Did you know, did you know, did you know?

Did you know, did you know, did you know? 

Prepare to be hit with some facts about Type I Diabetes...

1. As many as 3 million people in the US have Type I diabetes. 
2. Each year 30,000 new people are diagnosed in the US.
3. Although it's called Juvenile Diabetes, 1/2 of all new cases are actually adults (like Naomi). 
4. 85% of all people with Type I diabetes are adults.
5. Type I diabetes is more common in Scandinavians.
6. It is least common in Japan and China.
7. The majority of children with diabetes under the age of 10 have Type I.
8. Rates of Type I are increasing by 3% every year. 
9. Type I diabetes costs about $14 billion dollars a year in medical costs and lost wages. 

To summarize: Type I diabetes is rare, it is diagnosed in adults as often as children, and most people with Type I are adults (there are more adults than kids and more kids are surviving to adulthood).  Also I didn't know that Japanese and Chinese folks were at lowest risk (may have to be a topic of a future post).  If we found a cure to diabetes $422 billion could be saved in medical care and lost wages, just in those suffering from diabetes right now.  So unless you plan on donating more that $422 billion towards Type I diabetes research next year, your money is a wise investment for sure!  

Celebs with Type I

OK, If you know Naomi you know that she loves celebrities and gossip.  So did you know these people have Type I diabetes.

1. Mary Tyler Moore (she's funny)
2. Bret Michaels (of Poison fame)
3. Nick Jonas (my favorite Jonas Brother)
4. Anne Rice (her books are too scary for me to read, I don't like Vampires)
5. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor (she was diagnosed when she was 8)
6. Gary Hall (Olympic swimmer)
7. Most importantly Adam Morison (the greatest college athlete of all time)  We could have used you Saturday Adam. 
8. Jay Cutler (NFL quarterback.  I don't like him, but not because he has diabetes)

Some of you might think that Halle Berry has Type I. However, when I was researching this post I spoke with my diabetes/celebrity expert Naomi and she told me that Halle claims to have Type I. But she actually has Type II because she "weaned" herself off of insulin.  This would be impossible for a person with Type I.  So sorry Halle, you can't be on my list!  

Training Update

I have been hitting the training hard, ran 18 miles this weekend.  I am sticking to the plan and feel like I can actually run a half marathon by the first week of May. Running on the treadmill was getting better with NCAA tournament on every night, until Gonzaga lost.  But now it is getting sunny and I can get outside for my runs.  

Fund Raising Update

Thank you to Derek, Dawn, Grace and Trent for your donation last week.  This bring me to $300, almost one-tenth of the way towards my goal of $5,000.  Keep the donations coming. Thanks for reading!  

Click here to donate JDRF fundraising page!

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!

Diabetes Poetry

Poetry

This might surprise many of you, including my wife, but I really like poetry. However, as my poetry professor in college would attest (I received a D in my Studies in Poetry Class), I know nothing about poetry.  I mean really, I don't get it. But I like it, mostly because I have such a short attention span.  Poems are like sketches on Saturday Night Live.  If you like one great, you can read it over and over. But if you hate it, it's over in a few minutes.  Thank God! I don't read novels because that is way too much of a commitment for me. 

Now before you think I am going to post a poem I wrote here, let me tell you that my poetry career ended when I wrote Naomi a poem soon after we met. I spent a few hours working on a poem for her and thought it was pretty darn good!  I sat nervously waiting to see what she would say. After she finished reading it she just laughed, for a few minutes as I recall. It wasn't a Limerick. So I would say I appreciate poetry, I don't understand it and I can't write it.  So below I have posted some poems about diabetes that I think will help you understand what it's like to suffer from this chronic disease, along with links if you are interested in reading more diabetic poetry! 

