Just the Facts

The primary purpose of this blog is to demonstrate to my wife that I take her diabetes seriously by learning everything I can about diabetes.  So this weeks it is Just the Facts Jack!  If you want to know the basic Type I Diabetes facts (or at least some of them) read below.  Of course Naomi will correct anything that is inaccurate in this post.  Thank you in advance Naomi!

The Basics Facts

Type I diabetes is an autoimmune disease where your pancreas stops producing insulin (pictured on the right), a hormone that breaks down glucose so your body can use it for energy.  The immune system attacks and destroys the insulin producing beta cells in the pancreas. This leads to high levels of glucose in your body.  If untreated Type I diabetes will kill you. Chronically high blood sugar (hyperglycemia) causes all kinds of problems from organ failure, limb loss, blindness, heart attacks and strokes. In fact before doctors at the University of Toronto produced insulin that could be injected into humans in 1922, parents had to watch as their children died a horribly painful death from diabetes.  Diabetes was a terminal illness. After repeatedly refining animal insulin and observing it's amazing effects on a dying diabetic child, they rushed through the child diabetes ward injecting child after dying child, instantly saving their lives. They won the Nobel Prize the following year and insulin is considered the greatest Canadian invention (other great Canadian inventions include basketball and light bulbs).  Insulin saved the lives of these children, but even with insulin their lives were full of pain and suffering.  Before 1950 1 in 5 people with Type I diabetes died within 20 years of their diagnosis, 1 in 4 developed kidney failure, and 90% developed eye disease, with many developing blindness. Patients had to take animal insulin and they had no real way of detecting dangerously low blood sugar. Over the last 60 years there have been great advancements in insulin, glucose monitoring, and the medical management of diabetes side effects, resulting in  longer life and less illness.  There are all kinds of insulin now, fast acting, long acting, glucose pumps.  People with diabetes can  monitor their blood glucose with small pin pricks and immediate blood glucose meters. There are exciting things available like to help glucose control, like continuous glucose monitors that don't require you to remember to prick your finger 4 times a day.  Other things like an artificial pancreas are likely to be available soon and researchers are working on trying to find a cure.  Despite these advances, 7% of people with diabetes die within 25 years of their diagnosis and many suffer from heart disease, kidney problems, eye problems, limb amputations and other complications.

The Science and Art of Managing Blood Sugar
Managing blood sugar is equally parts science and art.  It is a science, in that you have to constantly experiment with how much insulin to take, how much food you can eat.  The problem is you are the experiment and if you fail your diabetes gets worse, you are sicker or you could die.  So you better get results.  It is also an art because everyone's body responds to different types of carbs in different ways, and your blood sugar is influenced by almost everything you do, exercise, stress, sleep, time of day.  So you have to figure out over time what you can eat and when.  When you are wrong, when your blood sugar is 40 (dangerously low) or 200 (too high) you can get so dejected, so frustrated, so worried.  The ups and downs can feel like a roller coaster and you are the only passenger.  This is especially true when you are just diagnosed.  I am happy to report that Naomi is an amazing scientist and artist because her hemoglobin A1c, a measure of how well you are controlling your diabetes was in the normal range!!!!!  This is great news and means for now, her diabetes is under control.  I have to say I am amazed and unbelievably impressed with how hard she has worked to manager her diabetes despite how busy she is.  So for now I am so grateful that Naomi is doing so well, that there are effective treatments for diabetes, and that people are working on even better treatments and a cure!  But there are millions of people who are not as lucky as Naomi and who for whatever reason, can't control their diabetes effectively.  These people need new treatments, they need a cure.  I can only imagine what it must have been like to be a parent of one of those dying kids with diabetes over 90 years ago.  To feel their relief and their joy when their child was instantly saved from a certain death by researchers who discovered insulin only days before.  Please consider donating to my goal of raising $5000 for diabetes research because researchers are so close to amazing breakthroughs in the treatment, cure and prevention of Type I diabetes.  Who knows maybe the $5,000 we raise will lead to a breakthrough as life changing as the discovery of insulin.









Click Here to Donate to Mike's JDRF fundraising goal of $5,000

Training Update
On Saturday I ran 10 miles and did 135 push ups in the amazing sunshine.  It was great to finally get off the treadmill and get outside running again. This week I started my 8 week half marathon training plan and I have confirmation that I am running the Vancouver Marathon on May 5.  Josh has got me running a bunch of miles to get ready for this race and I think I am ready!  I am open to any outlandish fundraising ideas to help raise money for diabetes research and awareness through the race.  If you have any ideas let me know!