Bowling with Arden for a cure

It's time for the 2nd Annual STU&STEW Strike Out Diabetes Bowling Fundraiser. Pictures from last year’s event are in Arden’s Scrapbook. 

This event only happens because of a man named Dan Stewart.  I met Dan a number of years ago through a mutual friend and he immediately was interested in helping with our JDRF walk. Dan has thrown himself into raising funds and awareness for  the JDRF and type I in a way that is heartwarming and inspiring.  You can see the donations that Dan was able to collect this year for the JDRF herehttp://walk.jdrf.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=extranet.personalpage&confirmid=87381284 at this link you will see a $1,200 donation along with this message:

“This donation is from Stu&Stew Events and Promotions and is courtesy of the Hightstown Bowls To Cure Diabetes. Chris and I would like to thank City Streets Cafe and all that came out to support this important cause!! See you all again in January!!!”

With that, here is all of the information that you’ll need to join us on the lanes.

The proceeds from these event go to the JDRF (Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation). Last year this event helped to raise $1,200 towards the JDRF. The Hightstown Bowling Lanes have generously priced this package to maximize our donation. We are hoping to be able to raise at least $5,000 this year. 

Date:

Saturday, March 27, 2010

Time:

3:00pm

Location:

Hightstown Bowling Lanes

3:15pm - 5:00pm

Food Served at 4:00

Door Prizes Announced at 4:30 

Cost: $20/per person

Includes: 2 Games, Shoes, (1) Door Prize Ticket, Food and Drinks

Payments can be made 1 of 2 ways:

1. Mail checks payable to: Stu and Stew

Stu and Stew

PO Box 351 

Allentown, NJ 08501

2. Pay by credit card using our "Buy Now" button located on the home page of http://www.stuandstew.com. *There is a $1 per person fee for paypal.

To make your initial reservation, simply email us the list of people on your lane (maximum of 6) and the session you prefer to info@stuandstew.com. 

If you are paying by check, go tohttp://nextgen1991.weebly.com/uploads/2/9/4/0/2940472/bowling_sign_up_sheet.pdf where you can print and mail the registration form.

The evening events will once again be co-hosted by City Streets Cafe. Thank you Amy and Kevin for always stepping up to support a worthy cause.

The JDRF is a wonderful organization and the children suffering from this horrible condition need all our help.

It’s electric... boogie woggie, woggie

This hasn’t been the best week for Arden with her pump, she has experienced three static electricity malfunctions.  Some times if there is enough static in the air the pod can deactivate (it’s an infrequent occurrence).  In the last seven days that has happened at a dinner, the Franklin Institute and during Arden’s yoga class.  When said bed messing occurs the pump is rendered useless and must be changed immediately so that Arden’s insulin supply can be reestablished.  No doubt this sucks but still I must say that it’s a small price to pay for the positives that the OmniPod brings to our lives, things certainly could be worse.  It’s all perspective and attitude.

Pepsi Refresh Project

Mark Sanchez, quarterback for the New York Jets, is helping the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) try to win $100,000 in grants as part of the Pepsi Refresh Project, an online campaign to fund programs that will have a positive impact on people's lives.  

Voters can go to http://www.nfl.com/pepsirefresh and vote for Sanchez, or text 'MARK' to PEPSI (73774).  Voting ends at 12:01 a.m. on Feb. 5, 2010. If Sanchez outpolls other Pepsi Refresh Project sponsors, the funding will help JDRF establish a nationwide program to educate people about the symptoms of type 1 diabetes - the most severe form of the disease - and get medical care before suffering the life-threatening short-term complications of high blood sugar. Symptoms for type 1 or juvenile diabetes can be mistaken for common illnesses, such as the flu, and if left untreated, even over a very short timeframe, can be deadly.

As Arden grows, new sites appear

If I’m being honest I couldn’t find one healthcare professional to say that using the OmniPod for Arden was a good idea.  They said that she was too small and that her body style would be counterproductive to the way that the OmniPod inserts it’s cannula.  The people that work for Insulet (Omni maker) disagreed and most importantly I disagreed.  

I wanted Arden to use the OmniPod for a few distinct reasons.  Of all the insulin pumps on the market I found it to be the most forward thinking, it takes the best advantage of available technology IMO, it’s BG tester is made by Freestyle and we use and get consistently accurate BGs with Freestyle and it doesn’t have a tube.  Plus, when you choose you have to choose wisely as your insurance company won’t tolerate switching pumps as the are very expensive initially.  

I’m am elated to be able to continue to report that we made the right decision.  Now that Arden is getting bigger her arms are now wide enough to support the pod though as that growth spurt gave us a new site with one hand it took away another site with the other.  Arden now has even less body fat on her abdomen, which is to say she has none - but that’s okay because we gained the arms. 

Looking back I think that what health professionals weren’t aware that the OmniPod will take a bit of extra planning for a few years until Arden gets bigger.  It will be slightly more difficult to find good sites but it is not impossible or even difficult to use on a small child.  What I could tell them now (and am telling all of you) is that the benefits that the OmniPod provides far exceed any impediments that it carries.  I can’t imagine sending Arden to school if she was still getting injections, I think that scenario would have been a total failure, I think we would have seen constant lows and that her ability to learn would have been crushed by the demands of her care.   Arden has a great insulin delivery system and she isn’t tethered to a pump control unit by a tube.  For my money (well for Blue Cross’s money and my copay) you can’t do better then the OmniPod.  I wish I could give one to every child that wants an insulin pump and can’t afford one.  It’s a life-changer.

**

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

Sophia's Mom

I just discovered your blog and I love it, thank you!  My Sophia is 2 3/4 (she'll be 3 in July) and she was diagnosed at 21 months, just over a year ago.  We started Omnipod a month ago and it is amazing.  For anyone considering it for a child, don't hesitate because of body type.  Sophia is extremely thin (28 lbs and 39 inches) and we have had very few issues with finding good sites.  Her A1C was 9.5 in February and I expect it to be around 8 in May.

Monday, April 19, 2010 - 04:17 PM

No news is good news, sort of

There has been a noticeable lack of updates about Arden starting school and on the site in general over the last few months.  It is mostly because we have been extremely busy putting Arden’s 504 plan in place and it would be inappropriate for me to talk about the proceeding before they are complete.  The other reason for the delay is the flu... Oh the flu, look for more about my friend the flu in Daddy’s blog soon.  To say that having the flu while your type I child has the flu is challenging is quite an understatement.  I expect our 504 to be in place this week and then I’ll be back with months worth of information.

There has been a noticeable lack of updates about Arden starting school and on the site in general over the last few months.  It is mostly because we have been extremely busy putting Arden’s 504 plan in place and it would be inappropriate for me to talk about the proceeding before they are complete.  The other reason for the delay is the flu... Oh the flu, look for more about my friend the flu in Daddy’s blog soon.  To say that having the flu while your type I child has the flu is challenging is quite an understatement.  I expect our 504 to be in place this week and then I’ll be back with months worth of information.

There has been a noticeable lack of updates about Arden starting school and on the site in general over the last few months.  It is mostly because we have been extremely busy putting Arden’s 504 plan in place and it would be inappropriate for me to talk about the proceeding before they are complete.  The other reason for the delay is the flu... Oh the flu, look for more about my friend the flu in Daddy’s blog soon.  To say that having the flu while your type I child has the flu is challenging is quite an understatement.  I expect our 504 to be in place this week and then I’ll be back with months worth of information.