Happy 4th Birthday to Cara

Today is Cara's 4th Birthday, she is sooo excited that she is a big girl now....a big girl without a soother! This morning she woke up and asked Chris is today the day, is today the day that I'm a big girl, just like mom? sooo cute!

Four years ago on American thanksgiving Cara was born. She had such a tiny little face she looked just like a little bird. I called her my little canary for the first couple days of her life. She was so little and so sweet and so special, all the names that we had chosen for her just did not fit. She was nameless for 2 weeks, I just could not find a name that suited her.... then I thought about CARA... sweet and simple and prefect!

Happy birthday to the bravest little 4 year old that I know!! xoxox

Soother Update

I just wanted everyone to know that the SOOTHER, Cara's life line is officially gone. I feel confident in stating that Cara is soother free. She has done an amzing job dealing with this change in her life. I think that it was time and she just needed a little push. Thursday afternoon was the last time that she used her soother for nap and since then she has asked only a few times but really no major tantrums....about not having the soother, there has been many, many tantrums about other topics lol. I'm so excited and proud that she is soother free for her 4th birthday. Thank you for all your comments and support, I felt a lot better with the decision that I made to take the soother away.

Good-bye Soother.....Poor Cara

Some big changes are happening for my poor little Cara who is not so little anymore. She will be 4 years old on the 24th of November and it is time to lose the soother or pacifier (for the Americans). I know, I know, she is almost four and it is defiantly time to lose the soother BUT (and it is a big but) Cara has gone through a lot in the past soon to be year and this is very, very hard for me to do to her.
Cara was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes in February of this year, right around that time we where thinking it was time to lose the soother. Since her diagnoses she has been through sooo much and her soother is the one thing that make it ALL better. So how do I, a mother that is unable to help my child when she is in pain and most times the one inflicting the pain, suppose to take something that gives her sooo much comfort away??

This will be night #1 without the soother if she and I make it through, she will get to go to the toy store and pick up a princess toy that is our deal....wish us luck.

I know that it is something that I must do, but I feel soooo mean doing it. This afternoon she missed her nap and was really tired around 4:00pm with a BG of 24.2mmols, she kept asking and asking for her soother I told her that is was lost and that I could not find it, she just cried and cried, "did you find it, did you find it". I felt so bad that I thought maybe I should tell her the truth, it was not lost but she is not able to have it anymore because she is getting older and blah, blah, blah, blah (I think that is what she heard anyways) and she just screamed and screamed for 30 minutes straight then she asked to speak to her father who was at work (like he was going to tell me to give back her soother, it was kinda funny.... the way they think) Chris however was able to calm her down and make the deal, a soother for a princess toy...good thinking dad. BTW I did try that one too but she just screamed in my face!

OUR World Diabetes Day

November 14th was World Diabetes Day, here are the facts:

What is Type 1 Diabetes:

• Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease in which the body’s immune system attacks and destroys the insulin-producing cells of the pancreas.
• Type 1 diabetes strikes children and adults suddenly, leaving them dependent on injected or pumped insulin for life, and carries the constant threat of devastating complications. While the causes of this process are not yet entirely understood, scientists believe that both genetic factors and environmental triggers are involved.

Warning Signs and symptoms include:

Extreme thirst, frequent urination, drowsiness or lethargy, increased appetite, sudden weight loss for no reason, sudden vision changes, sugar in urine, fruity odour on breath, heavy or laboured breathing, stupor or unconsciousness. These symptoms may occur suddenly.

Some Canadian Facts:

• Diabetes currently affects 246 million people worldwide and is expected to affect 380 million by 2025.
• More than 2.4 million Canadians have some form of diabetes.
• Over 240,000 Canadians live with type 1 diabetes.
• Canada has the sixth highest incidence rate of type 1 diabetes in children 14 years or younger in the world.
• The incidence rate of type 1 diabetes is rising by three to five per cent in Canada; the greatest rise occurs in five to nine year olds.
• Worldwide 70,000 children develop type 1 diabetes annually (almost 200 children a day).
• Globally, every ten seconds two people develop diabetes.
• Diabetes is the fourth leading cause of global death by disease.
• Globally, every ten seconds a person dies from diabetes-related causes.
• According to the International Diabetes Federation, each year 3.8 million deaths are attributable to diabetes. An even greater number die from cardiovascular disease made worse by diabetes-related lipid disorders and hypertension.

