Team Olivia

Update

2006-04-25T16:56:00.000-07:00

Yes, I know, I know. It's benn awhile. Wanted to let everyone know bedwetting is over. Knock on wood. Thanks everyone for yor suggestions. Am now back in fundraising mode for 2006 Tour de Cure. Also have been itching to be more of an advocate for people with diabetes. S.1955 really scares the hell out of me! I don't think we are in any position now to take steps backward. If we have to start focusing our energies in the same places we did 20 years ago I feel that we will never see ourselves moving toward a cure. If you haven't taken action on this legislation please contact your Senators ASAP. The bill will be voted on this week and there appears to be strong support in the Senate. For information on S.1955 go to advocacy.diabetes.org. In short, this bill will allow insurance providers to charge companies more for insurance if they employee diabetics and people with other serious diseases and allow these providers the option of covering diabetic supplies. Currently 46 states protect these rights. Act Now! Don't forget the revolution!

Start the Revolution!

2005-12-17T16:19:00.000-08:00

True to my word I am back for another week. This week I had the pleasure of meeting a parent of two of my students whose daughter was recently diagnosed and started on an Animas pump. Same endo, same cde, same pump. In the spirit of the gift of information I was given last week I paid it forward and offered this woman freedom of phone calls and emails to answer any questions. And all of us parents know that there will be questions.

The revolution starts now. It is time for a drastic change in the way diabetes is viewed in this country. It is time to step up and prepare the people who are living the the dLife. As I have said and written before, I believe that we all have an opportunity to make a difference: by spreading the info. we have, by searching for a cure, by supporting education of diabetics and parents, and for screaming our heads off when the governement tries to legislate away ours and our children's best interests. Again, we can focus on ourselves and our children or we can do that and go out and make a difference. The best way to do this in my estimation is to network with the people who are on our team. To create a revolution of understanding and support; of fighting and gritting our teeth but mainly a revolution of information. The Revolution Starts Now. Pay It Forward.

Okay, Now I'm Back

2005-12-10T08:25:00.000-08:00

Maybe I wasn't really back the last time but I'll try harder. Diabetes strikes again and this time in the form of bedwetting. AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA. The pediatrician told us it might be psychological. The new CDE didn't have any course of action. My wife is tired of washing sheets and I need a good nights sleep. This leads to why I am back to posting. My blog buddy and fellow Type1 parent Sandra at A Shot in the Dark was able to offer some insight. Which brought to mind why I started this event anyway. Support, understanding, exchange of info., etc. I just wanted to make a public thank you and a promise to all the bloggers to do my part. As always be well.

I'm Back

2005-11-06T16:55:00.000-08:00

I realize its been awhile but I've been super busy. The pump has been interesting. It's like a grand puzzle. What caused this what caused that, can we change the basal? the ICR? Wow!!! We were stable for a whole week and then the time change. Silly adult caregivers that we are we forgot to change the time. Erattic of course! Does the Fed know what difference an hour makes to the pumpers? Add that to the list of reasons to get rid of the madness that is DST.

Halloween! Fuhgettaboutit! Start by tossing everything that can't be counted into the Boscov's bag. (They trade candy for gift certificates). Continue by saying "NO" at least 40,000 times and limiting the menu for the Autumn Festival Party at School -- why don't they just call it the Get Hopped Up On Sugar And Send'em Home Massacre? (That makes you feel good as a parent). Follow up by having high bgs anyway because of late nights and excitement. Then finish it off with a nice visit to your friendly dietitian who offers that you need to eat more vegetables and less fat. Great holiday this is. Cant wait until HighCarb Thursday at the end of this month and Sock Your Sock Full of Sugar Day the following month.

Until Next Time! Season's Greeting -- No, I really mean it! I love this time of year! Did I mention that The season that is "Hot Chocolate" is just down the road.

As Always, Be Well!!

