Hannah: Our Entertainer . . . for sure!

This is what will later be considered.... blackmail.

This is one alley of entertainment dished into our family.

The youngest of the type one's, Hannah, sometimes likes to over exaggerate different situations.

And by over exaggerate, I mean this...

E-mail From Hannah to Ben:

"Hi Benny Boy,

Guess what, it was 8:00 at the time when I felt a slush of deafening weakness, insanity and quite undeliberate shakiness arose from the bed I had rested in, and trembled down the cold, darkened stairs.

But wait, was someone really down there? YES, mother was awaiting at the first level to help my dying body.

Soo, this is me now, eating "Kap'n Crunch" and gulping "100% Orange Pineapple Apple Juice" ...

I know, great. :)

But this was nothing compared to what I forgot to tell you, I believe that it was like the second night after you had left, like Tuesday or maybe it was Monday.

But, it was 3:10 in the morning when I felt like my whole body had exploded on the inside...

SYMPTOMS

~shakiness

~scared

~hard to walk

~tired

~VERY weak

Horrible, right! Well, I got up, got a juce and ohhh, I forgot my number was like 60 or 58 or something like that, but  Igot a juice and a HUGE bowl of cereal! (Frosted flakes)

But, the cool thing is that my body woke me up. Ben, I could've DIED!!!!!!!!!

Soo, yeah.

Well, I love you and miss you... A lot! 

Love,

Hannah, Lilly (Dog) and Caroline Noel. (American Girl Doll) :) "

I copied this word for word.

Just to show you a "snippet" of my fun little sister.

She sure keeps all of us boys on our toes! 

Whenever there is an argument between any one of us boys, she always wins! 

I hope you enjoyed this, because I sure did! ;)

Snow is falling as is my Blood Sugar!

I have finally experienced what a "low" felt like.

Technically, I wasn't low. 

79. 

When you've been up shoveling snow since 3:30 in the morning...

You're low. 

I don't enjoy the overall feeling of my blood sugars dropping, but it sure beats being high all the time!

There is something surreal about working in a snowstorm.

It's quiet, peaceful, and sorta comforting. 

For me, I can work in the snow for hours and it still is fun. 

I'm not that way with all work... I hate meticulous jobs. (office work, woodworking, ext.)

I have NO patience for them. 

(Those are the kind of jobs that would push me over the edge of sanity.) 

Well, I have been working for 10 hours. 

Came home for some good ole Mountain Dew! (don't tell my doctor ;)

Now that my cup is full, I'm heading back to the job!

Everyone drive safe and enjoy the snow!

. . . 

I love my job! :)

Looking back... Moving forward.

Three years.

It has seemed much longer! 

Today marked the start of Hannah's fourth year as a type one.

We have had three children diagnosed in three years. 

On the day of Hannah's diagnosis, our life (as we knew it) changed forever.

An overdose of information and management skills were drilled into our heads. 

At the time, life seemed impossible.

We could see nothing but type one diabetes. 

Through each diagnosis, we have gone through a new and different snowstorm.

Some may think that after a diagnosis of type one, a family would collapse and loose hope.

For my family, I don't think we could go back to a life without type one.

Although we lost certain aspects of freedom, we gained a certain closeness in our family.

We may have lost freedoms others have, but we gained what many don't have.

 True, there are restrictions . . . 

I can't outgrow it, it's lifelong.

I can't control it, it's unpredictable.

I can't ignore it, it's fatal.

I can't look ahead of today, it's overwhelming.

But...

I can live.

To me, that erases all the restrictions. The fact that I am alive. 
Over a hundred years ago, my parents would have buried three children. Every time I get a shot I thank God for insulin.

I can hope.

Look at the strides research has made! Who knows what they will uncover next.

I can trust God.

Trust . . .

 Type one cannot be avoided. You cannot do anything right to not get it. You cannot do anything wrong to get it.

It is God-given.

God only entrusts hard trials to those He knows can handle it.

He also only gives enough grace for today. Whenever I try to look ahead of today, I find myself overwhelmed and discouraged. 

Something the Lord reminded me when I found out I had type one was Isaiah 41:10, 
"Fear thou not for I am with thee, be not dismayed for I am thy God. I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of My righteousness."

Knowing that God is in control is all that I need. 

It's all anybody needs.

On our own, we are helpless. 

That's when you hear stories of parents divorcing or sending their children to foster homes. For them, life is over.


 Diabetes is too much. They're right.

It is too much . . .

without God.

Strength through Love: Family.

Today my eldest brother, Ben, left for choir tour. I already miss him.

Sad day...

