Type 1 Diabetes Awareness Day

I have been reading a blog lately that details the daily life of a 30-something year old father and husband with Type 1 Diabetes. He writes rather frequently about his daily experience with insulin, the pump, testing his blood sugar and being a father (of a newly diagnosed Type 1 Diabetic) and husband. Yesterday I visited his blog and came to find out that TODAY is actually Type 1 Diabetes Awareness Day.

For those of you who don't know, this man's story is quite similar to someone I know VERY well...MY HUSBAND. He is also a 30-something year old father and husband living every day with Type 1 Diabetes. (Matthew would probably not want me writing a detailed account of his dealings with Type 1 Diabetes, but since today is "Awareness Day," hopefully he will make an exception).

For those of you not too familiar with Type 1 Diabetes, or Juvenile Diabetes, here is the "textbook" account of what it is: Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease. An autoimmune disease results when the body's system for fighting infection (the immune system) turns against a part of the body. In diabetes, the immune system attacks the insulin-producing beta cells in the pancreas and destroys them. The pancreas then produces little or no insulin. A person who has type 1 diabetes must take insulin daily to live. Here is a picture of what it "looks" like:

Matthew was diagnosed with Juvenile (Type 1) Diabetes at the young age of 9. When most 9 year old children are running around, riding their bike and just being kids, Matthew spent time in the hospital dealing with this "life-changing" news and learning how to live a new life as a "diabetic." For those of you who don't know much about this disease, there is NO cure (or at least NOT yet) and it really is life altering. Imagine having to think about EVERY single thing you put into your body every day, every week, every year! Knowing how many carbohydrates are in every single thing you eat or drink. Pricking yourself with a needle so many times each day that you can't even count, just to test your blood sugar. Giving yourself at least 5 shots of insulin a day, if not more. Well, this is the reality of someone living daily with this disease and they NEVER get a vacation from it! It is always there, but hopefully someday a cure will be found and our future generations will be diabetes free!

Please note that Matthew is NOT a patient, he is NOT disabled and he does NOT let this disease define him. I think if anything this disease has made him the STRONGEST man I know. From such an early age in his life he has had to put his health first. And today that still holds true. However, he did not let himself miss out on anything. He played football and wrestled in high school and played rugby in college.

A month or so before Caroline was born Matthew had an low-blood sugar attack. I will spare you all the details, which will make Matthew happy, but let's just say he ended up in an ambulance and in the ER. His blood sugar was so low, that it barely registered on a blood sugar monitor. I was 8 months pregnant and had to find my husband nearly unresponsive on the floor with a large laceration from his fall. It was the scariest moment of my life and one that was life-changing for me and him. I was able to get him juice to bring up his blood sugar while the paramedics arrived. He ended up with 20+ stitches and an interesting story to tell his friends and family. This experience prompted a very important discussion for Matthew and me. A discussion about the insulin pump. An insulin pump is a medical device used for the administration of insulin. This pump is an alternative to multiple daily injections of insulin by an insulin syringe or pen, which is what Matt had been using since he was 9. The pump is attached to the body and only needs to be changed every 3 days. This completely eliminates all those shots he was taking, however, he still would have to check his blood sugar multiple times throughout the day. Matthew ultimately made the decision to switch to the pump. So he and I went to "pump school" a few weeks before Caroline was due to learn all about it. And I feel it has truly made a difference in our lives. I find that it helps him better regulate his blood sugar and amount of insulin he puts into his body. I am less worried all the time, that's for sure. He will always have highs and lows when it comes to his blood sugar, but I think this decision to go with the "next generation" of diabetes control was a very smart move for Matthew and our family.

Here is what Matt's insulin pump looks like (not actual picture of Matt):

Being that today is Type 1 Diabetes Awareness Day, I wanted to give you a glimpse into the daily life of someone with this disease. If you would like more information on the disease, please visit the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundations website at http://www.jdrf.org/. They are the leading charitable foundation and advocate for Type 1 Diabetes research worldwide. Their mission is to find a CURE for diabetes and its complications through the support of research. And if you feel compelled to support the fight, you can donate to JDRF by clicking here.

HAPPY TYPE 1 DIABETES AWARENESS DAY!

Here is an amazing video featuring a young girl and her life with Type 1 Diabetes.