That Stupid Pancreas!

I went back to Queen's Park with JDRF this week to continue advocating for CGM ( click here for more information  on CGM's) and FGM ( click here for more information  on FGM's) funding by meeting with the Minister of Health, Health Critic, and staff from the Treasury Board, all of whom were very supportive and interested in what we had to say. (Minister Christine Elliot, Minister of Health) (Minister France Gelinas, Health Critic. The e  in her last name has the accent aigu over it, but I can't get my keyboard to insert it. My apologies!) As I mentioned previously, and as the title of this post suggests, this isn't my first time at Queen's Park. Click  here  to read my post that talks about my other meetings at Queen's Park in more detail, but for this post I just want to reiterate one basic thing: THESE DEVICES ARE LIFE-SAVING AND SHOULD BE FUNDED SO THAT EVERYONE CAN HAVE ACCESS TO THEM!!! Families should not have to make sacrifice...

March Break is behind us now (*sighs*. It was great while it lasted, wasn't it?). I thought I would share my hectic, but amazing March Break experience with the Type 1 world this week, because there is a very important lesson to be learned from it! Anne's School is officially in session! (*rings handheld school bell*) 🔔 I spent March Break at my grandma's house in the countryside with my little brother, Christopher. Don't get me wrong, we had a really great time! We learned how to tie a lot of different knots, sang songs, played ping pong, leaned piano duets, and watched movies. It's the diabetes part of the week that was hectic. Always Bring Extra Pump Sites, and Extra Extra Pump Sites Our second day at Grandma's house, the Sunday of March Break, was Daylight Savings Time. All the clocks were supposed to move an hour back, which meant that I had to adjust the time on my Omnipod PDM (click  here  to learn more about what that is). Coincide...

Do you use a Continuous Glucose Monitor or a Flash Glucose Monitor? Do you know what they are, but don't use them because they are expensive? Or do you have no idea what either of those things are, and are really confused? If that third person is you, click  here  to learn about Flash Glucose Monitors (FGMs) and  here  to learn about Continuous Glucose Monitors (CGMs).  Now that we all understand that, let's talk about JDRF's #AccessForAll Campaign. "JDRF is excited to launch  #AccessForAll , a new campaign to demand affordable and accessible coverage for everyone living with type 1 diabetes (T1D). And we’re kicking it off with our fight for coverage of Continuous Glucose Monitoring (CGM) and Flash Glucose Monitors (FGM).  #AccessForAll  will increase public and private coverage for these advanced glucose monitoring technologies. Our aim is to reduce the out-of-pocket costs for these technologies to make them affordable for Canadians wi...

November 2018, my family and I went to the Friends For Life Diabetes Conference in Niagara Falls, Canada. It was quite an interesting weekend, a lot of which I spent inside the teen program.  During my time in the teen program, we participated in a number of activities. We played games, listened to guest speakers, and talked to university students with Type 1. Out of the two or three speakers who came to talk to us, I remember only being truly engaged in what one of them had to say. I don't remember her name, but I do remember what she talked about. Rather, I remember her being the only speaker who interested me. She asked her audience questions, and allowed us to answer them fully and share our experiences. When she came to the end of her presentation, she gave us an activity to do. She called it "faces of type 1." The activity worked like this: everyone got a piece of paper and pencil. After receiving those things, everyone found a space in the room where they ...

Yesterday was the second anniversary of my diagnosis, otherwise known as my 2nd diaversary (diabetes anniversary). I know that some people celebrate their diaversaries and some people don't, and I respect that, but I take joy and pride in celebrating mine. Sometimes people ask me why I celebrate it, and I always say pretty much the same thing. I don't celebrate being diagnosed; I celebrate having lived my life with courage and strength despite being diagnosed. I celebrate overcoming challenges, and the small victories. Speaking of small victories... Sledding backwards on my first diaversary Winter Scout Camp (super active) Turning 13 Going exploring with my brothers  oh, pizza... I am greater than my highs and lows  Spring Scout Camp 😄😄 The Sun Life Walk to Cure Diabetes for JDRF Climbing rocks and singing Climbing haystacks and playing with my brother Going away to camp and having a great ti...

With the US government shutdown having lasted for over a month now, it troubles me to think of some of our fellow diabetics in the United States who have been forced to ration out their insulin and don't know when they will be able to afford more. This is a big problem that needs to be fixed. Insulin keeps diabetics alive. We need it, and it is wrong that some of us have to worry about whether we will have enough to last until the shutdown is over.  There's nothing I can do except pray for the diabetics in the US who are in trouble. If there's anything that can be done to help people in these extremely tricky situations, let it be done.  Be safe, and be kind to each other.  Thanks for reading this post of That Stupid Pancreas! If you have any questions/comments/concerns please don't hesitate to email me about them  here Don't forget to check us out on Instagram  here! Or on Facebook  here! And on Google+  ...

Yesterday, I accomplished an impossible feat. I conquered the unconquerable; I earned a spot in the history books next to J.K. Rowling and Charles Darwin; I have completed a task so difficult, I believe it to have upstaged Brexit. What is this daunting and horrific task? Sir Francis Bacon (which I think is a glorious name) formalized the scientific method and Sir Isaac Newton figured out that gravity is the force that draws objects together, and I have found something bigger than the discovery of America. I have discovered a new insulin pump infusion site! Okay, maybe that whole introduction was a bit over the top, seeing as I didn't actually discover the infusion site, I just used it for the first time yesterday... but it matters not! This is still a time for celebration! To start off, I understand that my beautiful anchor drawing is upside-down. That's because it was right-side-up for me while drawing it. I challenge you to draw that upside-down on your...

One Saturday in December, I  was on the couch in my pajamas eating grilled cheese and watching the newest season of Fuller House (a TV show) that had just came out on Netflix. The day was going to be pretty uneventful. Mostly I was just putting off the homework I knew I had to finish before Monday, lest my mom scold me and I'd have twice as much school to do on Monday (I'm homeschooled, so my mom is my teacher 🙂). My mom had told me earlier in the week that a surprise was supposed to be arriving at the house between 10:00 in the morning and 2:00 in the afternoon, and I had no idea what it was. About nine episodes into the fourth season of Fuller House, our doorbell rang. When I (begrudgingly) kicked my cat off my lap where she'd been sleeping and got off the couch to open the front door, I figured I'd see a delivery guy dropping off a sweater that my sister had ordered online or something like that. I opened the door, and I met an extremely nice couple who ...