Life Is Short: Book Blog
I didn't have any intentions back in 2007 when I first published my thoughts online, no great plan, no goals, I just wanted someone to hear me and understand - I was lost, sucked into a vast confusion by Arden's diagnosis. I didn't know what I was doing with this blog until I received the first piece of email from a reader. It was from a mother who thanked me for sharing, then she offered me support. That email gave this site a purpose, it gave me a purpose. I wanted others to feel the relief that her kind connection gave to me.
I feel a very real responsibility when I share my type I diabetes experiences with you and I sincerely hope that feeling shines through when I do. I've never blogged about anything other then diabetes until now.
I'll be blogging periodically about what it was like to write my book. I hope that you'll find the story interesting and even motivating. It's a story of luck, hard work, a little right place/right time and a whole lot of "look what we can all do together". I'll be titling these posts Life Is Short: Then the blog title so that you can easily tell these posts from the ones about type I. I want you to have the clear choice to either read or skip them as you see fit. I thought very long and hard about whether I should speak about the book here and if I did, how much was too much. I desperately don't want it's existence to take from or sully what I've built. Does that make sense? This blog has always been and will forever remain one of my proudest accomplishments. The feeling that I get from sharing here with all of you far exceeds my wildest dreams and I wouldn't trade your respect for anything. I don't need or want anything more then for 'Arden's Day' to help in some small way. I'm quite sure that most if not all of you know that, but I wanted to say it up front. Okay...
None of that means that I am not excited about my book, I'm crazy excited! I've been writing since I was a child and having a book published is so much more then I hoped for. When I think about what being published means to me... much comes to mind. I'm giddy at the thought of a book spine with my name on it, I have to be honest. Most of all I'm pleased to have the opportunity to keep a promise that I made to my wife a very long time ago. Kelly always believed in my writing and it took me a long time to be passionate enough about a topic to warrant me putting my thoughts down. I never doubted that I could write but I didn't want to write just anything. Nothing in life is certain and this opportunity may only ever come once, I want what I say, what gets bound and bears my name to mean something. I feel things very deeply, watch life intently and I pride myself on seeing humor, love and meaning in places that can often go unnoticed. These things bring me a wonderful peace, one that I'd like very much if others could feel too. I believe that I finally had something to offer that is different and this book is my best and most sincere attempt to tell that story. If I never write another thing, I'll always be proud of the words, sentiments and message that I poured into my book.
'Life Is Short, Laundry Is Eternal: Confessions of a Stay-At-home Dad' is not unlike 'Arden's Day'. It's the stories that struck at me deepest, stayed with me over time and taught me that parenting is the most important thing that I will ever do. Some of the stories are funny, some earnest. I think that you'll laugh a bunch, cry a few times, get scared, angry, hopeful and if I did my job you'll put the book down seeing parenting through my eyes.
My next entry Life Is Short: Leighann Wrote a Book will include the story of how the opportunity to write came my way, the beginning of the writing process and a bit about how I freaked out and happy danced after I agreed to write the book. With a little luck I may have the final version of the cover to show you soon. I hope that this first entry demonstrated that I plan to be as transparent about the book process as I am about diabetes. I genuinely believe that the ride I'm taking right now belongs to all of us, there is no way that a publisher would ever know my name if it wasn't for the strength that the diabetes online community possess.
- Scott
Life Is Short, Laundry Is Eternal has it's own FaceBook page, you can visit it at this link or like it with the button below.
Entry # 2 - Life Is Short: Leighann Wrote a Book
HuffPost piece feat. DOC quotes
DOC member and Huffington Post contributer Riva GreenBerg recently asked two questions of some DOC members. The answers she received were featured in her latest piece.
"Tweets of Diabetes Experience"
Riva Greenberg
As Diabetes Month ends, here's the wisdom and insights from several of my fellow online diabetes bloggers and advocates.
While it's easy to see diabetes as a burden and at times feel angry, ashamed or frustrated, if we look at it through the spirit of thanks-giving, it's also possible to see something gained.
And, I find joy in sharing what I've learned with others.
