Hi Laurie,

Yep, I'm Anne & from TE. I keep meaning to write an actual comment in this thread and keep forgetting...but I think that what you are doing is really wonderful. My sister (& riding buddy) Sara has type 1 (she was diagnosed at 11, 14 years ago) and while the highs & lows can be a bit of a pain, I am *so* thankful for the research that has been done already to let her, Cameron and millions of others maintain active, normal lives and am hopeful that research and technology will continue to improve the lives of people with type 1. Sometimes we have to stop on rides until her blood sugar rises and that can be frustrating for both of us but more often than not it's no more of an inconvenience than saddle sores or my bum knee. And we get through it all; sometimes it just includes a spontaneous 'test stop' and Gu picnic. And to be honest, these times make me thankful that Sara is as healthy as she is, that she's not still on shots, where things were so much more unpredictable, or that she wasn't born a century ago when her condition would have been fatal.

I was reading the other day about the first patients given insulin and the treatment that was popular for type 1 before that, essentially a starvation diet that would let them hang on for a few painful weeks, months or years. Truly awful, and that was in the 1920s. Things have come such a long way.

I'm so happy to read your posts about Cameron, he's adorable and seems like a strong little guy. He is so lucky to have access to a pump and CGMS at such a young age. My sister got her first pump just before college and just got approval from her insurance company for her CGMS this week. We are over the moon about that because it will make it a lot easier for her to keep in good control and see lows and highs as they approach, rather than simply having to react to them. (She'll still have to test +/- 8 times a day with her standard finger poke meter to calibrate & confirm tests, but she'll have a much better idea of what her sugars are doing. The best descriptions I have read compare it to a movie as opposed to still photos.)

It's really great too that Cameron is really active. There are few things that can be more beneficial to him & IMO perhaps the best gift you are giving to him through this ride is the inspiration to do similar things himself and to continue to be fit & active as you are.

My sister and I are riding the Colorado Tour de Cure this year and would *love* to see Cameron & his family ride if they would be interested (or you if you want to come out to CO!) My sister started a team 'Team Sweet Pea' and we'd love to have more people join us. The Tour team is doing a lot to recognize diabetic riders this year and my sis has really been inspired by a lot of the people she has met (not to mention that they say before training rides that anyone should just shout if they need to stop and test their blood sugar!).

As for the comment here about maintaining a low carb diet, that is something which will benefit some people more than others & given his already restricted diet it seems like further restrictions might do more harm than good, IMO. My sister is extremely active and eats a *lot* of carbs. She also has excellent control of her glucose and A1C readings that are generally very close to or in the normal (non-diabetic) range. But to her carbs are critical (as they are to me) because she is very active. That might not be such a great plan for someone else. I assume that if Cameron is in Denver that he goes to the Barbara Davis Center. If so, they have many, many excellent resources as I am sure he and his family are aware and they can recommend a specific plan based on his individual needs.

Congrats to you for the wonderful thing that you are doing. Because of people like you, and the research your efforts support, people like Cameron, Sara, RAAM's Team Type 1 and millions of others have a massively improved quality of life and hopefully some day a cure.

Thank you.

Anne