Steve

roughly 2,000 finger sticks roughly 500 middle of the night blood sugar checks roughly 700 shots roughly 60 infusion set changes roughly 200 episodes of hypoglycemia roughly 1000 episodes of hyperglycemia roughly feeling like a perfectly fine nine year old 1.5 days out of every 3 roughly counting

Since Lia’s diagnosis eleven and a half months ago one of the things we’ve been watchful of and spent many long hours safeguarding against was the effect diabetes would have, if any, on everyone’s self-esteem. We watched out especially for Lia’s, but our worry was not

It was a common yet unproductive habit in the days, weeks and months following Lia’s diagnosis to do as any worried parent might do and question every external encounter or genetic mutation in our family history in pursuit of where had this come from. Often it wasn’t a

Back in the late summer my local branch of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation invited me to take part in, among other things, the logistical and production planning of this year’s Walk to Cure Diabetes. When the offer came, I thought it was long overdue as Franca and I

There is something I just don’t get yet. For as long as we’ve been administering Lia’s insulin through a pump we routinely find ourselves relying on intuition when determining her dose. A word problem of how this happens might look something like this: Lia and her dad

We submitted our application to the JDRF Children’s Congress early last week and in so doing took one more potential step from the shadows of obscurity into the spotlight that is the ardent voice of advocacy and awareness. Our story. Our faces. Our family. There are two things that

Part Two I was introduced to Jimmy Buffett’s music on prom night of my senior year, twenty-seven years ago. The song was: Why Don’t We Get Drunk and Screw, and while the song may have been appropriate for the season (or not), it left an impression on me

This journal has been my place over these past eight months to reflect, vent, discover and in some cases even procrastinate, all in the worthwhile interest of coming to terms with Lia’s juvenile diabetes. I like to think we are all better because of it, and we are, all

Loves to sing * Tells long stories * Was born in an ambulance * Likes to make people laugh * Plays dress up * Has a beautiful voice * swims like the Man from Atlantis * Favorite color is blue * Favorite poem: Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening * Loves to camp and hike * Being outdoors * Knows

Back now to the daily opus of attention paid Lia’s diabetes. Her wellness of course is always on our minds and as such our strategy in treating the disease is simple: be open to anything that will multiply our opportunities to know it, treat it, and deal with it