The Pump

2005-08-04T13:33:00.000-07:00

Over the last several weeks I have learned that i know very little if anything about diabetes. The knowledge gained through pump classes has been tremendous. The work is tremendous. The stress is tremendous. Olivia started on saline on 8/1. Insulin starts Monday. Changing the set has taken us back to when Olivia was first diagnosed: screaming and crying, running away when she knows its time to change, etc. Otherwise I think she thinks its kind of cool. She struts around with it hanging on her shorts and swim suit. Even the tiny Animas seems huge on her little body. Questions: Anybody have any great ways to hold the pump during sports? What about swimming? I am appalled at the cost of these accessories. I'm thinking of a little side business. How can they charge 29.99 for a neoprene Sport Pak for a pump and 12.50 for the same item only it is used for an mp3 player? My mother sewed some simple carriers with belt loops out of scrap materials. One dollar maybe.

The Real Team

2005-07-14T12:57:00.000-07:00

This is the picture I meant to post yesterday. The picture you saw is of my injuries following the ride. Pretty, huh!?!?

Team Olivia Update and Misc.

2005-07-13T09:57:00.000-07:00

It's been awhile and much is happening in our little diabetic corner of the world. First, we received word today that TeamOlivia was the highest fundrasing team in the local Tour de Cure. Just shy of 15000 dollars. Way to go teamand all of our supporters!!!

Also, last week Olivia's pump arrived via UPS. Everyone here is filled with excitement and anxiety. We went with the Animas 1250 because of the small increments and the small size. It's tiny. Thank God I don't have to pay for this thing. Beaucoup dollars. Olivia seems ready to get hooked up. She starts on saline August 1 and on insulin August 8. We still have much to learn. We have been meeting with the dietician regularly to improve our advanced carb counting skills and will meet with DE three times before P-Day. I think it will be worth it. I don't think I'll miss all those syringes and I'm sure Olivia won't.

D.C. with Diabetes

2005-06-24T15:24:00.000-07:00

Hattie and Olivia(r) blending in with the locals at the National Zoo. I told Olivia we should have taken pictures of her getting her BG checked in famous places.

Of Cuts and Scrapes, Tears, and Team Olivia

2005-06-12T20:24:00.000-07:00

Well, The Tour is over and not without price. While soaring down a mountain that I had just toiled to top of with Crazy and Sonic, a fearless wasp zoomed into my path and stung me on the bottom lip. In the panic that ensued I wrecked my bike and Sonic couldn't stop fast enough and he wrecked too. Both of us were pretty bloodied. The thought went through my mind that my Tour was over. This was at mile 23. 42 to go. We decided to try and make it to the next rest stop and get medical attention before making any decisions. You know the thoughts that went through my mind: Olivia, the Team, the lessons learned from persevering. It wasn't really a hard decision to continue. The weather was hot and humid. And being pretty slow, by the time we got to some rest stops they were out of gatorade and water. Through the last about ten miles I started to get emotional. Dedicating each mile to a year that Olivia would have to live with diabetes. At one point Crazy said, "remember why we are doing this." and the tears started to fall. I fought them back but every once in a while the emotions would surge over me and I would be fighting back tears again. As we neared the finish line-exhausted and bloodied-I could see the line of black and gold Team Olivia Tshirts lining the finish line and I could no longer hold back the tears. My kids, my mom and dad, the team who had supported us and raised an ungodly amount of money - at least 14,000 dollars - all waiting. I was especially touched by the people that waited several hours for us even though they didn't really know me or Olivia until this Team Olivia thing took off. It was a hugely emotional moment.

So to Team Olivia, thanks and we'll see you next year.

Tour De Cure Deadline

2005-06-08T09:30:00.000-07:00

The bike ride is this Saturday. I have been guilted into riding the 100K. I don't know if I am in good enough shape but I have decided to dedicate the effort to Olivia. I talk alot about the work and perseverance (my favorite type 1 descriptor) that Olivia must learn so I feel the need to lead by example.

