Day 24- What I Want People to Know

Day 24's prompt was to write a TV episode and tell you what I want you to know about Diabetes.

I'm gonna cheat since I'm playing catch up.  National D-Blog day 2 years ago, the prompt was to write about 6 Things You Want People to Know about your Diabetes.

I'll just repost it here  in case you want to revisit it you can see it here

Here is a copy and paste of the 6 Things

Tuesday, November 9, 2010

6 Things I Want You to Know about Korky and her Diabetes

It's the 9th annual D-Blog Day and this year's topic is '6 things you want people to know about Diabetes'. So here goes.



1. Just because it says Sugar Free, does not mean my kid can have it without permission from me, a finger poke, or a bolus.

2. Just because it's got sugar in it does not mean that my kid can't have it at all.


3. Korky's Type 1 Diabetes is not the same as your Grandma's Diabetes, in fact Kork's Great-Grandma (my Grandma) has Diabetes, and Korky's paternal Grandpa (Brian's dad), and paternal Great-Uncle (Brian's uncle) had it too. She didn't get it from them, they have Type 2, big difference.

4. Yes, my kid loves candy and sugar and treats, when she was little like 2 or 3 she'd wake up in the middle of the night, like 2am, sneak some candy and turn on the TV. That is not the reason she developed Type 1 Diabetes, nope, it wasn't because she ate too much candy. She just happens to be born with a faulty pancreas. Again, she was born with a faulty pancreas, we did not damage it.


5. If she says she needs to check her BG, then she needs to, she's not doing it for attention. If she falls asleep or goes droopy all of a sudden, then something is wrong. Give her some kind of sugar, then check her BG, it can be scary, but try to stay calm. You'll have time to freak out or break down later. If she starts 'freaking out', crying uncontrollably, fighting with you, yelling at you and yes even hitting you, then again something is wrong, talk to her in a calm voice, check her BG or get her to do it, give her a correction, call me and let her lay down for a rest. Don't let it hurt your feelings, she never remembers what she did, she didn't mean it, she still loves you.


6. I may seem calm, I may seem like Diabetes doesn't affect me, I may seem like I'm not overwhelmed, like I'm not thinking about it all the time, like I'm not completely freaked out. It's just a facade, I am always thinking about D, I am always worried. I struggle to trust Korky with herself and to let her have some independence, in fact I struggle with letting anyone take care of Korky, even my own husband her dad. I know he should be my number 1 and I do trust him, but I still struggle with it internally. I am not sure if it's trust I struggle with or fear or a combination of both.


7. I have one more.... Diabetes doesn't define Korky, or me either for that matter. It doesn't have to take center stage. There's more to us, but on the flip side, I appreciate your concern, your willingness to learn and you're desire to help us.

D-Blog Day 2012

Today is D-Blog day, it was started on November 9th, 2005 during Diabetes Awareness Month, to help unite diabetes bloggers and to create awareness about Diabetes.  You can find more info  here.   I participated in D-Blog day the first time back in 2010, 6 things I want You to know about Korky.   This years prompt is Choose a form of Media Outlet to write an open letter to, such as NY Times, CNN, Local/National Newspapers, TV and why it is so important for them to let the world know that diabetes is more than just being overweight and having too much sugar. It is about reporting stories about Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes. Let them know what kind of things you would like them to write about. If there are specific articles or reports they got wrong, let them know about it! Let’s get it right!

Dear American TV,

Why do you insist on making fun of people with Diabetes.  Did you know that over 25 million people in the US have diabetes, around 8.3% of the population.  Not all of those people got diabetes by laying around on the couch, watching TV, drinking soda, and eating cupcakes!  Not all of those people have had or will have a leg amputated.  Some of those people with diabetes are kids, and they didn't get it because their parents let them have a sweet treat every now and then, they certainly didn't get it from a Happy Meal at McDonalds. 

You develop Diabetes when your body either stops producing insulin or when your body builds up resistance to insulin.  It is a serious chronic illness!  There are many different types of diabetes.  Do your research, when you report about diabetes, report about all types of them, not just one. 

Why do you insist on painting the country pink in October, and then forgetting about everything else for the rest of the year.  Diabetes has a month too, its November, devote some time in November to educating about the differences, of course its good to talk about the preventions but when you talk about preventing diabetes, tell the world which diabetes you are trying to prevent.  Take into consideration the children and adults with Type 1 Diabetes, the ones whose immune system turned on them.  Take into consideration the ones who have hereditary diabetes. 

No more jokes on talk shows, late night shows, and news shows about sugar highs or amputations.  That stuff scares my kid who has diabetes.  You don't make fun of cancer, mentally handicapped, or other illness, so don't make fun of diabetes either.  It is anything but fun!

If you're going to talk about, research it, get your facts straight, make a well-informed piece.

