Morning Coffee – By Aaron Hall
Despite our differences of opinion during ‘the bug incident’, my weekend babysitting adventure with my niece opened up my eyes to the world of Type 1 Diabetes.
About a month before her third birthday, Izzy was diagnosed with the disease, in which the pancreas does not produce any insulin. This lack of insulin results in high sugar levels in one’s body.
This reality in Izzy’s life creates a constant, where meals are meticulously monitored and her blood sugar levels are always checked.
It starts in the morning when she wakes up and ‘Tilly The Tester’ makes its first appearance.
Izzy will choose what finger or thumb she wants to use and the tester will utilize a small needle to pick her finger, and draw a small bead of blood. This droplet is then scooped up onto a testing strip, and a reading of her blood sugar levels appears.
From there, you begin counting the carbs (carbohydrates) that will be in the meal she’s about the eat. This process includes scouring over the ingredient labels on each food or drink item she’ll be consuming.
When inputting the carbs into the tester, it combines with the data of her sugar levels, and determines how much insulin needs to be injected.
Once the number of units in known, Izzy will then pick which spot on her arm she wants her shot.
“One, two, three, four, five, six, seven…. eight, nine, 10 and 11.”
This is the cute little jingle Izzy will sing with you while you inject the life saving hormone into her body.
These steps are then repeated at lunch time and at dinner time… every…. single…. day.
Keep in mind, this is an innocent four-year-old girl, who just started JK in Chatham.
While I poked fun at ‘meal time’ somewhat in my Monday column, the seriousness about this process is profound for this little girl.
There is no throwing a box of Trix or Captain Crunch on the table with some milk in a bowl for the kids to eat breakfast. Careful and precise planning in required, multiple times a day, each day.
My sister Delynn, Izzy’s mom, tells me that some relief is in sight for her daughter.
Once you are diagnosed with the disease, you need to wait for a year before you are eligible to receive an insulin pump. Izzy is set to receive one next month.
This device, which will be permanently attached to her hip area, will provide Izzy with a slow drip of insulin, which will eliminate the need for the needles throughout the day.
Delynn also said her and her husband Dave are getting more information about a ‘continuous glucose monitor’, which allows you to constantly be able to check sugar levels, even from afar with the use of apps on your phone.
Since Izzy was diagnosed, Delynn said she can’t believe the amount of children in the area that have T1D. She said the signs and symptoms are difficult to spot, so many kids get very sick before it is even discovered.
She said the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, along with Dr. Edwards and the team at the Chatham-Kent Health Alliance have been amazing throughout the entire process.
For me, it is inspiring to see such a young girl be a fighter and to be so strong… even before she has a full comprehension of what being a fighter or being strong even is.
For Izzy, it’s just life and it isn’t holding her back.
She goes to dance class each week, played soccer this summer, swims like a fish (without water wings), chases after her baby sister Ally all day and even has time to find just the perfect home for little bugs in the yard.
For more information about Type 1 Diabetes, and how to notice signs and symptoms, check out these links:
– Canadian Diabetes Association
– Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation
If you have a suggestion, story idea, column idea, or if you want to say hello… drop me an e-mail at aaron@sydenhamcurrent.ca.
Photo of the day
Here is Izzy in a photograph raising awareness for T1D.
Weather forecast for Thursday, September 22, 2016
Today – Mainly sunny. Increasing cloudiness this afternoon. Fog patches dissipating this morning. Wind becoming southwest 20 km/h gusting to 40 near noon. High 29. Humidex 35. UV index 6 or high.
Tonight – Mainly cloudy. Wind southwest 20 km/h gusting to 40 becoming light this evening. Low 16.
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