Snow Help Needed...

Anyone willing to get the newspaper for me?

.....never far.......

When you have diabetes, you get used to the "quirks" that are part of your daily life. It is not until someone from the "outside" world looks in, and questions, that you notice things just may not be normal.

Little things I do not notice anymore. The test strips on the floor of the car, in every backpack I own. Stashes of sugar in jacket pockets, parcels of infusion sets and AAA batteries in my house, my car, my workplace, my garage, my friends' houses....where people would have nail-polish and makeup in their bathroom cupboards, I have lancets and alcohol swabs. This is my normal.

I realized the humor when my parents were over the weekend. I was talking to my mother in my bedroom, and she looked under the head of me bed. She was confused, and could not figure out what she was looking at. To me, it was easy.....a jar of jelly beans. She said "why do you have a jar of jelly beans under your bed???". I was amazed at the question. Why does this seem strange? The pure simplicity of treating a low without having to get out of bed! No stumbling down the stairs.....no fumbling for food....and best of all, it keeps me from eating the entire box of cereal at 3am :)

Those jelly beans are rarely visited, and often end up stale and hard as little stones, but they are my normal. It is interesting to see my world through someone elses eyes.....

Scott - the leaves of Nova Scotia.......but not for long!!

Fall Colors

Well fall is going to be over soon. I am seeing the evidence of winter slowly approaching. I had a great fall - travels all over North America, many great hikes and walks on the beach.....drives to see the colors....the only task left is to rake the leaves in the yard! Any takers? I love the yard full of maple trees........the one downfall (no pun intended!)

My mother asked me what I wanted to Christmas. That was the real indication winter was near......she laughed when I told her "Glucose sensors". I am 100% true with that request. Anyone without medical coverage for their sensors would agree that sensors would be the ultimate Christmas gift. It is hard to squeeze them in to the budget, but worth every penny......

Happy world diabetes day tomorrow ..........

Twin Cities Marathon Weekend! Medtronic Global Heros....

What an amazing experience.....what more can I say.

I encourage anyone who thought they would never be able to run long distances, but can now, thanks to any Medtronic development......apply for the Global Heros program.

I can easily say, this weekend was one I will never forget, and I am extremely appreciative for this experience.

24 people from around the world came together this weekend in St. Paul, MN, to run the Twin Cities Marathon. I was one of these 24 people, hailing from Nova Scotia Canada. There were people from Denmark, the UK, Finland, and all over the United States. Each person brought a different story of how Medtronic allowed them to run distances, that they were not able to run prior in their life. Most of us were told we would never be able to run a marathon.....some of the people were wheelchair bound before their Medtronic intervention, some people were in cardiac arrest.....everyone has a unique story.

I was there with my Medtronic Insulin Pump, and my Continuous Glucose Sensing system. It was amazing to hear the stories from the other people....to hear what people had gone through to get to the point they are now. Inspiring...

We were treated with the utmost of respect by Medtronic. It was great to see the scientists behind the scenes in the research facility, the faces and friendly handshakes to go with the names we read about, see an overall picture of the many facets that make up Medtronic, and experience the high level of organization and perfectionism within this company.

Early next year, the applications will open for the 2009 Medtronic Global Heros. If you benefit from a Medtronic device, and you run....please do apply! I hope to have pictures to follow soon.....

....and to top it off, an amazing meeting with Scott! Thanks for meeting me for coffee, was great to meet you face to face! Cheers!

Thunder!!!

I am sitting, looking out over the ocean, listening to what has turned out to be one of the loudest and most vibrant thunder storms of the year. It sounds like the bedrock is moving underneath the earth. I can only imagine what a person would think during an earthquake! I can feel the rumble of the thunder through my bones, and can see the house moving...i am thankful to be inside, looking out.....even the birds have retreated to the safety of the spruce trees in the back yard. Their little yellow bodies don't stand a chance against the pounding hail. Is this really the way summer is leaving?

Tomorrow is September 1st. I will be phasing out the sandles....and welcoming in fall. Certainly my favorite time of year. I weathered summer, tried new things, save new places....travelled throughout the Maritimes by foot, car, motorcycle, bicycle, truck..... This fall I am gearing up for camping, hiking, traveling to places I have never been, trying things I have never tried.....I have high hopes and tickets booked :)

Incidentally enough, my Minilink is still up and running. I have been reading more and more these days where people are starting to see their Minilinks reach the end of their precious lives. It has been over a year since Medtronic has had something "new" to offer it's loyal customers. I feel we need something new, something for us pumpers to focus on and marvel over. The Minilink is great technology (even though the insurance coverage does not exist for most people....) but it is time for an upgrade!? New features? I can only change my pump skin so many times....I need something new!!

Keep Running!!

Well, tonight ... I found out an easy to keep running....to keep the feet moving quickly, when out for a training run.

Tonight was a 10km run. I started out well, good form and speed. The run felt good.

About 8km in to the run, I felt my sugars dropping. I walked, at a few candies...and knew I was fine to keep running. My mind just wanted to walk. Such a nice evening walking along the oceanside. No traffic, no people....flat road....until I looked behind me, and saw a huge cloud of mosquitos!! There must have been about 20 on my back, and a cloud quickly forming behind me! Yup....there is my sure fire way to keep on running!!

Seems it has been rather damp lately, lots of rain in Nova Scotia! Those little buggers got me home in record time!