Our team total stands at 9989 dollars this A.M. I have little doubt that we will eclipse 10000. With a little work over the next couple of days we could make 12000. I know my competitive side is coming out but I think this team is awesome. 12ooo dollars to go to the ADA is phenomenal. And I am just the average guy who decided to step up. I saw Brad Pitt on tv last night and he was talking about just that. The need for everyone to step up and make a difference. He talked about how the poor of the world don't chose poverty and anyone of us could have been born in a poverty stricken region. Same goes for diabetes. We didn't choose to have a diabetic daughter but we got one and that is our calling to make a difference. My team definitely will make a difference. Wish us well.

Don't forget, you can still donate online at tour.diabetes.org. Chose sponsor a rider in the right banner, select Pennsylvania and then Boiling Springs, and then type Team Olivia in the team name category, after that you can click on my name and it will give you directions on how to donate. My final pitch ;)

Stem Cells

2005-05-30T19:31:00.000-07:00

I have been involved in heavy debate in the comment section of diabetes mine concerning stem cell research. For those of you not following the recent passing of a bill in the House that is being brought to a vote in the Senate here is a little primer. The bill would allow for federal funding to be used to conduct research on donated embryos. The embryos that are created during in vitro fertilization and not used are frozen until they can be adopted or they are discarded. This legislation would allow the families involved in in vitro fertilization to donate those embryos to be used for research. This is not cloning. It does however require the destruction of an embryo. An act outlawed by the Dickey Amendment in 1995. Without being political or questioning others beliefs, it is time to let your legislators know how you feel about this issue. I admit it is a hard one for me. If you want to contact your legislator log onto the ADA advocate page for more information.

BD Diabetes - Diabetes News - Memory remains intact in type 1 diabetics

2005-05-24T14:36:00.000-07:00

BD Diabetes - Diabetes News - Memory remains intact in type 1 diabetics
Memory remains intact in type 1 diabetics

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Some areas of cognitive function, or thinking ability, are impaired in patients with type 1 diabetes, but learning and memory remain intact, Dutch investigators report.

"The magnitude of the cognitive deficits is mild," report Dr. Augustina M. A. Brands, of University Medical Center, Utrecht, and colleagues, "but even mild forms of cognitive dysfunction might hamper everyday activities."

The researchers conducted a review of studies that looked at cognitive performance in diabetic patients. Thirty-three studies met the inclusion criteria and were included in the analysis.

As reported in the medical journal Diabetes Care, the team assessed intelligence, learning and memory, psychomotor activity and information processing, attention, cognitive flexibility, visual perception, and language. In addition, they looked into the possible effects of disease variables, including recurrent episodes of low blood sugar levels.

Compared with healthy subjects, those with type 1 diabetes had significantly lowered performance on the intelligence, speed of information processing, and psychomotor efficiency tests. Lowered performance was also observed on visual and sustained attention, cognitive flexibility, and visual perception.

"Our (review) does not support the idea that there are important negative effects from recurrent episodes of severe (low sugar levels) on cognitive functioning," Brands' team reports. On the other hand, the eye and nerve problems that can occur in diabetics do "appear to be associated with impaired cognition."

SOURCE: Diabetes Care, March 2005;28:726-735

I was just reading this article on line and found it a mite confusing. Is there evidence or not? In the final paragraph he says that there are no important negative effects but the rest of the article is loaded with what I would call negative effects. When he says significantly does he mean statistically significant because that is a huge difference. Has anyone ever heard of any similar research?

Pump Decision

2005-05-23T17:42:00.000-07:00

Okay fellow bloggers, met with the dietician today and she asked if we had decided on a pump. I told her we were thinking minimed. She mentioned some others that she thought would be smaller. Any advice? Anybody want to share their favorite?

Fundraising, again

2005-05-21T09:20:00.000-07:00

The deeper I drive myself into this the more I feel like I'm not doing enough. Just got back from the pancake breakfast to raise money for Team Olivia. The Millerstown Area Jaycees - of which I am president - hosted the event. It's nice to be able to network my community service. We raised a little over 500 dollars. Not bad considering we served almost 150 meals in a town of 400 people. I expected to make around 300 but was still a little disappointed because I felt like we were working hard today. One of the disappointments was that we underestimated the crowd so we ran out and bought more food - not convenient in rural America. And then ended up having more food than we needed. That really cuts into the profit margin.

