December 20th, 2009 by KerriSparling in Better Health Network, Humor, True Stories
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Hi there. I’m addicted to pineapple.
This week, I’ll be five months pregnant, and it seems like the vitamin C cravings I had early on in my pregnancy are back with a vengeance. Orange juice (yes, with pulp), kiwi fruit, apples, raisins (even though they’re low in it, I still want them), and pineapple. To the point where Chris and I bought a pineapple at the grocery store last week and I ate half of it in two days time. What’s good is that, for whatever reason, my blood sugars aren’t rebelling against this fruit overload. (Different from cute overload, where hamsters play the trumpet.) Before the BSparl invasion, I had things like oatmeal timed out with precision, so that I could eat something with 30 grams of carbs in it without a spike, but just one apple could cause my numbers to go berserk. Now? Oatmeal is hard to predict, but I can nosh on a whole bowl of fruit salad, estimate the carbs, and coast in the low 100’s for NO REASON.
Pregnancy and type 1 diabetes is a very peculiar combination. /digression Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Six Until Me.*
December 12th, 2009 by KerriSparling in Better Health Network, True Stories
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Today, I’m revisiting a post from 2006 (writing that makes me realize I’ve been blogging for a while now!), when I met a little boy at a Rhode Island JDRF event who warmed my heart – which I needed on this snowy, New England morning. 😉
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I’d guess about ten years old. Spikey blonde hair, pale blue eyes, chubby little kid face.
His mother stopped by the table we were manning at the School Health Fair, mussing with the pamphlets strewn about the blue plastic tablecloth. The tri-fold cardboard display announced “Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation” in bright blue letters. Myself and another volunteer from the RI JDRF stood vigil at the table, handing out trinkets and informational packets, answering questions, and enjoying the sights.
“Hey buddy. Would you like a t-shirt?” My fellow volunteer leaned in towards the little blonde boy. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Six Until Me.*
November 28th, 2009 by KerriSparling in Better Health Network, True Stories
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Last week, on Twitter, Elizabeth Arnold posted a link to a photo that made my whole body cringe and I instinctively said, “Oh crap, THAT thing?” (I’m stealing and reposting this photo here, but the original photo credit belongs to Cardinal Health.)
Behold – The Guillotine:
This photo made me shudder because I remember this lancing device clearly. It was the first one I ever used, outside of having my finger pricked by the nurses with the lancet alone, and I remember the shunk sound it made as it came careening towards my fingertip. It wasn’t the standard shunk we know now – this sucker would have to be cocked back like a rifle, and once it clicked loudly into place, you had to hit that button on the back to release the spring-loaded lancet. And it wasn’t just spring-loaded – The Guillotine had an agenda. It would come screaming over the top of the curve and embed itself into your fingertip, and it was all my mother could do to keep my hand pressed against that little plastic circle at the bottom there.
I hated it. It scared the crap out of me, and even though more humane lancing devices were introduced soon after my diagnosis, The Guillotine lived in our house much longer than I’d care to admit. Even the lancets looked like little harpoons. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Six Until Me.*
November 24th, 2009 by KerriSparling in Better Health Network, True Stories
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BSparl is getting bigger. (And so am I.)
I spent a lot of time planning this pregnancy, starting from back in 2003 when I decided to go on an insulin pump. And even though preparation didn’t begin in earnest until Chris and I were married, having a child has always been something I’ve wanted with my whole heart. So I read up on what to expect, and what to do to help improve my diabetes control, and what prenatal vitamins to take.
What I didn’t do much research on was the actual pregnancy itself. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Six Until Me.*
November 15th, 2009 by KerriSparling in Better Health Network, True Stories
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Yesterday was World Diabetes Day. While my best friend’s baby shower is this weekend and I’ll be busy preparing for and helping with that event, I know there are lots of events taking place to celebrate the big, blue circle (including the Big Blue Test … more on that later).
But today is just another day in diabetes management, and it happens to be another endocrinologist appointment for me and the ol’ BSparl. BSparl is getting bigger, as evidenced here: Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Six Until Me.*