Saturday, March 14, 2015

Hadlee's pre-concert show





Have to love Hadlee's enthusiasm. She was rocking out to the background music before Sydney's Glee performance. Just love this little girl.

Sydney's Glee Club of Lip are moving





This is my favorite of the 2 performances. Just smiling the whole time.

Sydney's Glee Club of Brave





My little girl sure is growing up quickly. So proud of her.

Sunday, July 6, 2014

Sydney and Type 1 Diabetes 2014





Here is Sydney's updated 2014 Type 1 video. For any of those who are interested, the JDRF walk in Idaho Falls will be held on September 6 at Snake River Landing. For those who are interested in donating you can click on the following link to go to the JDRF page. You can then search by team name for Sydney's Soldiers. www2.jdrf.org/site/PageServer?pagename=walk_participant_search



Thank you to everyone who has helped to support our family and also how has supported the research to help find a cure for Type 1 Diabetes.

Monday, April 7, 2014

Revamping Syd's Video

Well, I decided that after 5 years, Syd's Type 1 video probably needed revamping. And so I am setting out to update the video and make it a little more current. I hope to just do some photo changes and add a couple new videos. Can't wait to post the new video soon. If any of you have any suggestions of things to change, please let me know.

Wednesday, February 12, 2014

The quarterly A1C, aka the good mommy and daddy report

For anyone new to the world of diabetes, you may have heard of the term A1C and wondered why it was important to get since we test blood sugars multiple times everyday. Isn't that good enough to know if my child's blood sugars are staying in a healthy range? Not necessarily.

Let's say that you check your child's blood sugars consistently each day at the same time, during those times they are always within or near your target range so you figure everything is going great. If your child is on an insulin pump you know that basal rates vary dependent upon the time of day. So what about those in between times when your not checking their sugars? What's really happening during that time? An A1C can help to answer that question.

What the A1C does is average your child's blood sugar over time. Our bodies replace our blood cells about every 3 months. During that time sugars get stuck to the blood cells. High blood sugars result in more sugar sticking to the cells, low blood sugars means less sugar sticks to the cells. The A1C gives you an average of what a person's blood sugar levels were over the course of about 3 months. This can be very useful information for a parent of a type 1 child. Although we try to avoid low blood sugars, which can have immediate consequences, we also want to avoid high blood sugars over time which can lead to long term damages to our children's health.

A target A1C for most kids is between 7-8. This translates into an average blood sugar between 170 to 205, dependent on the chart your reading and the lab results. Keeping your child's blood sugar within the target range will help to reduce the risk of long term damage. It's also a good idea to speak with your doctor or diabetes educator on what the results mean individually. If your child wears a pump, the doctor or educator can usually download your pumps history to give an overall picture of the results. Was the A1C good because your child had lots of really low readings to counteract the high ones, or did they actually have a really well averaged quarter. It also allows for your doctor to make possible corrections to your child's basal rates if necessary.

Overall the A1C is a very important part of managing your child's diabetes. Although it might not always be the first thing on your mind to do, make sure your write it on the calendar so you will remember.

That being said I am happy to report that after several not so great numbers, 8's and 9's, Syd's latest numbers came in at 7.3%. We couldn't ask for a better number. I think her mom in heaven has been working hard to keep her little girl healthy.

May all of you have similarly happy results.    

Sunday, January 19, 2014

3 months later

Tomorrow will mark 3 months since the passing of Shamae. While I had a little time I wanted to update you on the family.

Overall we are all doing well. The girls miss their mom and express that sometimes, but on the whole are doing very well in continuing on with life.

Hadlee is now 3 years old. She is active as ever. She loves to be doing whatever the older sisters are doing which sometimes drives the older ones crazy. If I had a nickel every time I heard "Hadlee is bugging us Dad" I would be able to retire now. She likes going to daycare most days. I am glad that it will only be a temporary situation and that she will be able to be at home come the summer time.

Morgan is 8. She is very excited to be baptized coming up in February. She is very sweet, but also has her well known feisty streak. She is doing great in school. She is also now in piano and gym. She loves doing both and does very well in her classes. Her favorite thing now is anything Disney Frozen. She knows all the songs by heart. It is very sweet when her and Syd sing together. They are very good.

Sydney is 10. I have to reign her in on how boy crazy she is on a regular basis. She loves reading all the latest teen gossip magazines and watching internet videos of all her favorite teen stars. She is doing great in school, except the occasional struggles with math. I'm investing early in large stocks of ammunition to keep all the little boys away. On a normal day there is at least 2-3 boys fighting for her affection. She is also in piano and gym and loves to do both.

I myself am also doing very well. I manage to get the kids fed, dressed, hair done, and off to school on time each day. As well as making sure the house stays picked up. Well as best as you can with 3 girls running around the place. I miss Shamae at times, for the woman she use to be before her health issues, but also take comfort in the fact that she no longer has to be in pain or live in a body that doesn't do what she wanted it to do. Being a single Dad can be a bit of a challenge sometimes, but I am very happy to have my girls. I also know that someday I won't have to do it alone and that the girls will have someone they can look to as a mother. The most important thing is to be happy with the moment we live in and to find those things that will lead to continuing and greater happiness.

Thank you for all the kindness we have been shown. It has help to lift our family and to continue on.

Honoring Shamae. Aberdeen Girls Basketball.

The Aberdeen Girls Basketball team will be presenting a plaque to the girls and I on Jan. 22 at 6:30 P.M. at the Aberdeen High School Gym. I just wanted everyone to know about this event. I really think it is sweet of them that they are paying tribute to Shamae. She was an amazing team member back in high school and was able to touch so many people. I would invite anyone in the area who would like to attend to make sure they come.