Thank you, Amanda

Now, for the Wego Health NHBPM prompts for today, they were to make a care package for your fellow patients, or to tell a descriptive story about a memory. 

Yesterday I wrote a little about Kortnie's diagnosis in Dear Diabetes or you could read about her Diagnosis Story for some of my memories.

As far as a care package for our fellow patients, I actually can't really think of anything very nifty right now.  When Kortnie was in the hospital, it was a children's hospital.  They had all kinds of neat things there for her, they had the Disney channel, movies, video games, board games, and books they could bring to your room.  They also had a game room, arts and crafts room, and even a school room you could go to for awhile if you wanted, even a playground.  The people at Child Life brought her a Bag of Hope from JDRF, which had a Rufus bear in it, Rufus also has diabetes, they also brought her a couple of blood sugar meters and skins for them.  They let her pick out a medic alert bracelet too.  They had free wifi there too, so that was nice for me, I could update worried friends and family through facebook (no smart phone for me back then, they were still fairly new), and I could research Type 1 when she was resting or watching tv.  They gave us some books about diabetes, a whole binder full of information, great training, and free samples of meters and test strips.  They gave us toothbrushes and toothpaste, shampoo, conditioner, soap, towels, and washrags, they had a lounge with a Keurig type coffee machine, tv, magazines, a refrigerator, microwave, and a shower for us parents.  The hospital was great to us.  I can't think of anything else they could have done for us. 

If I heard about a newly diagnosed family in the hospital.  I might bring them some food for the parents, tv dinners or something they could keep in the refrigerator and microwave in the lounge.  I might bring the kids a new pair of PJ's, for a girl some nail polish.  I would definitly bring them a list of helpful websites, groups on facebook, organizations, and blogs.  The biggest thing I would bring them is love, support, and prayers. 

Diabetes Fact of the Day
Sugar free is not necessarily good for a Type 1 Diabetic, sugar free candy and treats are usually filled with sugar alcohol which can cause tummy issues, and they almost always have just as many carbs as the non-sugar free version. 

Go take the Big Blue Test if 20,000 tests get logged by World Diabetes Day on November 14th, $100,00 will be donated by Roche Diabetes Care to humanitarian diabetes chairites around the world which will deliver lifesaving insulin and supplies to children around the world.  You don't have to have diabetes to do the test.  For a non-diabetic, all you need to do is 14 minutes of activity.  Dancing, Running, Aerobics, Zumba, Yoga, Weight Lifting, Swimming, Walking, Playing at the Park with you kids, Bicycling, anything.  It only takes a minute or less.  Go log your activity and help save a child here! 

6 Things I Want You to Know about Korky and her Diabetes

It's the 9th annual D-Blog Day and this year's topic is '6 things you want people to know about Diabetes'. So here goes.



1. Just because it says Sugar Free, does not mean my kid can have it without permission from me, a finger poke, or a bolus.





2. Just because it's got sugar in it does not mean that my kid can't have it at all.





3. Korky's Type 1 Diabetes is not the same as your Grandma's Diabetes, in fact Kork's Great-Grandma (my Grandma) has Diabetes, and Korky's paternal Grandpa (Brian's dad), and paternal Great-Uncle (Brian's uncle) had it too. She didn't get it from them, they have Type 2, big difference.





4. Yes, my kid loves candy and sugar and treats, when she was little like 2 or 3 she'd wake up in the middle of the night, like 2am, sneak some candy and turn on the TV. That is not the reason she developed Type 1 Diabetes, nope, it wasn't because she ate too much candy. She just happens to be born with a faulty pancreas. Again, she was born with a faulty pancreas, we did not damage it.





5. If she says she needs to check her BG, then she needs to, she's not doing it for attention. If she falls asleep or goes droopy all of a sudden, then something is wrong. Give her some kind of sugar, then check her BG, it can be scary, but try to stay calm. You'll have time to freak out or break down later. If she starts 'freaking out', crying uncontrollably, fighting with you, yelling at you and yes even hitting you, then again something is wrong, talk to her in a calm voice, check her BG or get her to do it, give her a correction, call me and let her lay down for a rest. Don't let it hurt your feelings, she never remembers what she did, she didn't mean it, she still loves you.





6. I may seem calm, I may seem like Diabetes doesn't affect me, I may seem like I'm not overwhelmed, like I'm not thinking about it all the time, like I'm not completly freaked out. It's just a facade, I am always thinking about D, I am always worried. I struggle to trust Korky with herself and to let her have some independance, in fact I struggle with letting anyone take care of Korky, even my own husband her dad. I know he should be my number 1 and I do trust him, but I still struggle with it internally. I am not sure if it's trust I struggle with or fear or a combination of both.


7. I have one more.... Diabetes doesn't define Korky, or me either for that matter. It doesn't have to take center stage. There's more to us, but on the flip side, I appreciate your concern, your willingness to learn and you're desire to help us.