Project 365: Australia ~ 17th February (day 109) – 1st March (day 122),2008

Day 109 – 17^th February, 2008

Today’s photo is of Orange Juice poppers. These are also part of our hypo stash.

It may be ‘Just Juice’ but it’s not JUST Diabetes! There is no cure.

Day 110 – 18^th February, 2008

Today James had an appointment with the ophthalmologist. We have been waiting for this appointment since August 2007. After waiting 30mins we were ushered into an examination room. The Dr had James read an eye chart, had a quick look at his eyes, then put dilating drops in his eyes and sent us back out to the waiting room. We waited another 20 mins before James’s name was called again. The Dr tried to look into James’s eyes with a light but had difficulty due to James’s photophobia. Finally we left after being told that James has bad eyesight in his right eye, corneal scarring and no sign of diabetic retinopathy ‘that I can see’. James and I weren’t impressed by the lack of answered this appointment gave us about James’s eyesight worsening and his eyes becoming more and more sensitive to light. So we stopped at the optometrist in Ulverstone on the way home and I made an appointment for tomorrow.

Diabetes takes up your time. There is no cure.

Day 111 – 19^th February, 2008

Today we visited the optometrist. He said that the corneal scarring was also called corneal dystrophy and could be part of APECED (even though he had never heard of it – just guessing form the dystrophy part of APECED). He also said that James’s eyesight was lower than the legal limit for driving a vehicle without glasses. We ordered two pairs of glasses on our way out – one pair of normal glasses and one pair of prescription sunglasses.

Diabetes and APECED affects your eyesight. There is no cure.

Day 112 – 20^th February, 2008

Today’s photo is our noticeboard which is covered with business cards for doctors, scripts for medications, letters for future doctor and specialist appointments.

Diabetes is complicated. There is no cure.

Day 113 – 21^st February, 2008

Today’s photo is of a table of the components of APECED. Since the optometrist visit on the 19^th I have been looking up information on APECED and eyes. I have discovered that keratopathy (corneal dystrophy) is part of APECED, and after emailing other people with APECED I have discovered that most people develop keratopathy early in APECED. This means that in this case James is actually lucky to have not developed this condition until now. In my searching I also found an article that said that most people with APECED have only 3 to 5 of the 15 possible conditions – James has 10!

Diabetes is the hardest part of APECED. There is no cure.

Day 114 – 22^nd February, 2008

Today we went to City Park in Launceston and saw the monkeys. I took a whole heap of photos and I love this one.

Diabetes is a balancing act and often feels like you are walking on a rope. There is no cure.

Day 115 – 23^rd February, 2008

Today is James’s 24^th birthday. James’s Mum arrived yesterday for a 4 day visit. Today’s photo is of James and his mum. James is now getting nagged by two people J.

Diabetes involves the whole family. There is no cure.

Day 116 – 24^th February, 2008

We went to Wings Wildlife Park in Gunns Plains today. I took this photo of James with a donkey. Yes – that is a handbag on James’s shoulder, and no – it isn’t his. I was having trouble carrying my handbag and taking photos so James was in charge of my handbag. At least half of the items in my handbag are for James hypo treatment so it gets quite heavy anyway.

Diabetes is a burden. There is no cure.

Day 117 – 25^th February, 2008

Today’s photo is of James eating some condensed milk out of the tube (there was only a tiny bit in there) at the same time as entering the amount of carbs that were in it into his pump.

Men with diabetes HAVE to be able to do two things at once J. There is no cure.

Day 118 – 26^th February, 2008

James had a CT scan of his back done today. We have to wait until the 28^th to find out the results from the doctor. More time was spent in waiting rooms today.

Diabetes makes you spend lots of time in doctor’s waiting rooms. There is no cure.

Day 119 – 27^th February, 2008

Today as we were about to head out the door to do some shopping, James checked his level – it was 3.1mmol/L. James had no symptoms of being low. We had to wait and treat the hypo before heading out – and James had a headache to accompany him when we finally left.

Diabetes makes you wait for it. There is no cure.

Day 120 – 28^th February, 2008

Today we picked up James’s glasses. He has had a headache since wearing them as his eyes have to get used to them.

Diabetes is clearer with glasses – but no easier to handle! There is no cure.