I find it interesting how I can draw strength differently from each and every family member.

I don't think I will ever be able to erase the feeling of a doctor telling me I have type one.

Dad.

It was just me and my dad at the hospital when I found out. If it had been any other family member, I know I wouldn't had handled the situation as well as I did. 

The room was small, the doctor- unfamiliar. My normal pediatric doctor had left an hour before I found out my blood sugar was 500. 

My dad was positive the blood sugar meter was wrong. 

Technically, it had to be.

We had blood work done to make sure.

While waiting in the doctor office, I was terribly afraid that my diagnosis would tip Mom over the edge of sanity.

 I mean that.

I don't know if it was shock, but my dad and I were telling every doctor and nurse not let my mom know. We were concerned that a doctor would call our home number to inform my mom of the blood work tests. 

Thankfully, that didn't happen. That would have been bad.

(Sorry, that was an important rabbit trail. :) 

So there I sat in the doctor's office . . . 

I started to get choked up with the overwhelming pressure thinking of type one.

That's when I was so thankful Dad was with me. 

Dad was strong. He was the one who upheld the family through the trial. 

If Dad would have cracked - the family would have crumbled.

Mom.

She's the glue that holds all of us together. Without Mom, the whole house would fall apart. Everything would be a wreck and all of us boys.... would have killed each other!

She manages the type ones. She wakes up at two in the morning to check each of our blood sugars. She helps us when were sick, and loves us when we are weak. 

With Dad at work and constantly under pressure, Mom bears the weight and responsibility of the diabetics while he is gone. (That's why I was scared she would tip her over the edge. :)

I know our family couldn't function without her.

Ben.

He's the eldest. 

The leader. The thinker. The peacemaker. 

Ben is the one who I wanted to see when I was first in the hospital. Ben and I are close. 

He helps give me hope when life is overwhelming. Things to look forward to. 

Type one is very overwhelming if you look past today. That is the only amount of time God gives us strength for... today.

I go to college with him every week for trumpet lessons. That's what is nice about lessons, I get lots of time with my older brother. 

Time to talk and solve the world's problems. 

Samuel.

He's the enforcer. The workhorse. The employer. 

I love working with Samuel.

That was one thing I love looking forward to ... work. 

I get lots of time with Samuel during the summer and winter. Working landscaping, mowing accounts, or plowing out customers. 

That is what makes us close. Time to work together, and grow up together. Help each other with our strengths or weaknesses. Competing to push ourselves in order to prove who is the strongest.

Yeah. Thankfully he is older.

Because you can imagine who wins... every time

Being with him is what makes hard work fun.

Daniel and Hannah.

I put these to together because they are the group I have recently joined.

Entertaining. Funny. Resourceful. 

Although I am older than both, when it comes to type one, I'm  the "new kid on the block".

They both make hard things like type one - humorous. 

Since they're younger, they push me to be stronger and braver. 

Sometimes they look up to me, and I get to look up to them. 

They are my examples, even my heroes.

That is what helps me to live with type one. 

An amazing family : strong and loving parents, with amazing brothers and a little sister to top it.

A person couldn't ask for better....

In fact, a person couldn't get better! 

Man's Day

There is something exciting about going to work at 3:45 A.M. 

If there is one thing I love to do, its working for my brother.

That is one thing I am very thankful for - the opportunity to work.

I work for my brother's business - SLS. (Facebook)

I love the landscaping industry. Due to the fact that it is pretty physically demanding, I was afraid I couldn't continue working.

Had I been the first child diagnosed, I probably wouldn't be able to work for my brother.

When Hannah was diagnosed three years ago, my parents were extremely cautious in any of her activity. 

In the beginning, Hannah was practically housebound for at least six months. From going out to eat, or going for a walk, our entire family was very uptight. We were always afraid she might pass out at any given moment. 

After Daniel's diagnosis, Dad and Mom began to slowly relax. Once in a while we were allowed to play soccer or go for trips to town. (without Dad or Mom)

Three years later...

 And I'm out plowing snow... three weeks after my diagnosis... at 4:00 in the morning... in town...  with six inches of snow... and my parents asleep at home. 

 Yes, very thankful.

The only down side is that I had to test . . . a lot.

I was testing ever 1/2 - 1 hour. I monitored my blood sugar to see the response to work.

Thankfully all has gone well so far. 

To me testing is just as inconvenient as shots. 

As for my very experienced sister, she filled me in on testing my blood.

In the hospital, Hannah learned that she could loose feeling in her fingers from testing her blood.

For most kids, that would scare them.