'Another Diabetes Poem'

February 14th 2003, a day made for love
I was diagnosed with a bug
A bug that is permanently with me
When there is a cure, I will be free
From all of the injections, constant blood sugar checks
You can see the pain on my arms with all of the scars
This disease is locked away in my body behind bars
This disease tried to make me WEAK
But it only made me STRONGER
This disease is slowly killing me inside
I cannot set this disease aside
This disease is a pain in the backside
I wish it was gone on the wayside
But sadly it's my way of life
But if I stay healthy, I can live a long-life
Having diabetes is a living hell
A hell that no one wants to go through 

Nick Bell

http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/another-diabetes-poem/

Goodnight Diabetes

It’s time we go to sleep

It’s late and I’m exhausted

300

70

120 too

You behaved somewhat today

Now just make sure to do that tonight too!

I’m awfully tired

And could use some good rest

Will you sleep through the night?

Oh dear diabetes of mine,

I’ll sing you a lullaby

And sip some chamomile too

Now please shut the hell up

Or I may need to have a word with you!

Goodnight diabetes…

http://diabeteslight.com/a-poem-for-tuesday-goodnight-diabetes/#more-2447

Mike Says: This one I really like because I love Lemon-aid

I thought roller coasters were supposed to be fun,

Until my blood sugar was four hundred and one.

So I did what my pump told me to do,

And now my blood sugar, well, it's forty-two!

So I break out the glucose-oh boy! Which flavor?

(Not like it's REALLY candy to savor).

Now I'm leveling off-woo hoo! What a ride!

And the feelings of panic start to subside.

It's a constant battle-that is FOR SURE!

It's not like you get a "Diabetes-Every-Second-of-Your-Life" brochure!

But someday soon, we'll all say "Remember When?"

As we burn all our glucose, test strips & insulin pens.

Until such a day, when we can end the "Diabetes Serenade",

Always Remember:

"When Life Gives You Lemons, Make SUGAR FREE Lemonade!"

- See more at: http://typeonenation.org/all_groups/contests/f/2147/t/902.aspx#sthash.hIjKI902.dpuf 

Bring It On

by Mark Koekemoer, Type 1 diabetic for 8 1/2 years
From South Africa
A long time ago, but not too long to recall,
My eyes and balance were blurry, and I became more likely to fall.
My skin became dry, and I lost some pounds of weight,
Frequenting the loo as I started to dehydrate.
Then a prick from a doctor explained all of that,
My glucose was twenty and I'd have to adapt.
He said "Most diabetics live long so there's no need worry,
It's just a change in your lifestyle that will fix this story".
"Just a change" I expected a pill or simple remedy,
But never could I guess the extent of this therapy!
A diet, good exercise and injections galore,
Finger pricks and urine sticks, could there be any more?
I struggled at first, unsure of how to cope,
And completed the entire circle of denial, without hope.
Injections were my enemy, and finger pricks the devil.
But diabetes conquered the rebel, when it slammed me onto ground level.
I was a little naughty, actually "naughty" is quite tame,
But it left me feeling pretty bad and in a lot of pain,
When two drips finally re-hydrated me I had to make a move,
I headed for the hospital and was put in I.C.U.
"Near-death" was not the case, but a coma was quite real,
But I managed to pull through it, and far better I would feel.
I woke up then and there, splashed cold water in my face,
And told myself I'll never again let some ketones start that race.
Now it's been a couple of years since that day in 2001,
And diabetes is my roller coaster, but with a different kind of fun.
I lead a healthy lifestyle, and play a lot of sport,
A blood glucose of 5.6 is what is always sought.
I'm always watching what I eat, and counting out the carbs,
Then taking shots to keep my levels, on the "good score" cards.
Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't, but in the end what's true,
Is that every single situation, gives me a different clue.
Because blood glucose is affected, by just so many themes,
Sport and food and shots and tests are all the easiest it seems,
But then there's sickness and weather and stress,
Who knows just how much these factors will mess!
And every day is new, every day brings on its test,
A test we must confront, and conquer, and strive to do our best.
A test we must take notes in, and learn from every time,
So next time we'll try ace it so that later we'll feel fine.
Remember diabetes doesn't give up, it's with us all the time,
We cannot take a break from it, even if we're feeling fine.
But its taught me lots of little things, things that are unique,
Things that make me stronger as I grow through each and every week.
I know what food is good for me, and how much thereof to eat,
I've gained a wealth of self-discipline and self-control - that's neat.
I manage my own blood glucose - and that I must confess,
Is something so incredible - a biological miracle at best.
Finger tests are second nature, injections - bring them on,
I love my sport and I'm in good shape, better than most on the lawn.
I love to eat, and eat I do, and carb counting makes it easy,
A chocolate or an ice cream now will never again just tease me!
See it was change in lifestyle, but a change in mindset too,
Acceptance is the key here - a secret from me to you.
We cannot rest, we cannot fake it, it's never gonna go,
Diabetes is here to stay the long run, a truth that's useful to know.
So now I learn as much as possible, and listen and surf and read,
I've grabbed this chance to make an effort, a healthy life I'll lead.
Decide you either love it or hate it, but what ever choice you do,'
Remember that this choice you make will only be affecting you.
Diabetes is a mission, it needs a lot of training,
Each day and every moment makes this condition mega-straining,
But once you get the hang of it, and know some simple rules,
Diabetes is a challenge, teaching us health and life and values!