So I asked the two questions below and these responses flew into my inbox. Also know, as diabetes moves out of the spotlight this month, we will all still be here alongside you on this journey -- and you can continue to ride along with anyone below by following their blog and/or Twitter account.
The rest of the piece, complete with all of those DOC quotes is on HuffPost at this link. You may recognize more then a few names. Great thanks to Riva for including me in the article!
Have a Happy and Silly Thanksgiving
We hope that you have a peaceful and loving day surrounded by those you hold dearest!
Be well...
Feel World Diabetes Day 2012
I've spent some time recently thinking about what World Diabetes Day meant to me, what did I want from it, what did I hope it's existence would leave for those that witnessed or participated. On Monday night I found the answer to my question...
Arden brushed her teeth before bed, she put on a silly pair of pajamas and climbed under the sheets. Her voice called to me and said that she was ready to be tucked in. When I entered her bedroom she had the lights out, her face was illuminated softly by a stream of dimmed light from the hallway. Her eyes were closed, she was pretending to be sleeping so that she could try and scare me as I approached. I stopped halfway into her room to tease her, she was trying so hard not to move, carefully holding her lips together so that she wouldn't smile. I looked at her face for a long moment before I sat next to her so that she could scare me. She popped up, I acted frightened, and then we laughed. We talked about the next morning and she expressed how happy she was that I was able to schedule a play date for later in the week with one of her friends. It was a wonderful few moments, some of the best that I had that day.
Our party was crashed seconds later by the electronic beeps of Arden's CGM. Three beeps to be exact. It's urgent bells told me that her blood glucose was falling, I looked at the clock but I knew that it was doing so far sooner then I planned. Those beeps brought me right back to reality. We tested and continued to mess around, Arden's spirit was unchanged. I decided that Arden needed a juice box, she didn't want it, actually Arden hasn't enjoyed a juice box in some years because they feel like medicine after all this time. I could tell by the slight change in her face that she didn't want to drink the juice but she didn't make a fuss. I smiled and continued to talk about the next day as she forced herself to drink. It occurs to me now that we were both putting on a brave face for the other.
I hope that World Diabetes Day allows one new person to see my blog today, anyone's diabetes blog really. I'd very much like it if as many people as possible could understand more about type I diabetes. I'm not talking about the tried and true stuff. No talk of how many shots or pokes, those things suck but you can't fully appreciate them if they aren't your reality. But feelings, we all understand feelings.
This may seem on the surface to be a minor thing, a petty inconvenience but please trust me when I say that it's very much more. I sat on the left side of Arden's bed as she forced down a juice box that she didn't want. She did it so that she could go to sleep without worrying that her BG would fall to a dangerous level, she did it because she had to, did it because that's what she does. She tried to keep the happy in her face, tried to hold on to the joy that we made together only moments before. She did a good job, I may be one of the only people in the world that could have seen through her mask.
Watching my daughter with that juice reminded me that there are forces in each moment of her day that manipulate her life. These moments aren't scripted, we don't know when they will happen, how they will end or if we are responding to them correctly. They demand that we stop living and pay attention to them so that we may continue to live. It probably only took her three minutes to consume the juice, but those minutes and all of the ones like them, they steal from us and they take more then time. My hope for WDD is that someone takes the time to understand a little better that which is the life of a person with diabetes, and that they feel as best they can what it means to carry type I through each day. I think that understanding will make an advocate out of even the most casual observer, and that understanding will lead all of us to a brighter tomorrow.
Arden hates drinking juice, I loath having to ask her to do it. Each time acts as a mallet that strikes at my soul. I can't be sure of what it does to Arden, I probably couldn't handle knowing. Please don't think of this as a story about a juice box, it's a story of a chronic disease and it's effects on an innocent person. I began this post with the intention of describing the sadness that watching diabetes do what it does has on me, but I can't find the words. I guess I'll simply say that it hurts, physically hurts me. It changes me. Some days and in some ways for the better, sometimes for the worse, but I am inarguably changed.
November 14th is World Diabetes Day, November is Diabetes Awareness Month, people that live with diabetes do so bravely each and every second of their lives. Please try and feel what that means, let it change you.