Did you know?

By 2010, over 3 million Canadians will live with diabetes. The cost of treating diabetes and diabetes-related complications is currently more than $15.6 billion dollars in Canada, and is projected to rise to $19.2 billion by 2010.

That a Canadian discovered insulin? Insulin is a hormone produced in the pancreas. It was isolated in 1921-22 at the University of Toronto. The scientists involved in the research were Dr. Fredrick Banting, Charles Best (a medical student at the time of the discovery), Professor J. J. R. Macleod and Dr. James Collip. On June 3, 1934, Dr Frederick Banting the co-inventor of insulin was knighted for his medical discovery.

As a mother with a 3 year old child with type one diabetes I looked at November 14th as a day to show everyone how very special Cara and our family is. I wanted to do as many family things with the kids out in public as we could fit in the day, between naps and older children wanted to play with their friends ( sorry I mean HANG out with their friends).
So on Thursday night we bought and set up our BLUE lights to light up the house and we had them on all weekend.

Friday all the school aged children wore their amazing World Diabetes Day shirts to school. I had a World Diabetes necklace made up for the girls to wear (sorry Connor, he just got a shirt) Cara and Kylie felt so special, they enjoyed every moment of wearing their new shirts. Just a little side not which I think is very funny Cara says that she has blood sugars not diabetes!! So cute!! Anyways on Sat (THE DAY) I woke up thinking that this day would be a wonderful, amazing day. I have put a lot of thought and time and energy into planning this day and making it special for us. I gave up what would have been a wonderfully and very needed vacation with all my girlfriends to make this day a special day for my family. On Saturday morning the house needed to be cleaned (well that is not special), the kids where not listening (well that is not special), Kailyn did not want to spend anytime with us because she wanted to hang out with her friends (well that is not special) and Chris went to work (well that is not special). I just could not believe that I did all this planning and everyone else was just going on with there day not even caring that it was World Diabetes Day....hello we are a family....support??. So in my despair of my lost wonderfully amazing day that I had all planned in my head I did manage to post a message on facebook... a long message about Type 1 diabetes to spread the awareness at least I would get a little bit of the word out there. I figured the day was a write off and I was feeling pretty upset with my whole family for not helping me and understanding that I needed this day to be a wonderfully amazing day. About 5 minutes after my post on fb I was just reading some status updates and I realized that people began to re post my post about Type 1 diabetes....my family (my sister, my cousin and Chris's cousin) It was amazing, of course I started to cry! I was having such a bad start to a day that I thought would go so perfectly and I really just needed to see that someone other then me CARED and they did! Thank you so much Dana, Robin and Karen! you made my day :) and the rest of the day.

I got my sorry butt up and decided that today was not a loss, it is what I make it!! and I was not going to waste the whole day being mad at my kids and husband so I got ready and took the dog for a walk with my shirt on :) After naps Chris and I got the kids ready for the afternoon in their shirts and a impromptu photo shoot.
Our area was having a Christmas festival just blocks away from our house. So we walked down there with all the kids minus Kailyn (our 12 year old). Kailyn did go out with her friends but that was ok it was the weekend and she did support her sister with wearing her shirt on Friday to school and she was going to be home at 5 so we could all go out to dinner.
We had a wonderful afternoon spreading the word about Type 1 Diabetes and World Diabetes Day in our area and the icing on the cake the kids got to see Santa.
Even when we don't all have matching shirts on we tend to get a lot of looks and people approaching us about our kids all the time, "are they ALL yours" and of course "what a beautiful family you have" are some common ones. But today is was all about the circle on our shirts some people came right out and ask us what the circle was all about, others tried to ask without asking "Oh did you have a family picture shoot today?".
At dinner time we met up with Kailyn at the house and we ALL went out to eat with our shirts on and yes we did testing and injecting in public!!
It was a wonderfully amazing day, I would not wanted to have spent it any other way!

