Meet Midnight

 This is Midnight. She is one of Dusty's kittens from her first litter. She has 2 sisters from her litter, They both went to new homes once they were old enough. We kept Midnight cause she turned out to be one of the most calm and chill kittens out of everyone. She is also the smallest of all our kitties but she is definitely the feistiest. Big attitude in a small package. She very much likes to cuddle and be held, as long as it's on her terms. She has very deep purr, kinda sounds like the bass of car speakers or something. She is such a sweetheart.

My diabetes diagnosis story continued

 I can remember my brothers coming to visit me in the hospital. I don't really remember much else about it though. But apparently I didn't really like being in the hospital except that I enjoyed the food and I was able to watch whatever I wanted on Animal Planet. 

I was released from the hospital after 5 days.

I don't think I realized how difficult it would be. All the finger pricks, insulin injections, carb counting (I think my mom did most of that though), not being able to really eat what I wanted, like ice cream or cake.  Having to get blood drawn for doctor appointments. Those really long needles. I hated it.

I remember one time my stomach started hurting and I wanted some apple juice (we used to use those cans of frozen juice you had to mix with water to make), I asked my mom if I could make some. While I was mixing the water into it I felt like I was about to pass out. The next thing I knew I was being carried to the couch by my mom. She started shoveling sugar into my mouth. My blood sugar had dropped, it was like 30 or something like that. I was supposed to be going swimming with a friend that night but my mom didn't let me go after what happened. I wasn't too happy about that. 

There was another time, when I went to stay the night at that friends house. I think we were watching a movie. The next thing I knew I was being shaken awake by my friend and her mom. They said my eyes were like darting around or something. I'm pretty sure it was a diabetic seizure. I didn't know that at the time though. I only learned that it's possible that's what it was years later when I saw someone else's post on a diabetes support group on Facebook.

My older brother and I used to be able to go skiing with our class from when we were in church school. I guess he was able to a few times still but I was not able to. But about 3 months after I was diagnosed we all got to go skiing, my mom even went with us, I don't think she skied though. I remember being up on one of the slopes when a snowmobile came, they told me my mom wanted me to come back to the lodge and check my blood sugar. I think I was able to go back out but I'm not sure. 

These are just a few memories that I can actually somewhat remember.

Stayed tuned for more...

Meet Calico

 This is Calico. She's Dusty's sister. Dusty brought her around a few days after she showed up. Calico was a lot more skittish than Dusty was, but it didn't take long for her to warm up to me. She is also one of the sweetest cats I've ever met. Like Dusty, Calico also had 2 litters of kittens. Out of her first litter we actually have all 4 of them. Unfortunately, her second litter, 4 kittens, all died at about 2 weeks old. That was really devastating for me. Calico and I are doing better now though. I'm not sure she even remembers what happened. It was over a year ago. She is sometimes a feisty kitty, especially when she is waiting for food. She will swat and hiss at the others  Even though they are all basically her family.    

Meet Dusty

 

This is Dusty. On Christmas eve 2023 she showed up at my house. I had tossed out some popcorn that I couldn't finish and when I came back out of the house, she was there eating the popcorn. She got a little scared when she saw me. I started talking to her and she came back to the popcorn and started eating more. I sat on the ground and just talked gently and quietly to her. Eventually she came over to me, rubbing on anything she got close to, and then she got close enough for me to pet her. Soon she decided to get on my lap and just purred while I pet her. After a few minutes she decided that was enough and left. But she came back and brought her sister with her and now here we are almost 2 and a half years later. She is one of the sweetest kitties I have ever met. She's had 2 litters of kittens, 1 litter of 3 and 1 litter of 4. Out of her first litter we kept 1 kitten. Out of her second litter we have 2 of them still. We gave the other kittens away to good homes. 

My diabetes diagnosis story

 This is a little bit about me and how I was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes. I was diagnosed on January 10 2004. I was 10 and a half years old. 

I actually don't really remember much about it all. Most of what I know now is from what my mom has told me or what I have read that she has posted. But I'll do my best. 

For a few days I was really sick. Throwing up, not able even to hold down water. My mom was worried about me. She thought I might be dehydrated, so we went to the ER in the tiny town we lived in. A very small town in Montana. They did some tests, including a blood sugar test, and it was 500. They sent me by ambulance to a bigger hospital in a bigger town 60 miles away. According to my mom I had a look on my face like I didn't know who she was, or where I was, or even who I was. 

We learned that night that I had type 1 diabetes. And I don't really remember how I was feeling, but I must have been very scared and very confused. I probably was thinking "What's going on?" "What is diabetes?" "Is it serious?" "What happens now?"

For five days I was in the hospital. My mom stayed with me the whole time. She had to learn how to take care of me and my diabetes. 

That was the beginning of my life long roller coaster. And my mom has been there for me through it all.

Stay tuned for more...