First Impressions: DexCom Platinum G4
It's been about a week since Arden's new DexCom Platinum G4 arrived and I've spent enough time with it to share my initial thoughts from the perspective of a type I CareGiver.
The G4 is smaller, lighter and more modern looking then the 7+. All good stuff. The wire that inserts into the wearer is smaller to try and further minimize the pain felt at insertion. A number of people have mistaken it for an iPod. The signal range is vastly improved and I'm seeing more accurate readings. Best of all, Arden loves it.
Arden's Reaction
Arden's face lit up when she opened the box and found a pink CGM looking back at her. Her excitement level was just as high, if not higher then when we bought an iPad. She was genuinely happy to get the G4. I never thought that I would see a person, let alone a child, that joyous over a medical device but wow was I wrong.
BG Accuracy
The G4 began to send accurate and reliable readings immediately after the two hour marrying period. We've only inserted one sensor thus far and perhaps we won't get the same instant feedback next time, but I was not accustomed to being able to rely on the 7+ on day one, so hour one was not even in my mind. I'm also seeing a great deal of numbers within what I would call acceptable range of finger stick testing, both up and down the spectrum, 400 - 75 (Arden hasn't had a significant low this week). Last evening, I missed on a late night snack bolus, and when I tested Arden around midnight I got this...
Even though I have no scientific data to back up my statement, I'm comfortable saying that the G4 is more accurate then it's predecessor. Which is to say that it seems, so far to me, to be closer to finger sticks then the 7+. Time will tell how true my initial observations remain.
Signal Range
Sadly our bedroom and Arden's are at completely opposite ends of our house, not even the vastly improved range of the G4 can reach my bedside. While that was a momentary bummer, the rest is all great news. Arden is able to untethered herself from the CGM in our house and other relaxed situations while still benefiting from it's feedback. The range is quite impressive. A few days ago Arden had dental work performed and I was able to wait in the lobby instead of lurking around her during the procedure. The G4 sent it's signal to the receiver in my pocket, the distance wasn't great, maybe ten feet but I was on the other side of a wall. The 7+ couldn't even send a signal through Arden's hip so drywall is a a big leap forward!
We kept her a little high for the procedure
In the past I would have needed to go in and out of the exam room to watch Arden's BG, interrupting the doctor and making Arden feel awkward. But now I'm right where I should be...
Ease of use
We found no confusion moving from one version to the other. Even though the button configuration is slightly different and the screen is redesigned, neither Arden or I experienced any slow down or inability to use and understand the new receiver. There was no transition to speak of, I found the change completely intuitive and unremarkable.
Wrap
The DexCom G4 is smaller, lighter, nicer looking and it works better. Arden has never once mentioned that the transmitter is taller or that she in any way misses the 7+. I haven't asked her level of comfort during the insertion yet, I will, but asking her the first time wasn't going to yield an accurate reply, she was too jazzed up as we put in on.
Meanwhile her poor 7+ is just sitting on the counter as I search for a way to legally donate it to a child in need, which is not as easy of a task as you may think.
More information and final thoughts
Everything you need to know about the G4 can be found on DexCom's website. Colors, size comparisons, tutorials, cute little videos... it's all there. I can't tell you for certain that I would stop using a working 7+ and rush to buy a G4, I'm far too thrifty for that. We were lucky in that our 7+ had run past it's life expectancy and was about to be replaced by our insurance when the G4 hit the market. I would have waited for financial reasons if that was not the case. Never-the-less, if you are eligible for upgrade or thinking about using continuous glucose monitoring technology for the first time, I can't recommend the G4 Platinum strongly enough. It makes our days and nights better and aids me significantly in my daily dance with type I diabetes. I'll post more thoughts when we've been with the system longer. Please feel free to ask any questions that you may have and I'll do my best to answer them.
Neither I or 'Arden's Day' is compensated for my thoughts or opinions. There is a "I'm not a doctor' spiel at the bottom of this and the main page, please remember it when you make decisions about health matters.
Update
on 2012-12-03 16:23 by Scott Benner
The second part of my review DexCom G4 Platinum: Second Look, can be found here.