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.

Happy Birthday Tom.

Today Tom turns 15.

 New Born with my dad and brother John. 

14 Months old. This photo was taken in Adelaide, just after Tom had been diagnosed. 

 Age 2 and 3. Tom and Amelia were firm friends at this age. The older children always called them the babies and I kept telling them they were not babies. 

Christopher was born when Tom was 5. He loved his brother to pieces. 

Age 6. This is probably his first bike. 

Age 7. I couldn't find one of Tom on his own. I wonder if he had started to become a bit camera shy. 

 Age 8. Tom and Amelia played soccer for the Eagles. 

 Age 9, First Communion. 

 Age 10, Another brother is born. 

 Age 11. 

 Age 12 with a new pump. 

 Age 13. Joining scouts. 

Age 14. Daniel took the 4 boys camping. 

Now at 15, Tom has started working part time at Hungry Jacks. He is our 5th child to start work with them. He will be in year 10 this year at PASS. 

Happy Birthday Tom. Dad and I are proud to be your parents and hope God blesses you abundantly over the years ahead. 

Tom's new backpack.

I made this tonight. It only took me just over a hour and I am really pleased with it. Tom will take his diabetes things everywhere in this bag.

Happy Birthday Tom

I am a day late for this. Yesterday, Tom turned 13. We have another teenager in the house. That makes 4 teenagers total. One already through the teenage years and 3 more to come.

For his birthday Tom got a remote control helicopter and mobile phone. Since he is going to high school, I want him to be able to text bsl to me at lunch and recess time so that I know he is looking after himself. High school is so different from primary school with them moving from teacher to teacher and not really having one teacher in control of it all.

Happy Birthday Tom. Dad and I love you very much and hope you have a great year being 13.

Catching up.

The first weekend of the holidays, we had convoy for kids in Port Augusta. Novita is an organisation that supports Joseph and provides services for him with his left hemiplegia. They invited Joseph to come to ride in a big semi trailer. We took Tom, Amelia, Christopher and Joseph all along for the day. Here is an article our local paper had on it.

Convoy for Kids.
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Three weeks ago now, Steve and I had a night away in Quorn. We went to Endilloe Lodge. Here is a video of it.

It was great to spend the time alone. I just wish we went for two nights instead. We are thinking about going back in January for our anniversary and if we do it will definitely be for two nights.

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While we were there, we watched October baby.



What a great movie this is. It was a bit slow to begin with but the twists and surprises as the movie played made it one of the best movies I have ever seen. If you have the oportunity to see it, do it. You will  not be disappointed. 

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Our local pool opened a couple of weeks ago. Tonight I took Tom, Amelia, Christopher and Joseph for the first time.  

Joseph loved the pool again. It took him a bit longer to get in than it did last year. He seems to dislike the cold a bit more this year but still had lots of fun. He really enjoyed splashing me too. 

Catching up.

So for the last two days, I have read lots of blogs and caught up on news in general. I have read everything in my reader for the last couple of days and left a few comments too.

When I decided to cut back blogging to three times a week, I decided that I would try and find the time to reply to all the comments that were left here. It was something I saw Vicky, Sue and Victor all do and liked that they took the time to reply. I keep on missing replies though. I am hoping that will be one thing that will change now that I have a tablet and internet is much faster and accessible.

Tom's confirmation was a lovely night. Daniel, my mum and Daniel's girlfriend Cassie all came down on the Thursday and stayed until the Sunday. On Saturday, Tom's God parents came as well. I managed to sew Tom's pants and most of his shirt but we had a disaster with the sleeve. I was having trouble getting button holes in the cuff so after unpicking two bad button holes, I decided to put some studs in. I put the first one in the wrong way and realised straight away. I knew we wouldn't be able to fix it in time so we went to Target and got him a new shirt to wear instead. I still don't really know how to get the press stud out so think I will cut a new cuff and remove the other one. I will hopefully get it done during the holidays. My dress was really easy and I managed to finish it off while I was waiting for Daniel, Cassie and Mum to arrive. Photos will come soon. 


Joseph had the botox injections a week ago today. The Rehab specialist said it would take about a week for us to notice much difference. I took him for a physio session the next day and we could already see a marked change. I am really confident now that this treatment was just right for him and that we are going to see improvements in his walking and stance. 


Tomorrow is the last day of term 2 and we have two weeks of holidays. I am looking forward to having time with everyone. Daniel will be coming during the middle weekend and we have a few outings planned. 


Therese. 

Write Hope on your hand.

A friend of mine from facebook has asked people to write hope on their hand today for those suffering from type one diabetes.

