Saturday, October 29, 2016

It takes a village.



Technological advances in caring for people with type one diabetes has really taken off over the last 5 years. Tom started his pump 8 years ago and we have seen many new things come onto the market that make the management of type one diabetes easier.

That said, it comes with a cost. CGM (continuous glucose monitoring) technology is taking off in leaps and bounds but it doesn't come cheaply. Not only does CGM read blood sugar levels every 5 minutes, it also can be set up to send readings to a carer's phone/pebble watch  anywhere in the world. It can also stop insulin if bsl is dropping too fast or alarm when bsl are rising too fast. Full price for a box of 5 CGM sensors, is $500.00. A sensor is guaranteed to work for at least 6 days but sometimes we have extended the life of the sensor and had them work for 10 days. To pay $100.00 for 6 days would mean that we would need a box of 5 each month. That would equal $6000.00 for one child and $18000 for 3.

 Medtronic though realise that this is pretty un-affordable for most people so they have an offer. Sign up for 12 months of CGM, they will give us the sensors for half price. We did this for Chris last January and it has been the best thing. His bsl's have improved profoundly with the insight CGM gives us. I loved it but I was also aware to sign up all three of our children for CGM, would be pretty hard financially.

I decided to reach out to our local Lions club. I sent them a letter and they invited me to come and talk at their meeting about living with three children with diabetes. After that, they meet and discussed what they could do for us and a couple of weeks ago, they came and presented us with a cheque to help get CGM for all three.

The money has been a God send and I am so grateful for the support the Lions has been able to give us. In September, Tom started on the 640g pump and Medtronic gave us 10 free sensors. When the 10 sensors have been used, we will be using the money from the Lions to start Tom on the 12 month subscription. Amelia will not be on the 640g pump till August next year so I am going to look into getting her onto The Libre once it is approved for under 18 year old in Australia.

I am truly humbled by the care many people have shown for us and for our children's health. Apart from the Lions donation and the 10 free sensors from Medtronic, I also had a friend offer me a free computer because she knew we were having problems uploading the children's pumps with our computers that run on windows 10. Without having weekly uploads, it is harder to manage and see where changes need to be made. We will get the new computer tomorrow and I am looking forward to uploading all the pumps and seeing what changes we can make to get better control for all three.

I am closing this post with a clip Today Tonight ran a year ago about the Danii Foundation. Danii Foundation has been on the top of my lists of help since the middle of last year. Thank you to the Danii Foundation, Medtronic. Lions Port Augusta and Toni and Bob for all your support. We really appreciate the help you have given us in looking after our children and their health needs.



Thursday, June 02, 2016

Throw Back Thursday.



 Back in January, Steve and I celebrated 25 years of marriage. Our anniversary was on the day after we returned from our cruise so we didn't do anything for it then. 

We came to Adelaide on the long weekend in March and had a party with family and friends. 

The photo above is us at the party. It was a great day, celebrating with family and friends. 



Here we are, 25 years ago on the day. We look so young. Our wedding day is one of my fondest memories. I look back and remember how happy I was that Steve had chosen me. 

We have had a great marriage. Our 8 children are all a blessing to us. Even with the ups and downs, I am really happy that we have travelled the road we have. With 8 children there has been plenty of ups and downs but I have always had Steve by my side to help. He really has been the greatest blessing in my life. I really look forward to many more years of wedded bliss. 

Thursday, May 26, 2016

Diabetes Family Cruise.

Hello friends.

During the Summer holidays, we went on the best family holiday ever. We went on a cruise to Moreton Island.  The cruise was run by the Danii Foundation and it was an Type 1 diabetes educational cruise. Here is the promotional video from it:



It was the best 5 days of my life as a diabetes mum. I meet other families that know exactly what it is like to have children suffering from this disease. I made a lot of friends and came away refreshed and invigorated to help my children even more. They also seemed to enjoy it and get a lot out of it. It was great to have something positive to do because of their diabetes. I think before the cruise, I was really feeling burnt out from the constant care and never having a break.

Since the cruise, I am trying to be a bit more ordered in looking after our children. I have focused on making everything routine. I am getting there and I have seen an improvement in my teenagers in looking after themselves.

If you are a family in Australia with type one children or are a type one adult, I highly recommend going on this cruise. They happen yearly. Next year, the cruise is not till September/October 2017. This is just before Tom has his year 12 exams so we are  not sure if we will go yet but if we can. we will.
 Tom, Chris and Joe exploring the boat before we left Circular Quay. 
 Amelia and I. 
 Amelia and Steve 
 Joseph had his face painted on the first day while Steve and I were in conferences. 
 Chris did too. 
Tom, Amelia, Chris Joe and I. 

Please pray for a cure for Type One Diabetes

Please pray for a cure for Type One Diabetes
Our sons Tom and Christopher and our daughter Amelia are type one diabetics. We pray everyday for a cure. We do not want one by illicit means though so don't support any organisation that contributes to Embryonic Stem Cell Research. Click on the photo of Tom and Christopher to read about why I am against using Embryonic Stem cells for a cure.

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Australian Catholic Homeschoolers.

Tom's and Christopher's insulin pump

New book: Faith Quilt.

New book: Faith Quilt.
All proceeds from sales of "FAITH QUILT" going to "Casa de Amor Children's Homes in Bolivia" and "Sarah's Covenant Homes in India" Two truly extraordinary organisations that take in the most needy children and give them a place of love and security to call home.