http://www.childrenwithdiabetes.com/art/BringItOn.htm

Updates.
Thanks to Josh who has designed a professional 1/2 marathon training plan for me, free of charge.  Josh I am going to start the plan next week!  Now just because the federal government is going to slash it's spending (and ruin my research career), that doesn't mean you need to cut your spending.  Please consider donating to my fundraising efforts to raise money for Diabetes Research.  On Friday the federal government is going to cut the National Institutes of Health's budget by 8%.  The NIH funds most of the diabetes research going on in the US, including many innovative studies that might lead to a cure.  As an NIH-funded researcher myself, I can tell you that these budget cuts, which are on top of the 20% cuts most of us have seen to our grants in the last 2 years is a huge deal.  It will end groundbreaking science.  So if you dislike politicians as much as I do, then consider donating to private research by donating to JDRF.  We have already raised $200 towards my goal of $5,000.  Thanks again and have a great week!


Mike's JDRF Fundraising Page, Let's Treat and Cure Diabetes

 

A No-Chocolate Valentine's Day

This was our first Valentine's day without chocolate.  Naomi doesn't really like chocolate, so this isn't a big deal for her.  But to me candy and every holiday, Christmas, Valentines day, Easter, 4th of July, Groundhog's day, go together.  So this Valentines day with out candy is a symbol of how different the little things are in our life.

Addicted to Carbs
As those who know me are aware I am a pretty good baker.  I used bake at least once a week, mostly muffins, cookies, nothing fancy but I have to say I am pretty good.  In fact, when my name came up on the Seahawks season ticket wait list, I chose a blue kitchen aid mixer, instead of football. 

Not only did I bake muffins for Naomi every Saturday morning, but Naomi and I -and later Oliver- regularly indulged in "treats."  Our relationship has always been rooted in Northwest culture.  That means regular visits to coffee shops. When we lived in Spokane we would walk to this great little coffee shop that made the best cookies and chi-tea.  When we lived in Houston, where you have to drive 20 miles to find a Starbucks, we even found this great Italian coffee shop.  They had great coffee and pastries.  When we bought our first house, we bought a house less than a block from a bakery and we would walk 3 miles just to get a coffee and a twice baked chocolate croissant at Bakery Nouveau.  We of course completely took it for granted that we could at any time walk up to Cafe Ladro and get a huge piece of pie and a cappuccino.

Then diabetes happened.  Now almost all snacks, treats, and late night desserts are out.  Unless Naomi's blood sugar is low.  Some people think that if you have diabetes you have to eat a low card diet.  That is true of most people with Type II diabetes.  But in theory, people with Type I diabetes can eat as many carbs as they want, but they have to match their carb intake with the amount to insulin they take at each meal.  Too many carbs and not enough insulin and your blood sugar gets too high.  This isn't immediately dangerous (unless your blood sugar is dangerously high), but causes long term complications. If you don't eat enough carbs and your take too much insulin then your blood sugar can get dangerously low.  Ironically then you have to eat candy and other sweets to get your blood sugar up.  This is the scary part for me because you can die from low blood sugar.  In fact Naomi carries a glucose pen at all times.  I or whoever is with her has to inject her with the pen when she is unconscious because of low blood sugar.

