A Trip For Slowey
Some of the authors that write for my publisher, Spry Publishing are sharing stories of what writing means to them - it sounded like fun so I thought that I would join in.
I wrote my first book in grade school for something called the Young Authors Conference. That book took first place in my class - remember when everyone didn’t win - and I recall being ushered to the front of the classroom where my teacher spoke a few words about my accomplishment and then handed me what she considered to be my prize, a blue ribbon.
But that ribbon wasn’t the prize.
The next day our school librarian collected all of the winning titles from throughout the building and put them on her book trolley. The trolley would visit each class and students were given a chance to read the winning books in their classrooms. This was my prize!
I loved to imagine that someone was curled up with my book, ‘A Trip for Slowey’. You see Slowly was a turtle from a small pond who dreamt of something better, but when he took off to find excitement and adventure… all he found was the striking lesson that there was no place like home. I wrote that when I was six years old, I had to dig it out of a closet just now to remember what it was about because my only memory of that book was the joy that I felt when I imagined it being read.
Many years later I began to write about my life as the father of a child who lives with type 1 diabetes. If I had to act as my own psychiatrist for a moment, I’d say that I probably began to write online about type 1 as an outlet for my emotional pain. Soon after the blog went live, I heard back from one of my first readers and their message was one that informs what I do to this day. My sharing was helping her. I wrote something that she identified with. The knowledge that she wasn’t as alone in the world as she felt, was physically and emotionally freeing. I finally found the joy from my childhood as an adult, and it’s a joy that only comes from sharing my thoughts in an intimate way with others. Writing allows that intimacy unlike any other form of communication. Written words follow an unspoken path that begins in the writer’s heart, and with some luck, ends in the reader’s.
Though I don’t want to give short-shrift to ‘A Trip for Slowey’ and other elementary school award winners like, ‘Star Wanted to be a Star and ‘Grammy and the Green Ford’, eventually the blog led to my first book.
As a child, my only goal for writing was to get my book on that trolley. Today, I just hope that something that’s floating around in my head can create a moment of sameness with another person. I’ve seen now first-hand what that connection looks like, I no longer need to imagine someone reading my words. There is no purer feeling then the return I experience when exposing my thoughts in writing, leads to a stranger find themselves in those words.
That energy takes away my fear and fills the void with a satisfaction and warmth that it impossible to replicate. It recharges me so that I can do it again. Writing is my own personal self-sustain engine that powers me so I that can try to empower you.
Spry Publishing is leading the way in diabetes resources: check out Spry’s diabetes titles at www.sprypub.com/diabetes/ . Hurry! If you order in November you’ll receive 50% off your book by using the code “Diabetes50”.
Get Your Diabetes Circle Shoe Laces Here
So like I explained the other day my lovely wife Kelly works for Novo Nordisk, the company who started the hashtag #LaceUp4Diabetes and the festive diabetes circle shoe laces that accompany it.
I was contacted - separate of my wife's employment - by Novo's marketing company about receiving a few pairs of the laces for Arden's Day, I accepted the laces so I could run a giveaway and give you guys a chance to get a pair.
A few days later Kelly mentioned the giveaway to some people that she works with. It turned out that the marketing folks at Novo had very little idea of how popular the laces were in the diabetes community. Soon, word of the laces popularity made it's way around the office and the next thing I knew... Kelly was in our kitchen holding well over 150 pairs of laces - given to us by her co-workers.
And they want you to have them!
Here's what I've figured out. My family is responsible for the shipping cost, which would be prohibitive for us. With that in mind...
If you would like a pair of laces - All I need you to do is fill out the form below and hang on for a few days until all of the laces are spoken for. That might end up meaning that over 150 people get one pair or any number of possibilities - depending on who wants them and how many they hope to get. Hope that makes sense.
After all of you have requested laces, I will send a Paypal request for the shipping costs. At this moment it looks like it will cost (for U.S. residents) $2.50 for the first pair and $1.00 for each additional pair. Those outside of the U.S. are eligible, as long as you are willing to cover the shipping. If there is any money left over after shipping is completed it will be donated to the JDRF.
These laces will not effect the direction of the laces giveaway that began before the generosity of Kelly's co-workers came to light. Everyone is still very welcome to enter that giveaway which also includes signed books and runs until the end of November.
Blue laces
I ran out of shoe laces... hope those who received are loving them!
Entry form has been removed...
Check out my first book. The award winning Life Is Short, Laundry Is Eternal: Confessions of a Stay-At-Home Dad.
I'll take Insulin Pump Site Change for the Win Alex
What's not as hard as it may seem? Letting go...
Arden was diagnosed at such a young age that it was impossible in the early days for her to have any real responsibilities regarding her day-to-day care but it has always been our goal to transfer tasks to her as she is ready. We do so all of the time. I like the slow matriculation because it allows Arden to take on more without feeling as if things are being dumped on her. I pass on a new role in her care often without her noticing, things normalize after a little time and then that level becomes her new understanding of life.
