JDRF...mimi told me to do so!

[onimity]

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

[bouncybouncy]

It was not like any other ride I have done…no time-clock, no mass charge to be the first off the start-line…just a group of people doing what they love for people they love. This was my second time ever attempting to ride 100 miles in one day. I was extremely nervous that I would even be able to get started…you see the weeks prior I had a horrible head-cold which couched me for 5 days, then a vacation with all the food I could eat and little to no exercise, and to top that off on my return flight I caught another head-cold within days of the ride!!! I was not a healthy cyclist…this was not a good training record!

The day was gorgeous…sunny, cool, clear, and slight breeze! The crowd was relatively small for an organized ride in this area but it made for a quaint, family-like atmosphere. There were bikes of all statures…race bikes, new bikes, old bike, hybrids, and one tandem. I started out with what seemed to be the more “experienced” riders…meaning: they looked like racers when not riding for JDRF. I probably could have stayed with them for the day if I had not had such an issue with “pack” riding…riding with more than 4-5 riders in a group is just not appealing to me! At mile 10 I found myself alone…not new for me since I tend to prefer it that way on the road bike. For the rest of the 90 miles I was literally riding “my own ride”

Typically during a century there is what is known as the “80 mile wall” this is where a cyclist usually has a mild mental breakdown and questions everything from…”why am I here?” to “I hate my bike!” with a “I want my Mommy!!!” thrown in. For various reasons I never had any thoughts resembling “this is hard…I wanna quit!” It was almost surreal to not feel any pain!

I do believe the tranquility I experienced is due to the fact that this was one little day…not even 7 hours…of my life in honor of those who suffer daily. The pain was not something I had to force out of my head, it was simply NOT there! I thought of Cameron a lot during my ride…what a great kid he is! How he has brought such light to our family and how such a little time and/or contribution can hopefully one day take away his “80 mile wall”

With your generous donations we are that much closer…Thank you!!!

With Love
Laurie
And family!!!


P.S. Due to scheduling conflicts Cameron and his family were not able to join me on my ride as planned…but next year I will make sure he will be there to pedal across the finish line!

OH…and also…not a week after my ride Cameron took a digger on his bike resulting in 5 stitches on the chin! Healing wishes and a thought from his mtbiking cousin…
“If you don’t fall, you’re not riding hard enough!!!” wooohooooooooo