One year from yesterday we confirmed that Caden had diabetes. I remember sitting with Caden in the emergency room cubicle and being given stacks of pamphlets to teach me how to care for Caden.. it was overwhelming. Yet here we are, no longer afraid to eat out, or eat a little sugar. Caden spouts off the carbs in foods and adds in his head. We have made an effort to focus on the positive. O.k, I admit, sometimes we have "I hate diabetes" parties, which Caden loves. We belly ache and eat ice cream and corn dogs or some other barely tolerable food, and complain about finger pokes, and getting up in the night, and set changes, and the constant relentlessness of diabetes. Then we grow tired of complaining and end the party appreciating insulin, and our nice Dr. (Barbara, and she looks exactly like a Barbie doll), and the insulin pump, and splenda. Science has come so far in the care of diabetes, from new kinds of insulin, better blood glucose meters, education, and insulin pumps. We have made new friends along this journey, and we have come to realize that diabetes, while still a chronic disease, is far from the worst thing that can happen to a child. Most days I feel so thankful it wasn't something worse.

History lesson time. Insulin was discovered in a lab at the University of Toronto in 1921. Until this discovery, diabetes was a death sentence, the sufferers eating voraciously yet wasting away. Some diabetics managed to live a few years by eating very low carb/sugar and high fat and protein diets. In 1922, teen aged Leonard Thompson was the first human injected with insulin and it was a spectacular success. We are hopeful for new discoveries and technologies for Caden's future!

Rheanna's pre-school is participation in the "healthy-strides", where a nutritionist comes into the class to teach about keeping your body healthy, including good food choices, hygiene, and exercise. I'm not sure if its because nutrition plays such a big role at home, but Rheanna takes all this to heart. One day they must have talked about "junk food" and Rheanna came home telling me all about "Rude food"- I had to laugh. Now we call it "grow" food and "rude" food.

We are all healthy, and hope you are too!
'til next post,
ei