Type 1 Diabetes Guest Blog

I am so excited to present the first official guest blog on Mommy Rantings...and, I have a good feeling that it won't be the last! I am also truly ecstatic that this guest blog contains some extremely informative dialogue about Type 1 Diabetes. So, the floor is open to Wendy Rose (thank you so much for your contribution!).

This is my oldest daughter.

Her blog name is “Sugar”.

I went into spontaneous labor at 36 weeks.  After a healthy labor and birth, her official birth weight was 6 lbs, 14 oz.

She was a champion at the breast from the get go….and went on to nurse for 2 years!
 
She was exclusively breastfed for 6 months before starting solids…which, by the way, I made from scratch once I did begin to introduce them.
 
In the first 2 years, she wasn’t ever given juice, sugary snacks, or cookies…well, except for a piece of her birthday cake for the token pictures!
 
Water has always been her drink of choice.
 
She was only exposed to whole grains, and she does not know what a slice of white bread tastes like.
 
By the age of 2, she was involved in tumbling classes, regular playgroups, and spent a great deal of time at our local park.
 
Sugar was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes at the age of 24 months. (You can read her diagnosis story HERE.)
 
We do not have a history of diabetes in our family.
 
I did not have gestational diabetes during my pregnancy.
 
She will not “grow out of it”.
 
It was not caused by lack of physical activity or poor dietary choices.
 
Type 1 Diabetes is an autoimmune disease in which the pancreas stops producing insulin.  It usually occurs in children, but can also be diagnosed during adulthood.
 
No one knows why the pancreas stops producing insulin.  A common theory is that the pancreas is attacked by a virus, such as the common cold or a tummy bug.
 
People with Type 1 Diabetes cannot control their blood sugar using diet and exercise alone.  Nor can they take a pill to manage their diabetes.  Type 1 Diabetes requires insulin by injection (either via syringe or an insulin pump) several times a day.
 
Type 1 Diabetes is a LIFE THREATENING condition.  Both low and high blood sugars can cause seizures, coma, or death if not treated promptly.
 
Insulin is not a cure.  Without insulin, Sugar will DIE.
 
Today Sugar is 7 years old.
 
She has had her fingers poked 30,000 (yes, that’s THIRTY THOUSAND) times.
 
For the first 18 months after her diagnosis, she received insulin injections 4 – 7 times a day.  That equates to roughly 3,000 shots.
 
She must have her insulin pump site changed every 2 – 3 days.  That equates to about 700 pump site changes.
 
Every day, 40 children or adults are diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes.
 
95% of them do NOT have a family history of diabetes.
 
You should contact your doctor if you notice insatiable thirst, increased urination (saturating through diapers, constant runs to the bathroom, unusual bedwetting), increased hunger with weight loss or without significant weight gain.  Blurred vision, dry skin patches, mood swings, difficulty focusing, and frequent headaches are other signs of Type 1 Diabetes. 

Wendy Rose has been a Registered Nurse for 16 years.  After spending most of her career at the bedside in the Emergency Room, the Post Anesthesia Care Unit, and Labor & Delivery, she currently works from home as a Pediatric Telephone Triage Nurse.

Wendy’s oldest daughter was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes in 2005, at the age of 24 months and Celiac Disease in 2008, at the age of 5 years.  Wendy herself was diagnosed with Celiac Disease in 2009.

Balancing the demands of her daughter’s blood sugar management while maintaining a gluten free lifestyle; on top of her role as wife and mother; in addition to maintaining her nursing career can be a challenge at times.  She documents her family’s journey at www.CandyHeartsBlog.com.

Wendy and her husband, Jason, have been married for almost 10 years.  They have three daughters, ages 7, 4 and 3.  Wendy also has a 13 year old step-daughter who does not live in their area, but visits once a year.  The family resides in the Sonoran Desert with their rescue dog, Ivy.