T1D Talks

Hearing of a tornado watch has always been scary for me. Add in living in a camper full time, with a type 1 diabetic and all her supplies, makes it even scarier. Plus her 2 brothers, one being only a year old.

We’ve packed up quite a bit of supplies and going to head over to the shower house if it gets too bad.

I pray for safety for everyone this may effect, along with all supplies staying safe.

What do you do to prepare for a tornado?

Today we are spotlighting Aspen! This is what her mom, Mandy Douglas, wanted to share!

“On May 30th; it was Aspen’s 5-year diagnosis anniversary, we are so proud to finally share the children’s book we created together; it’s the most personal story that I will ever write in my lifetime. It shows realtime photos through diagnosis and beyond. Now live around the world on Amazon;

T1D Doesn’t Define Me; It’s My Superpower! 🩷💪🏻📖🦸🏼‍♀️

We wrote this for every family walking through a new diagnosis and wondering how they’ll survive it. We want you to know you are not alone, and there is still so much beauty and life on the other side of this diagnosis.
This community is strong, and we are all in this together. 💪🏻
Please share to help spread awareness!
Aspen — thank you for showing me what true bravery looks like every single day. I am endlessly proud of you. Forever my warrior!!🩷💪🏻♾️”

Please share, and give some love to them in the comments! This is pretty amazing! I hope we’re able to read the book some day!

*If you want to share something to be on the spotlight next, message the page, or email at [email protected] *

Type 1 diabetes doesn’t take time off. Not even for a fun day at the lake.

Her pod falling off in the lake was a reminder of the heavy, invisible backpack she carries at such a young age.

She just wanted to play and have fun like the other kids in the lake, but had to stop for an unexpected site change. As you can see, she gave that a thumbs down. 👎

What you don’t see is the frustration she had in the start, or the bravery she showed with the rest. The “it’s okay mom, it’s not your fault” and “I wish I didn’t have to have type 1 diabetes anymore” carry a lot of weight no child should hold.

It’s a heartbreak seeing your child go through so much, but seeing the smile return and the joy begin again reminds us that T1D might be part of our journey, but it doesn’t stop her!

A few days ago we were at the beach and I wanted to do a finger poke because her cgm kept being in signal loss since she was in the water.

Right when I was about to put the blood on, the numbers popped back on her cgm, but still doesn’t hurt to double check. I was SO surprised to see it exactly the same! I looked at it for like 2 minutes 😆

And yes, this is a little high and right at the end of our target, but she came down decently quick. She had just had a little snack before going back in because we were trying to avoid going low. Also sometimes she spikes with activity before going down, even without food. But numbers have been pretty great the last few days, considering.

Have you ever had your cgm match finger stick perfectly?

Throwback Thursday 💕

3 years ago we went to the beach for the first time after diagnosis.

I remember being so scared thinking about all of the what ifs.

What if her dexcom quits reading and we don’t know she went too low.
What if she has to have a shot (still mdi at the time) and sand or lake water contaminate the area and make her sick.
What if her dexcom falls off and she has to have an extra poke (these were so rough for almost a year)
What if we didn’t bring enough snacks (even though we had half a backpack full)
What if her insulin gets too hot.
What if she drinks lake water and gets sick.

And so on.
What if. What if. What if.

But honestly? It was one of the best days we had in so long.
So much laughter.
So many smiles.
So much of just being a child and making that the priority.
Being mommy instead of “doctor”.

There was still worry for my momma brain, as there always will be. But in those hours we were there, the waves lifted the heaviness we carry with T1D, and reminded me that I can hold both fear and joy in the same moment.

I know I’ve been absent lately.

Little life update : honestly, things have been heavy. We had to leave the only home 2 of my children have ever known, due to them getting lead poisoning. For the last month and a half we have been living in a camper full time while trying to find a home. It hasn’t been the easiest thing, especially with T1D in the mix.

We’ve had some big learning curves, a lot of stress, and some obstacles we weren’t prepared for. But we’ve also had some amazing moments as we do our best during this adjustment.

We’ve had to find space for T1D supplies in an already small space, insulin storage in a mini fridge, and site changes in an area as big as some peoples hallways. But our little girl is enjoying things more now, even with the highs and lows of stress, weather, and unpredictabilities.

We’re still figuring out our routine. And to anyone else navigating a massive life change while keeping a pancreas alive on life support: I see you. Thank you for still being here 💙

‼️The meeting for tonight has been cancelled‼️

The next meeting will take place July 6th, 5:30pm.

We hope everyone is doing well 💙

Hey y’all 👋

I’m sorry for being MIA, life has been heavy lately with a million things going on. I’ll be back to posting and sharing hopefully this week. I’ve missed talking with everyone!

Hope all has been well 💙
If you want to share about your week, the comments will be open 🥰 good, bad, ugly, we’re here to listen!

A lot of people don’t realize that type 1 diabetes doesn’t have an age requirement.

Babies, teens, adults, it can show up at any time and any age. Each diagnosis can still be hard.

How old were you or your child at diagnosed?

‼️DKA awareness‼️

4 days before diagnosis.

Looking back I can see how sick she looks.
She had lost pounds that were noticeable.
She wasn’t staying awake very much, she was so tired.
She started peeing sooo much and having more diaper changes than usual.
Drinking cup after cup of water.
Stomach pains that had her in tears.

All things we didn’t know were signs of DKA.
4 days later and they almost wouldn’t see her, just telling me she probably had the flu. I insisted or said I was going elsewhere and her pediatrician diagnosed her within 5 minutes of seeing her.

Her finger poke was 471. A1C was 12. We drove 45 minutes to the ER and had blood work done and then got airlifted to a hospital with an open PICU bed. This was absolutely the most traumatic experience of my entire motherhood.

DKA is a life threatening medical emergency. Knowing the signs can be life saving.

If you or your child has ever been in DKA, what symptoms did you experience or notice first?