 Hannah has grown up with four older brothers. (that has done something to her :)

She thinks to loose feeling in her fingers would be really cool. She shows off to me by poking her callused finger eight or more times in one spot. 

...

Yeah, my fingers are inexperienced. 

Shots Shots Shots

I am definitely looking forward to the pump.

Definitely. 

This past week my numbers have been out of whack, resulting in lots of shots. 

Usually I should only be getting about 4-5 shots a day. 

Not me. Guess I'm special. :)

On average I have had 10-12 shots a day. For the past two weeks. 

That's what makes type one interesting... It's totally unpredictable. 

I have been pretty high for a while. We upped my long-acting insulin, which has helped my morning sugars come in at a good number. 

Only problem is... it's uphill from there. Very uphill.

I'll tell you one thing for sure. High numbers all day... make for an ugly day.

Indefinitely.  

Using the sliding scale, I have given a "correction" (insulin injection) for every time I'm over 200. Technically, that should stabilize my blood sugars out.

Technically.

Due to the fact that my family now has three type ones, one would come to the conclusion that we have this diabetes disease down to an art.

Technically... we know everything.

Realistically... from my point of view. Type 1 it unpredictable. 

Maybe it's just were I am at right now. 

One bright spot in all these shots... 

The more I give, the better I am at giving them! 

....

P. S. - 

When living with Type one, I always make sure of one thing.

Optimism may be weak... but it will always be present!

My Life as a Snow Globe

After the initial shock of my diagnosis, my mom shared something with me that I'll never forget.

A new life of type one is like a snow globe.

When you shake a snow globe, what do you see?

Snow, snow, and more snow. For a brief moment you may see the faint outline of an object inside.

Snow is type one in the life of a snow globe. 

After a diagnosis all you can see ... is snow. It seems like that is all that you can think about. All that you know.

It may seem like an eternity, but eventually, all the snow settles to the bottom.

Thats when you see the beauty the snow globe truly holds.

Although the snow is always part of the snow globe, it doesn't define the special object inside.

Type one is part of me, it will always be part of me.

 But it doesn't define who I am, or what I can be. 

Trigger to Type 1?

December 28th 2012. 

I entered the surgery room for the first time. Although heavily drugged I remember it was big, white, and cold. It was chilling... literally. 

According to my doctors my femur decided to create a problem, kinda like my pancreas. Except this problem was fixable, thankfully.

A 2"x2" section of my bone dislodged. I had noticed the pain two years ago, but decided the pain was just from growing. Due to the fact that the dislodged bone didn't have much life left, I headed into the surgery room for my first operation. My doctor worked his way into my leg, attached the loose bone with screws, and did the process of micro-fracture.

 What is micro-fracture? You may ask. ( I did :)

Micro-fracture: the surgery is performed by arthroscopy, after the joint is cleaned of hard and deadened cartilage. Through the use of an awl (a surgical pointed spike), the surgeon proceeds to create tiny fractures in the subchondral bone plate. Blood and bone marrow (which contains stem cells) seep out of the fractures, creating a blood clot that releases cartilage-building cells. The micro-fractures are treated as an injury by the body, which is why the surgery results in new, replacement cartilage. My surgery took over four hours. Total recovery time: six months. 

I didn't like that part. 

Thankfully, I was allowed to go weigh bearing as of two days ago.
Definitely loving life without a bulky brace and agitating crutches! Sweet freedom. 

So now for my hypothesis.

During my stay (after my type one diagnosis) at the UW Madison Hospital, the doctors considered that fact that maybe my surgery brought on type one. They believe that the stress of the surgery brought out the dormant disease. 

In November of 2012, I had blood work done. My A1C was considered perfect, 6.1. 

I don't know, I find it all very interesting. 

I also found a very informative link - Trauma as a trigger to type 1. 


Hmmm ...



Very interesting.

Diabetic Doodle = Sick Day

Welcome to my blog!

My name is Caleb. I am seventeen years old, and I am newly diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes. Throughout this blog, I would like to shed light to those who have never heard of type 1, and give hope for newly diagnosed or struggling type 1 diabetics!

For starters, here is a picture of my family.

(Back Row) Samuel (20) Dad, Mom, Benjamin (22)

(Front Row) Caleb* (Me), Hannah*, Daniel*

*=Type 1 Trio :)

Three years ago my youngest sibling, Hannah, was diagnosed with type 1 at nine years old. Eight months following, Daniel was also diagnosed. As of this past week, I was diagnosed with type 1. We presently claim the title of "The Three Musketeers". I look forward to seeing what the Lord will do through this trial He has entrusted in my family's life.

Have a good night!