Olivia has had three pretty good BG days. One high - chocolate cupcake at school that was underestimated - but generally in the normal range. Fellow bloggers have me really thinking more about the long term effects of her condition. Also Keri at Six Until Me has me thinking about how the rest of her life might be. Will she have the perseverance and vigilance, will she be strong, college, boyfriends, family. It's a lot to consider with the daily work of being a diabetic. One of the other teams in the Harrisburg Tour De Cure rides in memory of a family member who just gave up. She tried to manage her BG through diet even though she is a type 1. I say "in memory of" because she didn't survive. She went blind and then she died. The reality of the disease, the perseverance, the vigilance, it has got to be a ton of baggage.

Thanks

2005-05-19T05:32:00.000-07:00

People are finally starting to comment on my posts. It feels like less of a solitary endeavor now. I also have been checking out others. I hope to be able to do more with this site but don't know much about programming. Thanks to Sandra Miller at A Shot in the Dark(see link to right) for information on the pump and getting ready. Her site is alot like I hope mine will be. Venting my frustrations and hoping that others can learn from them.

On the TeamOlivia front, last night Olivia was interviewed for an article in the Patriot News. And this morning I got an email asking about a radio and television appearance in early June. Juggle, juggle, juggle.

On the diabetes front, Olivia had a strange low prior to lunch yesterday (44). No way to explain it. She was 150 at 9:15 and the nurse at school gave her a little bit of juice to keep her up until lunch. I guess sometimes there is no explaining it.

A Shot in the Dark

2005-05-19T03:21:00.000-07:00

A Shot in the Dark

Progress

2005-05-09T08:19:00.000-07:00

With all the money already raised and the money that has been promised, I foresee us breaking the 10000 dollar mark this year. Giant kudos to Jamison who managed to raise 275 dollars in only 3 days. Hopefully everyone is out there making money, I wish they would enter it on the website. I know it all goes to a good cause but I am so competitive. I see the possibility of being the top fundraising team and I don't want to let that opportunity slip away. Presently, I am no even the top fundraiser on my own team. Guess I better get to work.

On another note, appointments have been scheduled for Olivia to start on the pump in September. The dietician feels that summer would not be appropriate because it doesn't represent her normal day. She is excited to lose some of the restrictions associated with injections. This past week was her birthday and my family came out to visit. There were many struggles about food choices. Sometimes it is very painful to tell a seven-year-old that she can't have dessert or a piece of cake or even a bite of someone elses.

Tour de Cure: Tour de Cure Home

2005-04-29T09:40:00.000-07:00

tour.diabetes.org/site/PageServer?pagename=TC_homepage">Tour de Cure: Tour de Cure Home

2005-04-27T16:24:00.000-07:00

2005 Tour De Cure Poster - Olivia is in the middle

Team Members

2005-04-27T16:19:00.000-07:00

I welcomed new team members but never listed the old: Mike, Gary, Sonic Sam, Chirpy Cheryl, Dan, Mark, Jeff, Lisa, Stacy, Angie and Andy.

New Members

2005-04-27T04:57:00.000-07:00

Team Olivia is running wild. Two new members signed up yesterday, Jacob Bucke and Jamison Magaro. We are now at 13 members and 5000 dollars raised. Can we make 10000?

children with DIABETES - Medical Identification Products

2005-04-26T16:04:00.000-07:00

children with DIABETES - Medical Identification Products

My first post

2005-04-26T10:18:00.000-07:00

I started to blog as a way of passing on information about our Tour de Cure team and to get insight from others raising type 1 kids. Some of the blogs I have read are very helpful both in information and support. If you want to donate to our team log on to tour.diabetes.org, click on sponsor a rider, Pennsylvania, Boiling Springs, and Team Olivia. My name is Jeff Kuhns but feel free to donate to any rider. It all goes to a good cause.