LIFE

     Sometimes I let Diabetes be in my thoughts every moment of every day and am always on edge with numbers, carb counts, and activity level. But then there are the times when real life comes along and steals away attention from D. When other things seem more important and D goes on the back burner for a bit. And I am ok with that. It does not mean I do not care about my health and neglect it, but I just go on auto pilot.
     This summer has been full of unexpected twist and turns. Times when I needed my friends and they needed me. Moments when I was content with a BG of 211 because I was an emotional mess when my puppy past away. Days when I was ok with only consuming 50 carbs the entire 24 hours because I was busy helping a friend move. Occurrences when I did not change my lancet for over a week because I could not find a new one. Situations when my emotions and friends were more important than D. This cannot last forever while continuing to be healthy, so D must take center stage once again. Things are never going to be perfect, and D has taught me that. Life is a roller coaster ride as it is, and D just makes it even more interesting.

Beach Adventure

     Managing diabetes is always crazy. The moment you think you have things under control, a new variable comes into the mix and throws everything off again. And that's just life. My numbers were quite steady all spring, but as always, when the heat of summer begins to return, I get a string of low BGs. I switch to different basal rates for the summer to accommodate this change.
   
     The summer adds another layer of D things to worry about, some that I am still learning. I kicked off the summer season by going to visit one of my dearest friends and fellow T1D, E, at her university which happens to be located right near one of the amazing Great Lakes. Whenever I am with this girl, I can totally be my crazy self. She knows me inside out and there is no way to hide anything from the boss. We can talk about anything and everything, D is quite a popular topic because we can bounce ideas and stories off of each other. She sometimes gives me the reality check that I need. I explained to her that sometimes I will here the low BG alarm on my Dexcom and just ignore it in order continue sleeping instead of getting up and correcting with juice. She reminded me of a recent story on twitter about a young teen dying in her sleep due to a low LG. She told me that I am lucky to have the CGM technology, and it would be better to just drink the juice and go a bit high instead of ignoring the low. I know that in my heart but sometimes these tasks seem like such a burden and it helps having a friend dealing with them right along with you. even though it totally SUCKS.

OUCH 

     I have only taken a handful of trips to the beach in my career with D so far so I am still learning little tips here and there. First, in the past at the beach my meter has not always worked because it became to hot, so we kept them in the cooler in order to prevent them from happening. E also reminded me to keep my pump under a towel or blanket while laying out in the sun to help protect the precious insulin. This is something I have always known, but with my constantly on the go personality, some of these "common sense" D tasks slip my mind ;). A universal beach rule that all people should follow is wearing sunscreen and reapplying every 80 minutes. Somehow, although we did apply sunscreen after arriving at our location, E and I got completely ruined by the sun and ended up with some of the most epic sunburns known to man. We looked pretty funny with our strange burn patterns, especially my insertion set tan line, hee hee!

    I say this all the time but I am so incredibly blessed to have people in my life who just "get me". Not everyone has such wonderful friends, and it is even more rare to have a best friend who shares the same life altering disease with you. It makes this crazy life not seem so scary and unmanageable <3
   

PSA: Dog Collars

      Life is fragile and every moment should be cherished, that is something I learned early on by living with Type 1 Diabetes. Never taken things for granted and live each moment to create lifelong memories. This message can be used in all walk of life including the loss of beloved pets. 8 days after my family brought home our precious 2 month old Boston Terrier puppy, Daisy Mae, she died in a freak accident. 

     Daisy Mae died in her crate after being strangled when her collar and dog leash tag got stuck in the railings of her crate. She was jumping around in there as we left for the morning like she always did and we assume it happened shortly thereafter. It is reported that up to 26,000 collar strangulation accidents occur each year, usually occurring when two dogs “play bite” each other in the neck area and teeth get caught on the collar. Other strangulation hazards can occur when collars get caught in: fences, slats on decks, crates and kennels, heating/ cooling vents, shrubs, and branches. We were never made aware of this risk, so we always just purchased traditional collars for our dogs. I was so amazed that our experienced vet was not aware of the prevalence of this issue. It is a hidden risk for dog owners and I think it is important that awareness is brought to this issue. I highly recommend looking into a break-away collar for your pets. They allow for peace of mind and will release your dog if a dangerous amount of pressure is placed on it. 

    It is so amazing how a five pound fur ball who I only knew for a week has had such an impact on my life. Daisy Mae, thank you for being the calming influence I needed in my life along with cuteness that cannot be topped. Even though you were itty-bitty and your time with us was  so short, you were already such an important part of my family. Always in my heart baby girl, now go enjoy doggie heaven. 

Daisy Mae: March 24, 2014- May 31, 2014 

    Please share this post with your friends and family, dogs are special creatures and together we can keep them safe.