It Finally Happened

It finally happened she finally did it!!
After a year or so of trying to talk her into to it, after showing her pictures of all the great D kids going it, after hours and hours of persuasion, Cara finally had an injection on her tummy!!  We are so very proud of her and this is one step closer to her starting the pump :)

Here we gooooo!

Doing great :)

Way to go Cara

100th Blog Post .... Hope You Like It!!

I was not sure what to write about for my 100th blog and there were some great ideas that people sent in (thanks Jill) buuuut I thought that for my 100th post I would share more poems...hope you like them :)

The Diabetes Daughter

The worrying never stops morning, noon and night
The tension that surrounds us you could cut it with a knife
The confusion and the questions, nothing ever seems to make sense
You are climbing a tremendous mountain everyday from the beginning to the end

Some days you are victorious and you reach the very top,
Looking on with hopes and amazement but waiting for that dreadful drop
Other days you take a step only to fall down in dismay
But on these days you get back up because there has to be a better way

For this is a journey that we must win, not for us but for our kin
It's a long and rocky road ahead but as always we will keep climbing
We believe and we know, that the most wonderous day is coming
The day when I can tell my daughter it is all done, the dream has come
That day when they find a cure I will praise that day for you and for me
and from that day on my sweet little Cara, the diabetes daughter you no longer must be

Written by Nicole C

Poor Little Fingers

Dear fingers, dear fingers, oh poor dear little fingers
So precious, So delicate, sweet 10 little fingers

Once used to hold tight to a loving mothers hand
Now used as a life line giving blood on demand

Once polished with pink and sparkeling bright
Now poked with sharp needles to try to get this diabetes thing right

Once so soft and so smooth with a touch of an angel
Now scared and so marked with memories of each and every needle

Dear fingers, dear fingers I'm so deeply sorry
but without you there would be a sad end to this story

Written by Nicole C

The Fight

The nemesis is invisible, you can not see it
The nemesis is invincible, you can not beat it
The enemy is very strong, extremely controlling and just so damn daunting
And the memories of life before, of what was, are just too damn haunting
Diabetes has taken aim against a little girl, who had turned 3 years just before
But she is not alone in this battle, her army is beside her hand in hand as we go to war
So if there is anyone out there who knows how to defeat it, please fill me in
We are fighting but we are struggling and we really do need a win

Written by Nicole C



This one I wrote for a child with T1

If Diabetes Was A Monster

If Diabetes was a monster what would it be:

Would it be ferocious and mean
Like nothing you have ever seen
Would it make you tremble in your feet
Really something you would never want to meet

OR

Would it be quiet and meek
Lurking around like a little sneak
Hiding over and under
I really do wonder

If Diabetes was a monster how would it move:

Would it move fast like the speed of light
Throughout the day and all of the night

OR

Would it be sluggish and slow with out making a sound
Creeping and crawling all around town


If diabetes was a monster what would you say:

Would you say hi with a smile but still run away
OR
Would you yell and would you shout "GO AWAY AND GET OUT"

If diabetes was a monster what would that make you:

A SUPER STRONG
SUPER TOUGH
SUPER BRAVE
SUPER KID.....
A SUPER HERO that is who!

Written by Nicole C

Time For A Break

It's time for a break
Is anyone listening?
It's time for a break
I'm paitently still waiting...

It's not a lot that I'm asking
Just a few minutes pretty please
Some quiet, some peace, just some time without D

Written by Nicole C

Quirky Happenings

Last night I came across this picture of Cara. 

She had fallen fast asleep on the couch one night before making it to bed (she did not even make it in her pj's) and of course we still needed to check her blood sugar before we sent her off to la-la land for the night. 

Now how do you check ones blood sugar in their sleep without waking them when in their sleep they are guarding theirs fingers??  

But as many of you know this is how T1 sleep ALL THE TIME.  Every night we find ourselves quietly and carefully pulling her hands out from under her to find those sweet little finger tips.

The We CARA Lot Team @ The Telus Walk To Cure Diabetes 2010

On Sunday June 13th 2010 the We Cara Lot Team attended The Telus Walk To Cure Diabetes for the second year in a row. 

This year our team raised close to $5,000.  

I was extremely excited about how great our team did and our cities walk total was $125,000..... amazing :) 

A great big THANK YOU to all that where involved in making this walk such a success.

Here are some highlights of our event!

THE WE CARA LOT TEAM

 

KYLIE AND CARA SPORTING THE WE CARA LOT WALK YOUR HEART OUT LOOK, IT'S THE  HOTTEST TREND

 

 

CARA TAKING THE STEPS THAT WILL HOPEFULLY GET HER ONE STEP CLOSER TO A CURE

 

NANA ENTERED A CONTEST AND WON CARA A SALTER SCALE

 

AND WE MET SOME FUNNY CREATURES ALONG THE WAY

WE ALL HAD A BLAST

AND WE MADE OFF WITH SOME WONDERFUL LOOT

IT WAS REALLY ALL A MOTHER COULD ASK FOR.....WE LOVE YOU CARA, AND WE WILL NOT STOP UNTIL THERE IS A CURE

Take a Back Seat Diabetes

Something extraordinarily weird has been going on around here for a few weeks now....diabetes has taken a back seat!  I do not recommend this at all, I'm sure this is not a good thing, for me, for Cara and for the dreaded A1C and I surely did not ever believe this was even possible. 