I wanted to post it here too.

I am very hopeful that there will be a cure one day for Tom and Christopher. This week has been a difficult week. On Monday night, we couldn't get Tom's bsl down below 20 (360). He had insulin at 6.00pm, 8.00pm, 10.00pm, 12.30am and 3.30am. At 7.30 he was still up at 17(306) so we gave him some breakfast and insulin to cover carbs and high sugar level. By 9.40 he was low at 2.1(37). After treating the hypo, everything seemed good for the rest of the day fortunately.

When we have days like yesterday, I think we need a cure now. I don't want to wait for a cure. I want to have it now. I guess I just need to learn patience.

I also need to remember that we now have the means to  keep the boys diabetes under much better control now. We have glucometers to check blood sugar levels.  Thanks to Frederick Banting, we have insulin to give and now we also have insulin pumps to deliver them. Insulin pumps are a much easier way to manage type one diabetes. Before Tom was on the pump, he had regular trips to hospital. I think since he has had the pump, we have had two stays in hospital.

Every day, treatments are improving and we are getting closer to a cure. Every day we have Tom and Christopher here is a gift. I give thanks that we have the means and treatment today that we do. I also hope for a cure in the future.

Therese.

Nearly Wordless Wednesday.

Today has been really productive. I have made a pair of shorts for Tom, Christopher and Joseph. Here are Tom and Christopher. Joseph would not stand with them to have a photo  taken.

Sent from my HTC

Cooking bandit.

Tom asked to help with tea tonight. I was. making quiche so decided it was a good dish for him to learn. This quiche is so easy, I think he will be able to make it next time without supervision. Here he is with the quiche before they went in the oven.
Tom named himself the cooking bandit. I think it suits him.

Thankful Thursday.

Yet another Thursday that I need to remember the things that are good in our life.

-1-

All the children and Steve ended up getting the gastro that was going through the house. I am the only one that hasn't got it and I am very thankful for that.

-2-

I am thankful for the doctors that look after Tom and that we have the technology to get him well quickly.

-3-

I am thankful for all the people that read about Tom and prayed for us.

-4-

I am thankful that we just have one day and one week left of term 2. Next week will be a bit of a quieter week and I will start planning for term 3.

-5-

I am thankful for the new spelling program that we have for Tom and Amelia. I have always struggled with the best way to teach them spelling and it was certainly their weakest subject. The new program I have seems to really work for them. The program I am using is called The Phonetic Zoo.

Therese.

Wordless Wednesday

Last night at the hospital. today he is much better thank goodness.

The Twister

The sun came out for 5 minutes today so we decided to take the children down to the foreshore to go on some rides and play a game.

Here are Tom, Amelia and Christopher on the twister.

Wordless Wednesday: at the foreshore

First day back.

Today was our first day of term two. We got of to a bit of a rough start but I was happy that the children got everything done that I planned for the day.

We are revamping Tom and Amelia's spelling program. They did a progress test and I was a bit disappointed with their results. I have always wondered how to teach spelling and struggled with the program I have written for them both. It is one of the hardest areas of their curriculum for me. I am getting a new program from IEW called The phonetic zoo. From the reading I have done about it, this program has much more success in teaching children spelling and retaining the information. What I find with the spelling we do at the moment is both Tom and Amelia do well in the test I give at the end of the week, but they are not retaining the information long term. That is the main goal so I need to do a revamp. I am glad I have found a program that I can try for this.

We are going to be doing a unit of work this term on the Saints. The children have all chosen a saint that they will study.

Tom is studying St. Matthew. Amelia is studying St. Helen and Christopher will study St. Christopher.

We will also be learning about Divine Mercy Devotion and St. Faustina.

Our time table is still the same as I posted last year except for kindergarten pickups.

Little Athletics presentation.

Today was Little Athletics presentation. Tom, Amelia and Christopher all won a bronze medal award for their age group.

They also got a certificate for a free chicken wrap and chocolate milk from McDonalds so we called in on the way home for their treats.

A decade with type one diabetes.

Today it is 10 years since we found out Tom has type one diabetes.

I have so many different memories from that day and the week following it.

I remember flying in the flying doctors plane with Tom and there was so much turbulence that I thought I might not live through it.

I remember I was 34 weeks pregnant when we arrived in Adelaide and 35 weeks when we flew back to Millicent.

I remember thinking that my little boy was not going to live. It was the scariest thought I had ever had. I remember turning to Mary and saying to her, how did you sit at the side of the cross with Jesus. I remember asking her to pray for me that I would be just as strong at Tom's side as she was at Jesus side.