Did Somebody Say Wordless Wednesday ?

What To Do, What To Do....What A Day???

This day has been ridiculous, I hope it ends really soon!! Today I get off the phone with the school, the nurse and the bus company (early post will explain) and I have a message on my voice mail. It says " Hello Nicole it's so and so from the Diabetic Clinic at the hospital (this is where we go for our check ups every 3 months for Cara and we love everyone there) I'm just calling because the Doctor received a phone call from CCAC (this is the agency that paired us up with Cara's nurse for the school) and they are concerned about some high numbers that Cara has been having at school recently, if you can just give me a call back when ever you have time that would be great" HELLO what??? I literally had to listen to the message twice, I could not believe that they are questioning me on my daughters care. I do everything that I'm told to do for that girl and the thought that they are trying to blame me for her highs....like I'm not giving her, her insulin at breakfast time or something....WHAT THE HELL!! Her nurse has called me twice about Cara's BG being in the 20's and I had to explain to her that because no one is able or really no one is willing to check Cara's blood sugar before snack time I always give her a carb snack. We realized soon after Cara started school that her BG dropped dramatically from the time she leaves school to the time she gets home from the bus. The Doctor's orders state that the nurse needs to correct any BG number that is lower then 5, however if her BG is at 10 at school by the time she gets off the bus she is low around 3ish. So I would rather have her a tad high then low on the bus. So I decided to always give her a carb snack even if she does not need one and that is why she is high, not because WE as parents are lazy, not doing our job, don't care, have better things to do in the morning or are just idiots. This just blows my mind so I called the diabetic clinic back explained everything..... THEY understood and that was that!

So now Cara's dad and I are thinking and talking about a more complicated way of dealing with Cara's diabetes at school which I'm sure will blow the minds of Cara's school staff and teachers but at least her nurse and the CCAC will realize that we are taking care of our daughter and they may like her numbers a little more. I just don't know if it will work out? we will see!

On a side note today we took Cara, Connor, Kylie, Kirstin and Cody to get her H1N1 vaccine, they are only giving the vaccine to children 5 and under, or people with underlining health conditions, health care workers, or women who are pregnant. So Kailyn and I will need to wait a little while for our H1N1.... Thinking of Hollie, you have touched so many, even those who never had the chance to meet you.

Spoke To Soon.....some more school issues.

When I posted yesterday and said that nothing much has been going on with Cara lately I knew that I should have highlighted that whole sentence and pressed delete.

At 11:00am this morning I received a phone call from Cara's nurse letting me know that when she tested her at school she was 3.2mmols (x by 18 for U.S. #). She mentioned that this was the first time that Cara tested low so she went to Cara's teacher and asked her what was going on with Cara today. The teacher told her that at snack time Cara did not like her snack and she threw it out in the garbage (that is soooo Cara). So Cara did not eat anything for snack and hence the low blood sugar reading. Then the nurse for some reason did not know about or could not find the pack that I had made up for Cara for exactly this reason with juices and snacks all 15 grams when she is running low before getting on the bus. So she ended up giving her the jelly sugar thing that I have in the back pack for emergencies on the bus. I explained to her about the pack that I have at the school, mind you this is like the 5th time that I have brought this up with her and I called the school.

When I spoke to the teacher I mentioned that the nurse was unable to find the pack which the teacher does not understand because it is right out in the open....so I really don't understand that! All I can think off is that something was lost in translation. So then I asked her what happened at snack time with Cara? She began to explain to me that Cara just ate the topping off of her snack and threw the rest of it away and I THOUGHT that it was enough for her to eat. So I again had to explain to her that Cara needs to eat her snack to get her threw the bus ride home before she eats lunch. If you ever have a question or unsure of something please call me. This is Cara's life and I do not like people making decision on guesses. I explained again that Cara needs 15gs of carbs at snack time nothing more (which happened last week or so) and nothing less (which happened today). So I hope that everyone has learned something new from this and it never happens again.

