Episodes of Low Blood Sugar today: none so far! :)
"C's" Mood today: pretty good, still a bit sassy, showing everyday that he is inching toward being 2
Workout today: 8.5 km this morning; I'm fighting some sniffles that developed last night, wasn't feeling the most energetic this morning. Was supposed to do 10km but opted for a treadmill workout to avoid potentially going out and not having the energy to make it back. I love the convenience of the treadmill, but even watching TV while working out could not stave off the boredom that sets in on the treadmill. Glad to have made it that far.
Clean Eating menu today: Homemade egg McMuffins for breakfast with turkey bacon, a spinach smoothie for lunch, and Turkey Chili is Jeff's pick for tonight...he is cooking, yay for great husbands!
It is now almost mid-February. Where has the time gone? Christmas is over, the holiday hang over has subsided, and hopefully most of us are still hanging on to those resolutions we made-even if it is just by a thread. What the second month of the year means for me is a more invested approach to my fundraising campaign. I have given myself some leeway in the last 8 weeks; it has been Christmas after all and then January which is often about paying Christmas bills. But now, it is time to get back up on the fundraising horse.
It is not easy to ask people for money. I thought I knew this going in, but it is even harder when you actually have to do it. Jeff has been great and supportive since November, when I decided to take this project on. He has said all along, "Don't take it personally, it is charity, people have the right to say no." He is absolutely right. The rational side of me realizes that most of us are asked to donate to many different causes. It is tough to choose, and more tough to part with our hard earned cash. It is so cliche to say, but everything is more expensive these days, groceries, diapers, clothing-I am certainly aware that asking for something as non-necessity as charity is tough for some people to swallow.
The emotional side of me takes a different angle. When I am thinking with my heart, my campaign is personal to me. Sharing my story and my fight with Diabetes isn't easy; it leaves me feeling vulnerable and exposed to possible judgement and scrutiny. When I decided to sign up for this campaign I told myself that it would be unbelievable to reach my goal and run in Iceland, but I also told myself that it is just as important to improve knowledge and understanding about my disease in the general public-what better place to start than with family and friends?
Well now the time has come to branch out and begin talking to people that I don't know very well, likely some strangers in fact. This concept has left me feeling a little nervous in the last few weeks. I was chatting with my neighbor yesterday and she thoughtfully asked about how my fundraising was going- I was proud to tell her that I am 2/3rds of the way to my goal of $6500.00. As Jeff has encouraged me to do, I focused on the positive aspects of my campaign- that I have had neighbors that I am only getting to know donate without hesitation, I have had distant cousins donate that I have never even met ("Family is Bedrock" when you are Icelandic :) ), and I have friends in Saskatchewan who took it upon themselves to share my story with their family and friends and as a result have received multiple donations from people I barely know. It has been amazing, and it has given me the courage to keep going.
So here I am, I have saddled up and am ready to hit the streets once again. Not just in the name of charity but in my name as well. "Hello, my name is Amy, I am a diabetic. Please consider donating to a great cause."
Below I have attached the fundraising letter that I mailed out to family and friends as part of my campaign (of course with a few changes to my personal info). I would love for people to read it, if nothing else to know my story. If anyone has any questions or comments, I would love to hear them. Please leave them in the comment section below.
January 2013
To my friends and neighbours,
This is my running buddy Charlie. He
rides, I run. He is at the top of my list of the many blessings I
have in life. My list includes a loving and caring husband, a great
career as a physiotherapist, a beautiful house, a reliable car, a
wonderful family and friends, and until recently a healthy body that
has helped me achieve many athletic goals.
Of course as most of you already know,
the last one changed this past July when I was diagnosed as a Type 1
diabetic. This diagnosis definitely did not feel like a blessing, it
felt more like a blow both to my physical self and my ego.
Considering I have preached and embodied a healthy lifestyle to my
clients for the past 8 years, can count on one hand the number of
times I eat fast food in a year, and cannot remember before the age
of 8 years old taking a full week off of exercising it was a blow
indeed.
The one thing that helped me through
the bleakness of my diagnosis was my mom, Carol. She has lived
successfully as a Type 1 diabetic for more than 40 years. I didn't
realize though the grace with which she has dealt with her disease
until I myself was diagnosed; I would watch her as a kid, test her
blood, take injections, refuse desserts and treats, and very rarely,
if ever, did I hear her complain. The only time we would notice a
note of frustration was when she had low blood sugar (hypoglycemia)
which by the way involves breaking into a sweat, getting the shakes,
inability to form sentences or thoughts and feeling unsure if you are
going to faint...no wonder the frustration!
Not only did I not realize her burden,
I also did not realize the ignorance she faced from the general
public. I experience this now when I share with a stranger my
diagnosis and that glaze of confusion sweeps over them. Some of the
braver ones even make comments like: “But you're not overweight?”,
“You eat so healthy, I don't understand” The fact of the matter
is many people think Diabetes only effects those that eat sugar for
breakfast, those that frankly take their health for granted by
sitting 12 hours a day and sleeping the rest, and never eating a
vegetable. And this simply isn't true.
