Going Solo

I'm so proud. Gwyneth is fighting for her independence. As we made the video of her first solo shot I was joyful. That night I was devastated. It's hard not to weep for her loss of freedom, the pain, hassle and difficulties of Type 1.

She came home from school today and announced she was going to do it all. From testing her blood to counting her carbs to dosing the insulin and giving the shot. And she did.

She then set her timer and proceeded to make the snack she just gave herself a shot for. It's a lot of work for a peanut butter graham cracker sandwich.

So the silver lining for today was camp. My amazing parents are paying tuition for our entire family to visit Bear Skin Meadows Diabetes Family Camp next weekend. After her painful Lantus shot and our prayer for a cure, we laughed away her tears by talking about campfires, arts, crafts, sports and tons and tons of Type 1 kids hanging out and having fun.

So here's to Gwyneth's victory. She wrestled Type 1 to the ground today. And she'll do it again tomorrow.

The Evolution of Type 1

We've come a long way.

For the first week or two, every time I tested Gwyneth's blood, Boone, her 5 year old brother, ran out of the room. He would race into his own room shut the door behind him and call out "are you done yet?" the entire time I struggled to extract blood from her tiny, sweet finger. He was so afraid.

Days passed and he would stand in the kitchen and wait patiently for me to be done testing his sister.

Today, Boone asked Gwyneth to teach him how to test her. 

That's the perfect illustration of our process of allowing Type 1 Diabetes into our lives.  At first, stressed and crying over the horror of causing Gwyneth to bleed hourly. Then, the realization that we have to take charge and literally be her pancreas. Then, the desire to make Type 1 palatable and even a cause for joy.

A few days ago Gwyneth said, "The best thing about Diabetes is that you find out just how much people love you and I feel so loved." 

It's true. Friends, Chrissy and Rebecca, came over to play and without being asked they decided not to eat until Gwyneth's insulin shot kicked in so that she wouldn't be eating alone. Mrs. Ybarra, the Administrative Assistant at Gwyneth's school drove 5 hours to Childrens' Hospital LA with us to learn how to give Gwyneth shots 3 times a day every single day. Gwyneth's teacher, Mrs. Dean, spent hours in the hospital with Gwyneth. People pray for Gwyneth all hours of the day and especially at 8pm when she has her painful Lantus shot. The list goes on and on.

So we're thankful. We're still frustrated but we know life is hard for everyone. Everyone has struggles. Ours are just a little more obvious. We're thankful for our countless blessings.

Here's our first attempt at a video. Gwyneth decided that she'd like to take a video of how we test her blood, but she felt that it would be best for everyone to watch the blood test on Rufus the Diabetes Bear first! She's easing you in just as we had to ease ourselves into becoming a Type 1 family. So enjoy Gwyneth's first video! We are learning that we'll have to do videos during the day for lighting but this is a good start. The fact that I was able to upload it gives me cause for celebration! Boone loved testing Rufus the Diabetes Bear so much that he asked me to add "Test my Sister's Blood" to his daily chore list. Again- we're thankful.