When Cara finally came home I checked her BG and she was 12 perfect. I said to her how was school, she said OK. I asked her if she felt sick at school and the saddest little look came over her face and she said yes. I asked her if she told her teacher and she shook her head no, why not I asked. I don't know she said. I asked her if she told her nurse and the same sad little look came over her and she said no. I said to her "Cara if you ever feel sick you can tell your teacher or your nurse, mom has talk to both of them and they know what to do to make you feel better. OK she said with a smile! POOR LITTLE GIRL! Cara is very good at home telling us if she has an upset belly that is our clue that she is low, the second that she fall's below 5 she starts with a belly ache and we are trying to teach her what that means for her.

The next thought on my mind was the bus ride, we never called the bus company or told the driver about Cara, it's one thing that slipped my mind when dealing with all the school issues. So after I got off the phone with the teacher I called the bus company who told me it is up to the school to inform them of issues like this....HELLO, I'm calling you to inform you of issues like this!!So then I call the school to see if they had informed the bus company about Cara and I'm still waiting to here what is going on about that. Why can nothing be a yes or no it seems that I'm always going around in circles.

November 9th is D blog day

Today is D blog day and I thought that it would be great to participate. So I sat down at my computer and nothing.....what to post? It seems as though I just like to post when I'm mad or excited and if I'm not either of those it is very hard for me to write. Hence, this is why I call my blog my cheap therapy.
I have never been a good writer or story teller partly because I'm dyslexic and sometimes it is hard for me to find the right word, never mind try to spell it (thank goodness for spell check). Nothing much has been going on with Cara lately a little high here and there, some ridiculous comments about owning a candy store and having a child with diabetes.....not worth my time!

So I did what I learned in grade 5 writing class brainstormed and this is what I came up with:

If you don't know my story I'm a 30 year old mother of 6. Kailyn, Connor, Kylie, Cara, Kirstin and Cody. Each and everyone of them are very different, they all have their flaws and their unique gifts. They all know how to push each others buttons but at the end of the day they all have each others back. They are each others family and what happens to one will have an impact on the others. Just because Cara was the one diagnosed with type 1 did not mean that she was the only one who was affected by type 1 and I think sometimes we as parents forget that. Cara's life was not the only one that took a dramatic change, it affected each and everyone of us all in different ways.

Kailyn is the oldest and because of that she is my helper....if she likes it or not! Since the dx Kailyn has had to help out even more, I spend a lot more time with or doing things for Cara which does take time away from the other kids so unfortunately for Kailyn, she will pick up the slack. She has also expanded her title from my little helper or mom #2 to nurse Kailyn, she has learned to take Cara's BG just in case I'm busy or away and Cara needs to be checked and she knows what to do to correct. Unfortunately this title has followed her to school as well. Since Cara has started JK it seems that the teachers and staff at the school rely on Kailyn sometimes to help out with Cara. Kailyn has also become involved with fundraising for JDRF. Last year she started a sneaker day at her school that was very successful in raising funds and she was looking forward to doing it again this year. Kailyn has grown a lot in this last year.

Connor is a sweet, loving and funny little guy who has his own obstacles to over come. Connor is a worrier at his core so Cara having Diabetes is something that stresses him very much. He and Nana went to the library when Cara was in the hospital during her diagnoses and he learned everything there is to learn. When we got home he told us what happened to Cara's body and how she got diabetes and what we need to do to keep her healthy. From the time that Cara came home he listened to the rules, he understood the rules and he will never let us forget the rules, even when we would like to. He knows what Cara can eat, when she can eat, if he thinks she is eating something that she should not he comes running, yelling "mom Cara is eating something bad". Also he is the first to tell us when HE thinks Cara has high BG. Cara has a tendency to act out and hit and say mean things when her BG hits the 20's and the second Cara does something bad Connor is running, yelling "mom you need to check Cara's blood sugar I think she is high". When Cara is eating Connor is saying "mom make sure to write that down" When we sit down for dinner Connor is telling me "mom make sure to take her blood sugar". He is the watch dog, he always way however, now Cara is his main concern and not that the toilet is going to over flow....but that is another story for another day! lol

