The Bagwell's

Twenty-one days ago I posted about a kid named Trey Bagwell. (Go back and read it if you haven't yet or you're going to be lost on this post).  We got to meet Trey!

Friday was Skate with the Wings after the game.  Treyster took his skates and skated directly to Trey after the game as I followed behind.  He shook Jordan and I's hands (I don't know why this impresses me so much but it truly does.  Every Wings player that extends his hand first ... Just says what kind of person they are I think.) and bent down to say hi to Treyster.  Trey immediately pulled up his hoodie and showed Trey his CGM and pump.  Trey says "That's awesome!!!" Up walks a gentleman and Trey says, "Dad, this is the diabetic family I was telling you about," And we shook hands with Bob Bagwell, Trey's dad.  Trey asked about Treyster's pump, his bolus and basal rates. Bob asked about his A1C and if we had glucagon with us.  Bob gave me his phone number and visited with us for about 15 minutes as Trey went to visit with other people.  Bob told us Trey was the only child in his school with diabetes; asked if Treyster had a school nurse; asked about hockey.  He told me numerous times to call him or Betty, his wife, anytime.  Trey didn't like the pump as it wouldn't stay on with all his sweat from hockey practice and games so he does MDI.  He said he ran high during the game and had to give himself insulin in the locker room.  I asked if his billet family (The host family Trey lives with while playing for Wings) was good about everything and Bob said they don't know much about it but they are aware of it.  Bob told Jordan he would be at Treyster's Termite game the following morning.

I couldn't sleep Friday night.  Trey Bagwell and his father were so kind and caring.  They talked the language that no one other than a diabetic understands. People who were strangers quickly became a support for one another. Hockey.  I've said it before, Hockey has brought so many blessings into our lives and this is just one more to add to the list.

I sent Trey a message thanking him for taking the time to visit with Treyster and us.  He said he was honored to meet us and is happy to do anything to support Treyster.  What a great kid.  18 years old, diaganosed at age 13, never letting it get in his way.

Bob did in fact show up to Treyster's first Termite game on that Saturday as well. First thing he asked me when the game was over is "What is Trey's sugar?" I respond with "194". He asked, "What was he when he went on the ice" I said "134". Bob smiled and said, "He's doing fine then!"
C'mon people ... Termite hockey.  It's cute, it's funny, but it's not something I would go watch if I didn't have a kid playing.  There as Bob, the entire hour.  Meant the world to me.

Trey started Saturdays' game for the Wings but took a brutal hit and left the game early.  I became mother hen and grew very worried about him as he didn't come back onto the ice.  I assumed a concussion.  I checked with him after the game to be sure he was ok and he said he was.  I feel like he's my boy!! I feel like even though he has a mother and a billet mom, I need to check on him!  Bob sent me a message on Sunday thanking us for our time, said we seem to have Treyster's diabetes locked in and are doing a great job.  He then sent me a picture of Trey from after Saturday's game and said, "Looks like Trey broke his nose last night."  Poor babe.  Bob also sent me Betty's phone number asking me to call her anytime I have any questions.

The Bagwell family will become one of our favorite families I'm sure.  The Heller's have been great to us, the Hein's keep in touch as well.  This time it's different ~ this time we have something in common other than my kid favoring their kid.

I told you something positive would come out of Treyster having T1D ... Keep watching for it.  It's happening.

World Diabetes Day

Today is declared as World Diabetes Day because it is the birthday of Dr Frederick Banting who is the gentleman who discovered insulin back in 1921.  Thank GOD for that man and his brains!!  

All month long I have been posting diabetes facts and other diabetes related things to raise awareness.  I know many people don't bother to read them and frankly, I don't care.  It is just my hope that for the ones that DO read them, they continue to educate others and raise awareness.  

Today my whole family dressed in blue to help show support.  Trey's teacher sent an email to all the parents of the kids in his class asking them to wear blue today to support their friend who has diabetes.  Trey took 30 JDRF braclets (we are downt to just THREE of those suckers left! Finally!) to school today for his class, teachers and principal.  Truly, this is all we can do!  We can TALK about diabetes. We can EDUCATE others.  We can FIGHT.  We can RAISE awareness.  That's what we can do.  

So many who have diabetes are silent about it.  There is no obvious signs like hair loss or weakness or chemo treatments.  Those who have cancer are seldom silent about it.  Why do we feel we should be silent about diabetes?  

I post about it, talk about it, whip out Trey's kit in public, have his CGM monitor in my hands at the skating rink and I will always be OPEN about it.  There is nothing to hide and nothing to be ashamed of.  I don't talk about it or post on Facebook about it for sympathy.  Yep, it sucks to have a little boy with a deadly disease, but it would suck even more if I didn't talk about it and educate my friends and family about it because these are the people he needs in his life and in his corner to help him fight this disease.  These people I need to know the signs and be aware of things so when he is in their care, they know what to do and how to do it.  When he's 15 and you see him with his girlfriend at the movies eating a huge container of popcorn, you can remind him to cover it with insulin (yep, he will hate me when he's 15 and I have people looking out for him!) 

Why are we silent about diabetes?  That is why the world is so uneducated about it.  So many confuse Type 1 with Type 2.  People associate diabetes with eating too much sugar and that's false in a Type 1 case.  You see jokes about it all the time ... A huge pile of candy and someone will say "looks like I'm going to get diabetes".  Wrong.   Do we joke about cancer when we see a bald person?  No.  So why is it we do that for diabetes??? Because we are uneducated.  That's my job (among many!) as a mother of a type 1 child ... Raise awareness and educate others about the disease that has changed our lives.  People who live with diabetes don't talk about it.  They shrug like it's not a big deal.  Talk about it.  Please ... Talk about it!!!  I know all three of you that read this know a person with diabetes other than Trey.  Type 1 or Type 2.  Talk about it.  Educate others about it.  Raise awareness.  We will never get a cure if we remain silent!!  

