Day 10: Blogging 31 for 21 ::Julia::

Today's interview is from Julia who blogs at Major Bedhead. She's funny and passionate about so many things and articulate and just so happens to be a mom of O.


1--For my blog readers would you mind telling us a little about who you are and how you became a parent of a special needs child?
I'm Julia. I live in Massachusetts. My daughter O is 14 years old and was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes a few weeks before her third birthday. I have no idea why she got diabetes - it doesn't run on my side of the family nor is it on my ex-husband's side. She was pretty sick for the entire winter/spring in the run up to her diagnosis, getting bronchitis, a couple of ear infections and a few really nasty colds. That's about the only thing that I or her doctors could think of that would have triggered the autoimmune response that flipped on the diabetes switch.
Currently, O is on a Minimed Paradigm pump, which delivers a constant stream of insulin as well as bolus amounts as needed, based on her carbohydrate intake and her blood sugar readings. She checks her blood sugar anywhere from 8 - 12 times a day and changes her pump infusion site every other day.

2--How well is O at managing her own care?
She's pretty responsible about it most of the time. She IS a 14 year old, so she forgets sometimes and then I have to ride her butt for a couple of days or weeks. She has a bad habit of not testing her blood sugar and just bolusing for the food she's eating. But at this point, she's pretty self-sufficient.

3--What do you hope for regarding O's future?
Well, obviously I hope there's a cure some day, but in the meantime, I want her to be happy with who she is and with what she's doing in life. I want her to meet someone who will be a genuine partner to her and I want her to realize her dreams. She's never let her diabetes hold her back and I want her to continue that as she gets older.

4--I have read your blog for some time now and I've gathered that you are
passionate about politics. What else are you passionate about?
Does food count? No? Darn. I'm passionate about writing and reading. Proper grammar and correct spelling make my bitter little heart feel a bit lighter. Also, the Red Sox. I would rather try to diagram a Sarah Palin sentence than hear anyone diss my Red Sox.

5--What makes you happy?
Long summer evening where the twilight lingers and fireflies flicker and float, where friends share a laugh across the fire pit, beer bottles and wine glasses sweat in the warmth of the fading day - I wish I could wrap up that feeling and keep it for the days that the black dog rears its head and lays me low.
Long rainy days when no one is home where I can make myself endless cups of tea and curl up on the couch under an eiderdown, reading a book.-
The crack of the bat and the arc of the ball as it flies across that black sky, hearing and feeling the rumbling, growing ecstasy from the crowd. The smell of Fenway Park, the sight of the players in their white, white uniforms on that green, green field, the banners and bunting waving - some people have church. I have Fenway Park.-
Used book stores and used books. The smell, the feel of old paper under my fingers, the thrill of never knowing what treasure you might find.-
The view up or down the Connecticut river first thing in the morning, when the light from the rising sun makes the river pink, or when the fog curls down from the Holyoke mountain range, making it foggy and misty and ethereal.-
My babies, laughing as I tickle them or cuddling up to me during the night, patting my face and giving me kisses as we snuggle on the couch.-
O and Alex, my oldest, and what good kids they are.

Such a wonderful writer with beautiful worlds.

6--Do you have any websites you'd like to share?
http://www.dlife.com/ - dLife (the site I write for), a hugely useful site packed full of information about living with both types of diabetes.

http://www.childrenwithdiabetes.com/ - Children With Diabetes. My lifeline for the last 7 years or so. I've learned more from reading this website and being involved in the parents email list than I learned from doctors in the first couple of years after O's diagnosis.

http://icanhascheezburger.com/ - LOLCats. Because it's funny. I AGREE!!

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Yayyy I get to take a little break. Everything is okay at school now. The battery was replaced Wednesday. I was able to go to the school Tuesday and put him on the table, someone else catheterized him and I put him back in his chair and I went home. Aaron got a good day at school and I still got my time to myself.
We're looking at a 3 day weekend here with no school on Monday. It is Canadian Thanksgiving and I decided to treat myself to a homemade turkey stew and stuffing for that day.
Until tomorrow...have a wonderful day! I'm off to nurse that cold I have. Ugh.