Kylie has always been very close with Cara we called them "the girls" when we spoke of them. They did everything together and when Cara was diagnosed Kylie was very sad that she did not have diabetes. I remember one day just after Cara's dx we were getting ready to go out to the community kickoff for the JDRF walk and Kylie said "I wish that I had diabetes". My jaw dropped and I yelled at her almost crying "don't you every say something like that again, diabetes is not something you wish for". She wanted diabetes not because she did not want Cara to go through this by herself but because she did not like all the attention that Cara was getting. Kylie use to get all the attention, she has amazing red hair and the bluest of blue eyes and Cara has brownish hair with brown eyes and every where that those two went Kylie was getting all the complements and attention. Well that all shifted when Cara was diagnosed and Kylie was not to happy with that. She now plays with Connor all the time, they are never apart.

Cara of course has been greatly affected by the dx of T1 and I can't even start to tell you the millions of things that it has and will change in her life. Some of which I do not want to think about at this point. However one thing that it has changed is her anger, which is enhanced with High BG. Cara is now a very anger little girl and because of that her behavior has taken a turn for the worst with hitting and saying mean hurtful things. And in turn this is having a huge effect on Kirstin.

Kirstin is Cara's little sister and Kirstin looks up to Cara, she is always wanting to pal around her and because of that Kirstin is picking up on Cara's bad behavior. When Cara is not feeling good or just a little off she loves to say hurtful things to the kids and sometimes even us. Now Kirstin is repeating them. Cara has become a hitter and now Kirstin is copying her hitting behavior. These two have become the biggest little terrors in the house, you never now what they are up too and if it is quiet it is not good!

And last but not least there is Cody because he is so young and really never knew Cara before T1 this will just be his normal. He will never know any different, his sister has Type 1 diabetes and that is that! It is kinda sad that he never met the Cara before and the freedom and the carefree life that we all had before this. It has changed us all and we will never be the same but we are still together and all healthy and as a mom that is the most important thing! I love my kids :)

My gift to you mom's.... all my "D" ladies

This blog goes out to all my "D" mom support, therapy group!lol I have laughed with you and I have cried with you and now I have a gift for all of you. It's is just my way of saying thank you for being there for me and letting me into your lives. I'm hoping to get it to you all by Nov 14th cross my fingers! I have to order this surprise for you and they have to get to me and then I have to mail it to you but I hope that Chris will cross the border for me to mail them so they reach you faster and by the BIG DAY!!

So what you need to do is send me you mailing address ASAP to wecaralot@gmail.com and pray that all works out and if not..... well they are still awesome!! I'm so excited for all of you to see them :)

November 9th is D blog day

I just had logged onto my facebook this afternoon and I was reading everyone's statues updates, I noticed something that caught my eye and I thought I would share.

First just a little background Gina is a facebook friend that I have recently met since Cara's dx. She is a Type 1 and very very active within the diabetic community on and off the computer. I first met her on Juvenation a website for Type 1's.

Gina's facebook statues update read: Don't forget D-blog day is November 9. Details with the link below. Very interesting I thought to myself and I click the link and copied and pasted for you all:

It’s November and you know what that means? The air is crisp, the leaves are yellow and orange. And, It’s diabetes awareness month! It is our chance to shine as a community and for the past 4 years we have! We dubbed November 9 as our D-bloggin’ holiday! Which is dedicated to blogging about diabetes awareness and support.

What do you do on d-blog day? Well, you can write on your blog if you haven’t in a while. Or, you can make a poem, introduce yourself if you have never blogged before, tell us about a new website that you found or get out of the d-closet and start a blog and stop being a lurker!! Basically d-blog is anything you can think of diabetes related.

Just put D-blog Day 2009 or Happy D-Blog day in your subject so we can find you. If you are on twitter the hashtag is #dblogday

Also, add this awesome logo to your blog post (below) that my friend Chris Bishop of The Big D blog designed for us! Thanks Chris

I will be compiling a list of people that have d-blog posts on November 9 and you will be able to find them here. Be sure to let me know if you create a blog post on Monday, in case by any chance I miss it!

Get those creative juices flowing people because its D-Blog Day 2009!!

Can’t wait to read everyone’s posts!!

Gina (this is Gina's blog)

P.S. I think that everyday is d blog day for us but I thought that this would be fun too!!