A Balancing Act

So to control diabetes, carbs (not just sugar) and glucose have to be balanced.  This means that before you inject your insulin you have to know exactly how many carbs are in what you are going to eat.  If you are off a little, not a huge deal.  But if you are off a lot you can be in trouble.  So if you inject insulin only at meals, you can only eat at meals, unless your blood sugar gets low.  This means that when you are at a meeting and your co-worker brings her famously delicious Christmas cookies and puts them down right next to you, you have to just sit there, staring at them, smelling them, hoping someone will pass them to the other end of the table. Maybe you can take one with you, drop it in your purse.  But you will have to wait until either your blood sugar is too low or you eat your next meal.


Of course not knowing how many carbs are in your food is something you have to be able to figure out at every meal.  So that means when you cook you have to do wicked math, especially if you are making a complex recipe or baking.  So for Valentine's Day this year, Naomi didn't get chocolate, she got 2 gourmet diabetes cookbooks that have exactly how many carbs are in each dish.  So this that for the first time in 2 years I made blueberry muffins for Naomi and the kids.  Now I have hundreds of recipes I can make for Naomi.  Maybe next week we will even have flambeed pears or black forest mouse cake.

Training Update
Well I have to say that my training has picked up. I ran 18 miles over the 3 day weekend, including 8 miles today.  I am also getting the push-ups done. I did 85 push-ups on my run today.  I am looking for a short, 8 week half-marathon training plan.  If anyone has one please shoot it my way.  My next target race is going to be the Vancouver Marathon (half-marathon).  Check out http://www.bmovanmarathon.ca/ if you are interested in joining me!

Fund Raising
Big shout out to Chantelle, Ivan and Miral, and an anonymous donor. We have raised $200 so far towards the goal of $5,000!  Special shout out to Ivan and Miral who are expecting a new addition to their family, Michael "John Elway" this week.  Congratulations guys!!!!  Also thanks for everyone for checking out the blog.  Please pass it on to anyone who might be interested.

Remember you can donate money to the JDRF through the link below.



Mike's JDRF Fundraising Page.


Thanks again to everyone.  Have a great week!

Getting Started

My Story
Hello.  I am writing this blog because my wife, Naomi, was diagnosed with Type I diabetes last Spring.  I will be writing about a few things, maybe a lot of things, but mostly I will be documenting what I learn about Type I diabetes as I raise money for Type I diabetes research throughout the next year.  By doing this my goals are to:

1. learn everything I can about Type I diabetes,
2. raise awareness about adult onset Type I diabetes, and
3. raise some money for diabetes research.

My wife is an amazing, intelligent, beautiful and healthy woman who is a psychologist, professor, wife, and mother to two adorable and energetic little boys.  She is super fit and exercises daily.  She was a multi-sport athlete in high school.  She has always eaten a healthy diet, except for a few years of Taco Bell (she will deny it!)  in grad school. She was and still is the "healthiest" member of our family.  

When my wife was pregnant with our second son she was diagnosed with gestational diabetes.  She slashed her carb intake and did everything else she could do to manage her gestational diabetes.  I mean really, there were no carbs in our house. No pasta, no bread, no desserts, not a piece of candy.  But no mater what she did her blood sugar just kept going higher and higher.  At the end of the pregnancy she was taking insulin daily. She gave birth to our second son and was told to come back and see an endocrinologist six months or so later.

Gestational diabetes typically goes away after your baby is born, but some women go on to develop Type II diabetes.  So when my wife did everything she could to lose the baby weight.  She kept cutting carbs and she kept losing weight.  But when my wife met with her doctor last year we got some unbelievably bad news.  She had Type I diabetes and probably had been developing Type I throughout both her pregnancies.

Type I diabetes? Juvenile diabetes?  Isn't that what kids get?  Adults don't just develop Type I diabetes, do they?

Well they do and she did.  The news was crushing.  For me the shock was overwhelming.  I tried not to let her see this, but I was afraid.  I mean really terrified. Until that moment I hadn't ever thought of my wife's mortality.  She was so young, so alive.  In my mind she was the beautiful, young, 22 year old girl I met 14 years ago.  How could someone so obviously healthy be sick?  

