Causes that are close to my heart....

Juvenile Diabetes

This is my niece Ally. She was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes in February of 2009. I will be honest and say when she was first diagnosed I had no clue what having diabetes meant ( my only experience with diabetes was a short lived gestational diabetes diagnosis with Mark and a dad who is Type 2 but has become insulin dependant over a long period of time). I thought she just had to watch what she ate and take some insulin when she felt shaky ( proving how much I didn't know! You actually give insulin to cover her carbs and to treat a high blood sugar level. You give juice when she feels shaky to treat a low blood sugar level) . Maybe a finger prick here and there  but as time has progressed I have discovered how wrong I was. I watch this little girl count more carbs than you can imagine, she tests her blood constantly, she has site changes every few days and even though she's scared she puts on a brave face while my sons or cousins watch her, she drinks juice in her sleep when she's too low,  and she is mature beyond her years- much more mature than any child her age should have to be but Thank God she is. She is a star. Her parents are the most amazing individuals I know- they never sleep through the night, they adjust insulin and  make pump changes like its second nature, they deal with the highs and lows all the while staying calm therefore keeping Ally calm and Ally is blessed to have them as her parents.

As I've learned more about Juvenile Diabetes I have come to understand just how important it is to find a cure and I hope that watching this small video or reading a link you might learn something you might not have known.




(Please make sure my playlist is set to pause)

Diabetes Walk 2010

Some additional links and information :
My sister in law's blog ( Ally's mom):
http://www.boxofchocolatesblog.com/2010/11/6-things-i-want-you-to-know-about.html


Breast Cancer

My mom was diagnosed with Breast cancer on December 2, 2009- this happened to fall on her birthday. Some birthday present. She had had her regular mammogram and when she received the results they had found what was called micro calcifications. She explained them as "little glitter spots" on her xray. The doctors told her not to be concerned and they would recheck at a later point but my mom pushed for a biopsy. The biopsy revealed cancer. After many, many appointments and much talk she eventually opted for a double mastectomy followed by chemo treatments. She is free and clear of her cancer now, has had her reconstructive surgery, and is nearing the end of her treatments ( part of the follow up after surgery and chemo was taking a medicine called Herceptin every 3 wks for a year).

Now that we are at the tail end of the whole process we look back and are amazed at what we watched her go through. She had complications from a lumpectomy, she was horribly uncomfortable after her mastectomy,  she survived infections that placed her in the hospital more than once and prolonged other treatments, she had her hair fall out, and has dealt with debilitating headaches since the beginning. She did this and still celebrated every holiday and every birthday, she held family dinners and laughed when her hair started to grow back in entirely different. She barely flinched while they tattooed her eyebrows back on and joked that she liked her wigs better than her old "real" hair style. She is a rock. She is a survivor and another person who has opened my eyes to a cause I never though twice about. A cause you hear about all the time but rarely stop to think about until it hits home. Thank God for her health.

My mom, Ryan and my brother Jon. This was right after she received her diagnosis.

Breast cancer links:








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