I remember wondering if God had abandoned me or if I had abandoned him. I thought things like this only happened to people that didn't do what God wanted them to do.

I remember realising many months later just how much God had helped me through a very difficult time and that God was right there suffering with me.

One of the funny things I remember is talking on the phone to Sam. I said to him,

"Tom will need injections every day for the rest of his life".

Sam responded

"Really?"

Then when I was talking with Steve I could hear him telling Daniel in the background, Tom needs injections every day. Daniel laughed and said

"Oh he does not."

Sam said

"you ask mum."

Every year so far, we have acknowledged the anniversary and had something special to eat. Tonight it was pies and herb bread that Tom choose. We also got some chocolate and vanilla milk.

I think when you have something that impacts so drastically on your life, it is good to acknowledge the good things from it.

A disease like diabetes is hard to live with and it can be hard to see the good.

It is good that the boys can check their blood sugar level regularly and we can do something about the high or low sugar reading.

It is good that they have an insulin pump and can eat anything they want to eat.

It is good that there are so many scientists out there looking for a cure and that they believe one will be found within the boys life time.

Most of all, it is good that our family has all been brought closer together because we all need to help the boys and each other in managing their diabetes.

It has been good for me to be involved in a couple of online groups which have other mothers and fathers with type one children that they can support me and help me when I am feeling down about the disease.

So thanks everyone that has supported us and prayed with us through the tough times.

Some updates from my children.

Today Tom and Amelia did some posts on their blogs. It has been quite a while since they both updated them.

Here is Amelia's update about her friends party this weekend.

Here is Tom's update about our family.

Pumping.

Christopher has adjusted to life with a pump very well. Yesterday we came back home. His sugar level did go up a bit yesterday but we were able to get him adjusted and back in range overnight.

Tom has a medtronic pump so we decided to go with them for Christopher as well.

We found out about the care link logbook while in Adelaide. This will be great for us since we live so far from the boys endocrinologist. We can upload the boys pumps via bluetooth to the computer and then the doctors can go to our page and read all the information we have put in.

This will be a great tool for us to see patterns and see where the boys need adjusting for any insulin intake.

Quick 7

-1-

Summer holidays.

We have one week of holidays left. I wish it was another two. I have many things I want to do but it isn't practical to expect to get them all done. I have a habit of planning a lot of things and doing nothing till I realise my time to get it all done is running out.
That is what has happened these holidays.

I think I needed the break though. I do feel ready for school this year and like we have had a good break.

-2-

Little Athletics.

The children started little athletics last week.

Here is a picture of them getting into the car ready to go last Sunday.



This weekends forecast is for a high of 42 (107) and it may be canceled.

-3-

Marriage.

This Wednesday, Steve and I will celebrate 20 years of marriage.

Our marriage has been very blessed. I love Steve more today than I did when we first got married and I certainly loved him a lot then.

We are not really sure what we will do to celebrate yet.

-4-

oamc.

Since Joseph's birth, I haven't been able to do as much to organise our monthly main meals. I really need to get back to organising it.

Today I sat down and wrote out a list of meals to prepare for the next month. My plan this year is to do a big cook for main meals one fortnight and the following fortnight to cook and bake snacks.

Tomorrow we are cooking :

• spaghetti sauce,
• chicken chow mein,
• pepperoni rolls,
• pasties
• mini quiches.

-5-

Joseph.

Joseph on the way home from Adelaide.
He was not amused at the amount of time we spent in the car.


-6-

Carb counting.

When Tom first went on the pump, we started counting carbs differently to when he was on daily injections. Instead of working on exchanges, we started working in grams. It isn't all that different but with daily injections if Tom ate say 22 carbs we would do insulin for 1 exchange but on the pump, we put in the insulin for the 22 carbs.

I bought a book that was an excellent guide to all foods. It was put out by the Womens Weekly and we could look up pretty much anything in this book and it would tell us the carbs.

This book is no longer in print and we needed a new one since a few pages have fallen out. I was a bit disappointed when I found that.

I have found a good resource to replace the book called Collins Gem Carb Counter.

I am also going to start my own carb book with all our recipes in. I remember most of them and the carb ratio of many meals we have but it would be good to have it all written down.

Any other people have any good carb counting books out there?

-7-

Number block.

Just cannot think of a number 7 to write at the moment so will now close this post with the reminder

Go and visit Jen at Conversion Diary to read other great 7 quick takes.

Therese.

Happy Birthday Tom

Today Tom turns 11. We are going to KFC to celebrate for tea.

Happy Birthday Tom. We are really glad you are a part of our family. You enrich our lives all the more.