emails coming if you’d rather contact us that way as we’ve enjoyed corresponding with all of you!

Let me also reiterate that we’d love for you to liberally share the site with family, friends and acquaintances by emailing them the link www.ardensday.com .   In addition if you have a website or know someone that does please consider linkingback to us using the graphic found at this page.

Stay tuned, the site may have some fantastic news to share soon... 

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The following are archived comments from this post. You can post new comments below.

Maria

Awesome news about school!  Go Arden!

Tuesday, August 28, 2007 - 08:25 PM

Anonymous

That's great!

God luck to the big girl going to school

Wednesday, August 29, 2007 - 10:24 AM

The Grocotts

Great news about the preschool! Good luck Arden!

Wednesday, August 29, 2007 - 12:50 PM

Anonymous

Awesome news!!!

Tuesday, September 4, 2007 - 08:23 AM

Your vote counts!

On August 1st 2007 HR 3162 came to a vote.  HR 3162 or the "Children's Health and Medicare Protection (CHAMP) Act of 2007" included among other things a one-year, $150 million extension of the Special Diabetes Program (SDP).

The JDRF was requesting of a 5-year extension and an increase from $150 to $200 million per year which didn’t come to pass.  I try not to mix my political feelings with our support of diabetes research because we meet passionate supporters of diabetes research everyday of both leanings.  I never thought that they’re political affiliation could hurt the cause... until I saw the August 1st vote tally.

The bill passed, narrowly, 225 to 204.  When I looked into how my representatives voted I found this.  Final Vote Results for Roll Call 787.  Of the 225 Yeas 5 were Republicans.  So now I see that my support of diabetes research can not exclude party affiliation.  It is not my intention to offend anyone but if you are supporting Republican candidates this vote tally really should serve as an eye opener for you.  

My Congressman, Chris Smith (R) voted nay.  I called and emailed his office asking him for support.  I explained the drudgery of my day and the consequence to Arden’s life due to juvenile diabetes.  I received no response but more importantly I received no representation.  Ask yourself who is being represented when he votes against funding research that targets wiping out a massive disease.  

In the days that followed the vote Smith Reintroduced the “Unborn Child Pain Awareness Act”.  He is apparently concerned with the welfare of your fetus but stops caring about them after they are born.  He’s for Cord Blood Therapy and supports Autism but somehow voted against (CHAMP).  For me, that kind of inconstancy calls his intentions into question.

I’ll be honest and tell you that I haven’t read HR 3162.  I supported it blindly because it included money for a disease that my daughter has.  I’ll defend the 204 people that voted against it by saying that maybe they’re was a troublesome rider attached.  But if that was the case they should have found a better way to deal with their concerns other then voting against this bill.  It is unconscionable to play politics with our children’s lives.  

I urge you to look into how your representation voted and adjust your support accordingly.  Our children don’t have time to play politics, they need a cure today.  

Since we can’t count on our government to properly support diabetes research we’ll have to do it ourselves.  Arden will be walking on October 28 to raise awareness and funds for Juvenile Diabetes.  By donating you’re helping find a cure and when it’s found you’ll know you were part of rescuing Arden and countless others from this horrible disease. Please donate as much as you can to the JDRF through Arden’s Walk.  Do it for Arden, do it because it’s kind or do it for the tax deduction... as long as you do it!  

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The following are archived comments from this post. You can post new comments below.

Scott

If you are interested in a political conversation regarding this topic it has been cross-posted here -http://progressiveintelligencia.wordpress.com/ & here http://www.dailykos.com/story/2007/8/25/71440/7327

Tuesday, August 28, 2007 - 05:50 PM

Today is the Anniversary of Arden’s Diagnosis.

One Year ago today Arden was diagnosed.  Later this evening I’ll reflect back here in this blog entry.  For now we are off to a JDRF kick off luncheon for the ‘Walk to Cure Diabetes’.

Tip: When is 421 not 421?

I’m about to go to bed but before I do I wanted to share a diabetes management tip with you.  I tested Arden’s BG at 10:23 pm this evening and it was 421!  But was it?  No, this is a phantom reading that happens a few time a week. 

Here’s what happens. I got messed up today because Arden napped 2 hours into a Novolog injection.  She was 138 at 3:00 pm (two hours into the shot and past the peak).  Which is great!  She clearly “feels” the peak because she frequently asks for food after it’s over, low or not.  I can usually get her to eat something low in carbs at that point which preserves the reading.  Today was no different and she ate some Smartfood popcorn.  Popcorn is a great snack because she can eat a ton of it without taking in too many carbs and it doesn’t spike her BG like say a pretzel would.  

So it’s 3:05 pm and we’re in great shape for the afternoon. She’ll trend down about 20-30 points more over the next hour (maybe a bit less due to the popcorn) and be good, and stable going into dinner... Unless.....