Type 1 Diabetes means that for some
reason my pancreas has stopped producing Insulin, a much needed
hormone in the body that helps our cells to absorb glucose. Glucose
is the fuel that our bodies require for energy and for overall
function. Without Insulin, glucose cannot be absorbed by the cells
and the body starts to breakdown. For me this presented in various
forms including thirst, muscle cramps, frequent peeing (4 times in
one night is not normal!), and weight loss. The one that really
indicated something was wrong was blurred vision- I went out for a
training run in July and couldn't see down the trail! Not a
recommended sensation to experience anytime in your life!
In early August I was finally placed on
Insulin injections which has made me feel much better. My daily life
now consists of 5 insulin injections, 2 long acting insulin shots,
and three fast acting injections at meal times. Above and beyond the
injections I prick my finger 6-7 times per day to test my blood sugar
to ensure I am taking the right amount of insulin in correspondence
to my carbohydrate intake. That is right, at every meal I count how
many grams of carbohydrate I am eating and calculate the ratio of
insulin I need to cover the carbs. Oh, this also has to be adjusted
if I plan to exercise, which I always do, because exercise naturally
lowers blood sugar.
I know what you're thinking, that is a
lot of poking and a lot of math in one day! It is a lot to think
about. As you can see there is not a day that goes that I am not
fully aware of my disease and how I need to manage it. It is now a
part of everything that I do, every time I head out for a run, every
time I open my mouth to eat something, every time I have low blood
sugar (which is often once a day) it is on my mind. As a parent, you
know how hectic meals can be with a 21 month old; now imagine
counting carbs and taking injections between cleaning up spills and
running for more cheerios! Often pure chaos!
But it is worth it for me to be on top
of things. I feel better when I regulate my blood sugar properly and
I know by doing this I am providing myself with a reduced risk of
diabetic complications; if you don't know, these risks include a high
risk of heart disease, stroke, blindness, and even amputation just to
name a handful! Management is not easy but it is necessary.
As most of you know I completed my
first half marathon as a Type 1 Diabetic in October 2012; this was my
5th half marathon in my lifetime but as you can see from
above, things have changed slightly in the last few months. When I
got the go ahead to continue training after my diagnosis I had
T-shirts made for myself, my parents, Jeff and Charlie stating my
diabetic state and the presence of my support system. I wanted to
make the best of things, have fun with it. As I waited at the start
line for the race to begin a young woman came up to me and asked me
where I got my shirt, she said she wanted it. In our brief
conversation she told me she was a Type 1 diabetic as well, and I
explained what had happened in the last few months, that I had been
diagnosed in the middle of my training program. At this she shrugged
and responded, “ It's not so bad.” She had that jaded tone in her
voice that I hear quite often in my profession; those that have lived
with a chronic condition for long time and feel misunderstood by the
commoners that don't have the condition. At the time I didn't think
much of it; I was a little hurt by her lack of reassurance and
obviously had my mind on the race that was about to begin. In the
last few weeks I have thought a lot about her comment and thought to
myself “yes, it's not so bad, but it could be a lot better!!!”
Which brings me to why I have sat down
to write this letter. I am fundraising on behalf of the Canadian
Diabetes Association (CDA). I have signed up to take part in a Team
Diabetes event. Team Diabetes is a section of the CDA which, along
with their sponsors, helps participants to complete marathons around
the world. If I manage to raise the minimum fundraising amount of
$6100.00 (I know it is a lot!) Team Diabetes will help with my travel
and race costs. I have signed up to complete the half marathon in
Reykjavik, Iceland August 24, 2013; my goal is to complete the half
in less than 2 hours. I feel as though this event was made for me; I
love to run and my mother's family is of Icelandic descent.
Completing this project will help me to accomplish two things-1) help
improve awareness in the general public about my disease and 2) allow
me to visit the homeland of my ancestors which has been a lifelong
dream of mine!
My goal is to raise $6500.00 for
Diabetes education, research, and support for those 9 million
Canadians living with the disease.
I am doing this for a multitude of
reasons. I hope that fundraising initiatives will get us that much
closer to a cure, I am staying active with training which helps me
control my blood sugar and feel in control of my health, I am
presenting myself as a role model to other Diabetics who maybe aren't
as active as they should be, and above all I am doing this for my
son, to make his future brighter and helping to reduce the chances of
him ever having to here the words “you are diabetic”. Charlie is
not diabetic but he has the genetic misfortune of having a mother, a
grandmother, and a paternal uncle all with Type 1 diabetes. Talk
about a gene pool full of sharks!
I am writing to my wonderful friends to
help with my fundraising campaign. I would like to ask you for a
$50.00 donation. If a different donation amount would suit you better
please feel free to donate more or less depending on your level of
comfort. Every donation will bring me that much closer to my
fundraising goal and my lifelong dream of visiting Iceland!
As I have different deadlines to make
throughout this campaign I am hoping that you can make this donation
prior to May 1, 2013. Your donation will provide you with a tax
receipt and will make me extremely happy! You know that I am not the
type to ask for help unless something is extremely important to me.
Donations can be made online at
www.teamdiabetes.ca Click on
“Pledge” and then enter my name (Amy Taylor) and city (Nanaimo).
If you are not comfortable with online donations there are forms for
credit card or cheque donations that can be mailed in, please call or
email me and I will help you!
I look forward to hearing from you!
From,
Amy
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