With a disease that haunts you every second of the day, diabetes is never far from your mind.  From the very first thought when you wake, to the very last thought before you drift off to sleep it's there.  Even when you are fast asleep dreaming of the most wonderful things diabetes always has a way of getting into your head.

For the past few weeks we have been in the process of moving homes. Which is no small task with 6 kids, 1 crazy puppy, a husband who works long hours and Sat and diabetes.  It took 3 huge moving trucks, about a dozen helpers and a long 4 days to be completely moved in.  

This is when to my disbelief it all started to happen.  The days came and went with only thinking about diabetes when it was time to do something for diabetes, when it was time to check blood sugar I thought about diabetes and when it was time to give insulin I thought about diabetes.  Believe you me that is still a lot of diabetes but it was not a constant.  The other moments in the day were completely consumed by painting, organizing, cleaning and more cleaning, construction, arranging, watching the kids, plus all of the normal everyday things that must get done in a day. 

Normally my day is surrounded with constant worrying caused by a little voice in my head that is always telling me maybe you should go check Cara, that persistent little voice that goes over all those little scenario's over and over in my head all day long with all the what ifs.  Really, this voice NEVER SHUTS UP and if you don't listen to him (it's a "he" because "he" reminds me of my son Connor, whom never stops talking either)  and something bad does happen and he was right, the guilt that you did not listen or that something else was too important at that very moment when your child needed help will eat you up inside.  So you ALWAYS listen to that voice. 

But for the past 2 weeks that damn, persistent, annoying little voice was gone....well not totally gone, just quieted down a bit, to the point of a sweet little whisper almost like a the sound of a soft breeze blowing past your ear.  A few times he did step up and he screamed at the top of his lungs "STOP PAINTING THAT DAMN WALL NICOLE, YOU FORGOT TO GIVE YOUR DAUGHTER HER LIFE SAVING DOSE OF INSULIN". What can I say he has a way with words.  He had to informed me of this short coming after a few meals when we had forgotten to give Cara her insulin......OOPS!! 

What can I say we have been very busy!!

BUT  I do have to admit that nagging, persistent, annoying little voice has been very helpful many many times, he does come in handy and without his help I'm sure we would not be doing such a good job with Cara.   He really does keep me on my toes and keeps me in check...but it was nice to get a little break from that guy because lately he has been driving me nuts!! 

AND

I'm sure he will make his way back to the drivers seat very very soon....because after all it is The Ride of our Lives with Type 1 Diabetes  :)

Rhyme Time with Type 1 Diabetes

Hello again fellow bloggers and readers I know that I have been gone for quite sometime....AGAIN!  But I'm really hoping that this time I can find some time for myself and for something that makes me truly happy which is blogging.  I have missed you all and I hope that everything is going amazingly in your homes.

While I was "away" our computer and other electronics where hit with lighting therefore we had no internet hence the no blogging.  Also we had our Telus Walk to Cure Diabetes and the We CARA Lot team did amazing, it was a wonderful event and of course we have the best team in the world ( I will blog about this at a later time with some pictures of our great day).  But the big news that has been keeping me away from blogging is that we moved and we have been very, very busy making it our new home.  We still have a lot of work to do but this is my time and I'm going to blog :)

The last post that I left you all with was a collection of poems that were written by Gary Hempleman who had suffered from type 1 diabetes.  After reading them I got the itch to rhyme.  So I thought that I would share something that I wrote with you today.   I have written a few poems and some small book ideas and it is really a lot of fun, once you start it is hard to say that you are done :) hahaha

This poem is a little something that I wrote from Cara's perspective talking to a newly diagnosed type 1 child.

Pssss Did Someone Say Diabetes:

Psss did someone say it, did I hear?

Did you say diabetes is near?

If this is right, if this is true

I want you to know that I have it to

First thing that I want to tell you, the first thing you must know

and this is very important, I really do think so

Listen to me, I want to make this very very clear

Diabetes is not something that you ever have to fear

Diabetes is not a monster, but it is something you must overcome

It is something you need to learn to live with

and it is not something you can run from

It is something you will need to fight

and you must take the time and do this right

Check your blood sugar at all the right times

Learn the highs and the lows and all of their signs

Diabetes is not a game but there is a way that you can still win

Everyday, when you need, take your insulin

You will need to learn to count the carbs in all the food that you eat

and there will be times when you go low and it will be time for a special treat

But most of all, you must be patient, take care and believe

That one day there will be a cure

Just you wait and see

Written by Nicole C