She and our family have spent the last year adjusting to a new way of life, where mom has to carry around her glucose meter and insulin everywhere she goes, where mom can't have snacks between meals, and where I have to learn how to inject my wife with a special blend of glucose if she becomes unconscious.  I am not the person you want having to stick you with a needle when you pass out.

My wife is much tougher than I am.  As are I guess all people with diabetes.  She has to test her blood sugar at least 4 times a day, has to inject insulin, and has to figure out how many carbs are in everything she eats.  It is like an ever constant burden, silently lurking near. She has done an amazing job of managing her diabetes.  She is still learning how to match her carb intake with the right number of units of insulin. Its a work in progress and we don't know what the years ahead will bring, but she is amazingly consistent and persistent.

Our family is adjusting too.  We are all learning about diabetes in our own ways.  Yesterday Naomi saw our 20 month hold lift up his shirt and take a toy and poke his belly like he was injecting insulin.  So I guess for my sons diabetes will be something that has always been a part of their lives.

When something bad happens to me I tend to deny it, avoid it, run away (literally) from it.  This has worked for me because, for the most part, nothing really bad has every happened to me.  I have been blessed with wonderful family and friends, an amazing wife and children, and a great job. Her diabetes has been the worst thing that has every happened to me.  This may sound rather selfish on my part, I don't have diabetes after all. But when your wife is diagnosed with diabetes, it is like you are suddenly married to your wife and her diabetes.  I guess that is what marriage is about, the good and the bad, the change.  I have not been very effective in how I have supported her in adjusting to her diabetes.  I don't think I have been bad about it.  I have basic knowledge about diabetes, I wait around to make sure she is OK when her blood sugar is low, and am learning to count carbs.  But I haven't thrown myself into learning everything about diabetes that I can, so I can be an active partner in managing her diabetes.

So I am creating the blog to document what I learn about diabetes and to document my fund raising for diabetes research.  I hope the blog and my fundraising can also increase awareness about Type I diabetes, especially adult onset Type I diabetes

My Plan
I am going to do my best to try to post on this blog every week.  I am going to blog about what I have learned about diabetes and what I am doing to learn more about diabetes.

Everyone who knows me knows I love to run.  I have run at least a mile almost everyday (1 day I forgot to run) for the last 7 years.  I have run a bunch of races and 4 marathons.  Running a marathon is a lot like managing diabetes, without the needles.   It is painful at times, requires close monitoring of carbs/calories, and only those who are consistent and persistent succeed.  I love marathon running and training because I am not fast but I am consistent and persistent. My plan is to dedicate my training and racing to raising awareness about diabetes and money for diabetes research.  More specifically I have a goal of raising at least $5,000 for diabetes research this year.


My Running Goals
My goals are to raise $5,000 or more for diabetes research and raise awareness about diabetes, especially Type I diabetes.

My specific running goals of this year are:

1. Run a 1/2 marathon under 1 hour and 25 minutes at the Vancouver Marathon (May, 2013)
2. Run a marathon under 3 hours at the Victoria Marathon (October, 2013).  I have been so close twice.  I ran a 3 hour and 21 second marathon.
3. Finish an ultra marathon (50 km or 50 mile race) or do some other crazy running event (Nov-Dec 2013).

I Need Your Help
I am was going to do some crazy scheme like run all my races in a Mickey Mouse costume or run only in a Speedo to try to raise money with my running.  I am still open to something like that if someone reading this has a suggestion and/or makes a major donation (i look good in red Speedos)!  But instead I am hoping that people who know Naomi and our family, or who read this and are willing to support the cause, will donate money and support me in raising awareness through my blog and running.

So if you would like to support me, and more importantly Naomi, and all people who have diabetes, please donate using the link below.  I am raising money for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation who support research to cure, treat, and prevent Type I diabetes.  I really appreciate any donation, no matter how small.  Also please help me raise awareness by telling everyone you know about this blog and what I am trying to do!


Mike's JDRF Fundraising Link

Thank You!  Mike