Randomness

Random thoughts:

* Trey has been blessed with the best school nurse in the history of school nurses.  Seriously - she is so caring and kind and always keeps me in the loop of what his numbers are, what he eats and how much insulin he gets.  I love love love love that she's not afraid to ask questions either.  I trust her, 100% to make decisions without my input, but I also am glad she runs things by me.  They have a very special bond and I'm so grateful for that.  She's truly an angel.

* The pump is awesome.  We are really liking how much it's lowered Trey's numbers and keeping him in range. Makes me anxious to see what his A1C number is in December now!

* Trey started hockey last night.  Had his first practice.  Before practice he was 185 and after he was 286. I'm a little frustrated that exercise raises him, but at the same time, I know this may not always be the case.  We kept a close eye on his CGM monitor for those 45 minutes and he even would look at me and point to it as he wanted to know his number as well.  He will wear his CGM for practice and games but not his pump.  However, if he continues to raise during those 45 minutes we may need to discuss options with his medical team.

* November 14th is National Diabetes Day and you're supposed to wear BLUE to show your support.  I emailed his teacher telling her of this day and said I would not be offended if she didn't wish to participate.  Received the KinderNews weekly letter yesterday and she is asking the students to wear BLUE on Nov 14th to show their support for a fellow T1 friend and classmate. LOVE!

* Trey was at open skate on Sunday night at the ice rink and I noticed a girl and guy skating together. She was probably high school if not college, but I noticed she had an insulin pump on her pants.  I smiled, grabbed Trey's attention and pointed it out to her and he smiled and nodded.  Something I probably wouldn't have noticed before Trey's diaganoses but now I feel like everyone we see that has diabetes, we have a bond with.


Until next time .... Keep spreading awareness!!!

The Higher Power

First off, November is National Diabetes Awareness month.  I will be blowing up my Facebook page full of Diabetes information all month.  How many people can I annoy?!  I get a little upset when my "friends" hit the unfollow button when I post diabetes stuff, but then I think to myself ... Someday they will thank me.  I too was ignorant to what diabetes was all about.  I will continue to raise awareness and if I lose friends from it, I consider it as the trash taking itself out. I don't have time to be a people pleaser - I'm too busy keeping my son alive and my kids healthy.  

Now, I wanted to share more about what I posted on Facebook about the Wings hockey player. (Here come the tears again) As I've said many times, since Trey was 2 all he's wanted to do is play hockey.  You see my posts, you all know the obsession and love that he has.  He's had many favorite players over the years.  Jordan Heller and Ronnie Hein were the top two dudes.  He claimed to be a Tucker fan, but that was only because Tucker lived at daycare.  A quiet kid named Ethan Stewart joined the favorite list last year but was traded to the Kenai River Brown Bears (Alaskan Team) a few weeks ago leaving Trey studying who he could root for next.  There is a kid, Joey Strada, whom Trey likes "because he is little". (Seriously, what's with him liking these little dudes?? Trevor Pray is his favorite Groton Tiger "because he is little") Joey also played preseason for the Waterloo Blackhawks so that peaked Trey's interest too.  

Saturday night we were at the game and saw a new name on the roster - Trey Bagwell.  As my Trey was reading over the page looking at the names, he found Trey's (TB we will call him to avoid confusion) name and was excited.  We looked for him during warm-ups and Trey claimed "He's my favorite!" 

Fast forward to Monday.  I am on Twitter reading things and I run across Trey Bagwell's Twitter page and there I see it, his post about being diaganosed with T1D 5 years ago.  I gasped, eyes welled up with tears and my heart raced.  What are the odds?  I took a screen shot and sent it to Jordan and his sister, Jessica.  I then wrote a message to TB that said, "My son is 5, also named Trey, loves hockey and was diaganosed in March.  We would love to chat with you!"  He responded right away and said I  could DM (direct message) him and he would be happy to answer any questions I may have.   Through my tears, I typed up a message and explained a little about who we are, Trey's passion for the game, his love for "his hockey boys" and that this was a message straight from above.  I told TB that my first question after the diaganoses was if he could play hockey.  TB wrote me back a very nice message.  He hasn't let T1D stop him from playing, it's not always easy, but it becomes second nature.  He wears his Dexcom G5 (same as Trey!) during the game and the trainer watches his numbers.  He will drink grape juice or eat skittles during the games if he is too low.  He said "soon enough he will be my age inspiring young kids as well." And this momma bawled and bawled.  He asked if he could meet Trey the next home game (Nov 12th) and talk to him.  

I was so excited to tell Trey when he got home from school.  His eyes got big and smile appeared while Delanie jumped up and down saying how cool that was!  I saw today that TB shoots left, same as Trey and his birthday is March 17th, just three days after our diaganoses.   I mean, c'mon, how can this NOT be God's work??  Kid gets sent to Aberdeen a week before my own kid starts hockey and all these similarities ... Seriously.  It gives me goosebumps and puts tears in my eyes.  I cannot wait for Trey to meet Trey.  I have no doubts that this will be yet another life-long friendship.  

Today I received a message from Betty, TB's mother, and she offered her support as well.  The hockey world is a world like none other. It has brought so many people into our life that we never would've met.  Now it gave us TB - a real life hero who fights for his life every day just like my own son and an inspiration for Trey to know that you can do anything you want to do.  Diabetes won't stop you!!!!! 

Thank you, God - message was received loud and clear and I promise to never, ever forget it.