Unless she falls asleep... and she does, on the ride home from visiting a friends house.  She proceeds to sleeps on the couch for an hour (see picture above).  I can’t put her in bed because I need to keep an eye on her... Why?  As I said before, Arden’s plummets during her afternoon nap.  

When I wake her up at 4:30 her BG is not around 100 as it would have been without the nap, it’s 71.  Thankfully, she isn’t altered and asks for a cookie when she wakes up.  This 71 isn’t as much of a crisis as the one in the “Arden goes low” video because the Novolog is gone.  So I’m not fighting the clock.

This is the spot where I still have to gather some more courage.  Because she scarfs down three vanilla Oreos.  That’s about 25 carbs.  Then she asks for a juice (8 carbs).  I should be giving her Novolog to cover the food but I still freeze up a bit after a low.  Which is the WRONG thing to do because then she gets high and seesawing is no good either.  So I make dinner and then she gets a shot.  I know I’m doing the wrong thing but I still haven’t figured out how to ignore the low and trust myself in that spot. So I’ve lost tight control of her BG for the evening.

Time to get back to the 421...  It’s now 10:20 pm, Cole is getting into bed (we stayed up a bit to finish watching a movie).  Arden’s Nov is gone and it’s been 12 hours since the Levemir went in so the insulin is pretty much gone.  Perfect world scenario she is just north of 200, I give her a half of Lev and she’s good till morning.  But instead she’s 421... Now a less savvy diabetes manager would be giving her Novolog to get her down because she obviously can’t be 400+ overnight and the Lev won’t drag her down more then 100 points on it’s own.  Right?  

Wrong...  I’m giving her the Lev now and putting her to bed.  I’ll check her again before I go to sleep.  The 421 isn’t real, well it is for the moment but it’s going to drop precipitously on it’s own.  Why?  Two words... Ice pop.  Cole wanted an Ice pop (all of 6g of carbs) at around 9 PM and Arden had one too.  Simple sugar remember spikes but then retreats.  A year ago I’d have given her Nov and tested her in an hour and 40 minutes where I would have found her quickly heading to a seizure.  It’s just that easy... Good Night!

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The following are archived comments from this post. You can post new comments below.

kevin t

It seems difficult for parents of children without diabetes to understand what you go through on an hourly basis. Reading your blog makes us all humble to how tough being a parent can be. Everyday we should thank God for what we have, because life can change on a dime. Arden is luck to have parents like Scott and Kelly.

God Bless

Wednesday, August 29, 2007 - 10:37 PM

Answering an email I received...

First, a thank you to the emailer for taking the time to share their experience with all of us!  I want to let them know that we do approach Arden’s diabetes much in the way they describe.  We don’t have her regimented to the point of paralysis.  We’ve even informed our endo that we won’t be lording over Arden and making her feel different.  (None of this is to say that we disagree with parents that follow a stricter regiment.)  We believe that perception is key in many walks of life so we try to project a matter-of-fact vibe with Arden’s management.  When we are in public we don’t hide testing or injections.  We’re not going to ever make Arden feel like what she is doing is in any way embarrassing or shameful.  

The emailer should know (as should the rest of you) that caring for a 24 pound person with diabetes does change the game.  I have a friend that has Type 2 and when he talks about his insulin it’s, “I took 40 units at lunch”.  If he took 39 or 41 his results wouldn’t change drastically.  Arden however takes a half of a unit most times, one unit if she really eats and only in the morning (when as I’ve said she is harder to bring down) does she ever get more.  A drop (I’ll post a picture of a “drop” asap) of insulin frequently is the difference between a good BG test and a low that needs treating.  Additionally, keeping track of the time since an injection is of the utmost importance.  Arden can’t tell me she is going low yet and her BG drops so fast as the insulin peaks that if she is on the verge of a low or already low the time before a seizure is short.  Because of her age and the state-of-mind that a low produces it’s not as easy as, “here drink this, you’re a little low” as you may have seen in the video.  I don’t want the blog to mis-lead people into thinking I’m a diabetes nazi as that is not nearly the case.  But it’s just that touch and go right now.  I believe that as Arden gets older and bigger her BG won’t be so volatile.

Three truths of diabetes management.  

Too much insulin and you become altered, way too much and you have a seizure that you need another person to bring you back from to avoid death.

Too little insulin and you feel sick, further your body will suffer horrific effect as you get older, some can manifest as early as in your 30’s.  A few days without insulin will put you in a coma.

And the the real kick in the ass:  Proper blood glucose management does not guarantee that any of this won’t just happen anyway.

 We’ll talk about the effects diabetes has on the body later when I’m feeling more up to dealing with it in writing.

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The following are archived comments from this post. You can post new comments below.

Aunt Megs

Astounding....Arden has a long life to live .....just think of all the technological advances we didn't have 10 years ago....and we now have.  Just more reasons to WALK FOR ARDEN!!!!  and help find a cure.

Tuesday, August 21, 2007 - 02:58 PM