Rinse, repeat.
Before long Arden found herself doing things she once thought impossible, she makes decisions that she probably didn't think she had the understanding to tackle and I can see her grasp of diabetes concepts grow by the day, month and year. One thing that took longer for her to become comfortable with than I expected, changing her insulin pump. I've felt for some years that she could change her Omnipod with ease and I even could see in her eyes that she held the same belief, but no matter how many times I tried to get her to do it... she just couldn't make the leap and anxiety would get the best of her.
There have a have been a few times when she has been forced by circumstances to change her own pod but those events were not exactly without drama.
This weekend brought a huge leap forward for Arden, but that leap didn't happen completely organically, I had to orchestrated the moment just a little bit.
Arden spent the night, armed with her new Dexcom SHARE, at her cousins house for a sleep over. Her Omnipod was scheduled to expire mid-morning the next day. I initially thought to change the site twelve hours early to avoid a conflict with Arden being away from home - but then it hit me. I thought, "I know she can do this without anyone physically with her, she may just need a little of my help". I imagined that we may need to FaceTime so that I could provide support and comfort during the process.
The opportunity presented itself when Arden's BG became stubborn the next morning, it was clear that it was time to change her site. We were bolusing and temp basaling but her BG wasn't budging.
I texted Arden and said that she should clear a space in her Aunt's dining room, get her supplies together and then FaceTime me when she was ready to begin.
I waited for a few minutes and didn't receive any communication, I was beginning to wonder if Arden was going to be able to summon the courage to change a pod on her own for the first time without me or Kelly present. I still had plenty of faith in her so I went about my business and assumed she'd call when she was reading to begin.
But a few moments later, seriously it was just a few minutes, I received these pictures from Arden's Aunt.
Turns out that Arden wasn't talking herself out of it or bereft of hope, she was busy filling the syringe, choosing a site and injecting her canula like a boss.
As you can see in the pictures Arden, besides being super cute, is a person who trusts herself and is completely capable. It seems as if my being with her in the past during site changes might have been be more of a crutch, than that of support.
Without someone there to bail her out, Arden showed no signs of self doubt as she moved swiftly and precisely through the steps of changing her Omnipod insulin pump and did it just as fast and as well as I could have.
After a few more site changes I'll going to begin to include Arden, even more than I do now, in the conversations that I have in my head about insulin dosing and BG management. So much of what I do is not based on math, it's mostly a feeling I get based on trends and recent history. Passing this knowledge on is going to take time and I think it is only going to happen through a lot of repetition - I know that's how I learned all of this.
#DiabetesAndFear don't have to go together! #BeBold #EveryTenYearOldSHouldSleepInAClerksShirt
It's a Diabetes Shoelaces Extravaganza on Arden's Day
Watch the video and then I'll explain...
So like I said in the video the cost of shipping is falling to my family, Usually we'd eat the cost but it's going to be a bit much so when I figure out how to do this... the one provision will be that anyone who wants a pair will have to pay the shipping costs - I'll know how much that will be next week.
Here's the next part. On Monday I'll be speaking with some people from Novo and I'm going to try to get them to see how popular the Novo #LaceUp4Diabetes laces are in the diabetes community. My hope is to talk them into making them available on a much larger scale in the future. With that in mind, it would be a huge help if you took a moment to let Novo know, here in the comments, how much you want the laces!
A huge thank you to Novo Nordisk, my wife Kelly and the great people she works with for giving up their laces for the DOC!
100 Campaign
Earlier this year I traveled to the Dominican Republic to speak to a group of D-Parents. After I arrived on the island I meet countless people who live with inadequate - beyond description - access to diabetes supplies.
Then I met the people who were there to help them - a wonderful group of people who were trying to change the world and I promised one of them that I would come home and tell you about the 100 Campaign. So in the spirit of helping me to keep my promise, please read on.
from 100Campaign.org
The mission of the 100 Campaign is to ensure that 100% of people living with Type 1 diabetes have access to insulin by 2022
Founded in 2012, the 100 Campaign is a global movement committed to tearing down the barriers to access to insulin for all that need it. Disheartened by the lack of global action towards access to insulin, a small team of advocates with experience in diabetes communities in resource poor settings came together to launch the 100 Campaign, with the support of the International Insulin Foundation (IIF).
We are committed to providing resources that move forward the goal of insulin access by 2022. Please contact us if there are specific needs your diabetes community might need.
The 100 Campaign chooses not to receive any funding from the Pharmaceutical industry. Currently the 100 Campaign is not accepting any monetary donations from individuals. Individuals or companies wishing to support the 100 Campaign can do so in-kind. We would also welcome invitation from grant-making organizations. For further information please contact us directly.
I hope you can take a moment to go to their site and find out more about this noble cause.