This year, World Diabetes Day will be recognized on November 14th. According to the website, the United Nations passed a landmark Resolution last year recognizing diabetes as a chronic, debilitating and costly disease. The Resolution designates World Diabetes Day as a United Nations Day to be observed every year starting in 2007.

The theme of this year's World Diabetes Day campaign is Diabetes in Children and Adolescents. Type 1 diabetes is growing by 3 percent each year in children and adolescents, and at an alarming 5 percent each year among pre-school children. It is estimated that 70,000 children under the age of 15 develop type 1 diabetes each year - this is almost 200 children a day.

One of the key points of the campaign is that diabetes hits poor children the hardest. I think daily about children who don't have access to insulin, syringes, other supplies and strong medical support. We are so blessed at present to have great coverage for Olivia and a wonderful endo team, but why us and not others? No child should die for lack of insulin.

There aren't any events taking place on that date in our area, so I don't know what we will do to "celebrate," but I will be using the blog to get the word out. If you have a blog and haven't done so already, please consider adding a World Diabetes Day banner to your site. Consider supporting the Life for a Child sponsorship program. Or just read through their material and pick up some talking points. Pass along the word.

At the beginning of the month, we spent a long weekend in Asheville, NC for the Ride for the Cure. After raising more than $4,800 for the JDRF, Marc rode 100 hard miles in the Smoky Mountains with 80 other folks. Marc's parents went with us; all five of us had a great time.

 

I had forgotten what a great little city Asheville is - sidewalk cafes, bookstores, a co-op - I stole away each day during Marc and Olivia's naps and just wandered around. Of course, we also had to visit the Biltmore and we had a nice dinner the night before the ride at a local tavern where they brew their own.

 

 

Olivia met several children who had pumps and exhibited real interest in the pump for the first time after playing with these kids and talking with me about how they no longer take daily shots. We have talked about this with her in the past, but now she is beginning to understand. She even started pointing pumps out to me when she saw them on people's belts.

It was so helpful for me and Marc to meet some folks in the community, as well, to talk with parents whose children were diagnosed around the same age as Olivia and who are now older. Everyone was very kind, very helpful and encouraging. I was so moved and impressed by many of the people who were not serious cyclists, but trained for and completed the 100 mile ride.

 

 

We met some members of Team Type 1 and have been reading up on their story since. Check out the link and read about how the team, comprised entirely of athletes with type 1, won the 3,052 mile Race Across America twice.

We are already making plans for next year and think that we (and by "we," I mean Marc) will probably do the Ride for the Cure in Montana.

 

Best of all is that Olivia's blood sugars were, for the most part, beautiful and have been since. In fact, she has been having the best six or seven weeks that she has had since she was diagnosed. I hope it holds.

Pics as promised: Florida with friends....

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We're back from the beach and recovering. Alish and I had a great time and the girls had a lot of fun together. A couple of the days did end up feeling a little bit like Grown-ups: 0 Toddlers: 17, but all in all it was a good trip.

I'm now unpacking, washing, and re-packing all of our things. This weekend is the Ride for the Cure in Asheville, so we're taking off again tomorrow. Marc exceeded his fundraising goal of $4,000, so we're really excited and thankful for that. Our undying affection for everyone who helped us out with donations and good-wishes.

I'll have plenty of pics to post of the beach and the ride when we return. In the meantime, here's a video that I have watched three times today because the "weedy, shy guy" line cracks my ass up every time. Am I late to these guys? This is apparently from an HBO show that I have never seen, perhaps because I don't have the HBO or watch the TV, but we're downloading some episodes.



And if you enjoyed that, here's another. (And yes, this is what I am actually doing instead of packing.)