Day 121 – 29^th February, 2008

Today I have two photos. The first photo is of my handbag with the orange Glucagon Hypokit showing. The other important thing in my handbag is the black thing in this first photo – which leads me to the second photo.

This photo is of the Addison’s emergency kit I have made. It contains a syringe, needle and the solu-cortef package, all kept together in an old sunglasses case. I take these two potentially lifesaving kits with me everywhere I go, which means I now have a bigger handbag than I used to have!

Diabetes dictates the size of your handbag. There is no cure.

Day 122 – 1^st March, 2008

Today’s photo is of James lying on his back on the floor – a common position for him since his back injury.

Diabetes is most likely prolonging the healing of James’s back. There is no cure.

________________________________________

And that finally brings me back up to date!!! I will try and post photos more regularly now – not just take them and forget about them!!

All about me

I have been thinking about doing this for a while (writing 100 things about myself) and then Lance did it so I thought I’d take a stab.  Good luck and if you make it all the way to the end I’ll be impressed!

1. I am addicted to coca-cola
2. I hate people who call me ‘dear’.
3. I can handle being called ‘dear’ by the elderly people I look after, but I can’t stand it when my co-workers call me that and when a guy who was younger than me called me ‘dear’ I felt like punching him.
4. I currently work in a nursing home
5. My first job was as a babysitter
6. When I was 15 I set up a party organising business with my friend.  We did one party before we got offered work hosting parties for a business called Kids Plaster Craft
7. I did ¾ of a Bachelor of Education (Early Childhood Education) before I realised that I didn’t want to be a teacher.
8. I finished with a Bachelor of Arts in Early Childhood Education.
9. I have worked as a gardener, nanny, babysitter, party host, shop assistant, personal carer, recreational activities officer, maths tutor, uni advice line telephone operator and a party organiser.
10. I grew up in the Blue Mountains, NSW, Australia.
11. I am vegetarian
12. I have a habit of naming everything – my car is named Ali, our Christmas tree is Clive, and my laptop is Cassie
13. I blame my parents for this habit – their car is named Mob, and there was a tree in our backyard named George
14. I love getting mail, but hate the bills.  When I hear the postie I run to the letter box.
15. I used to have 27 penfriends but don’t talk to them anymore
16. I love teddy bears.  I have an extensive collection
17. When I was little I had a Raggedy Andy doll that I slept with every night.
18. Raggedy Andy started getting a bit old so my Mum got our neighbour to make me a new one to replace him.  I, however, had a different idea and to this day I still have ‘Old Andy’ and ‘New Andy’
19. I still sleep with a teddy every night.  His name is Nicky and he is now 10 years old. 
20. I have a confusing family – my brothers are fostered, one of my ‘sisters’ is actually my cousin and I have a number of nieces and nephews I’m not really related to.
21. Talking of family, my older sister and I have often been mistaken as twins
22. I love playing Playstation games and my brothers often used to ask me to get them past levels for them
23. I studied three unit computers at school – I was the only girl in a class of five
24. This didn’t bother me except that the teacher made a point of it
25. I went into my three unit computers exam thinking I would never have to be an example again.  My kindy teacher was the exam supervisor and said to me “Elizabeth!  It’s nice to see you are doing your part for the females”
26. My middle name is Thérèse
27. Which means that my initials are E.T.Y
28. I was often called E.T. by my family
29. James’s nickname for me is Lilly
30. This is because when I was little I called myself “Lilabet”.  Queen Elizabeth also called herself this when she was little
31. My adenoids had to be removed when I was four.  I refused to go home after the operation until I had had the ice cream and jelly I was told you got when you were in hospital
32. I had a growth removed from my ankle when I was 17
33. These are the only two operations I have had
34. James and I organised our wedding in two months after my sister decided to go to China and we wanted her there
35. The worst part about this was shopping for a wedding dress when I had a cold, a red and runny nose, and felt very unattractive
36. We found my wedding dress the first day we looked
37. James was in hospital the week before our wedding
38. We got married in the backyard of the house I grew up in
39. Mum and Dad are going to be selling that house next year
40. Up until this year I was a chocoholic
41. I am now allergic to chocolate
42. I knew this was only a matter of time since my Mum, Dad and sister are all allergic to chocolate
43. But I still miss it
44. I am allergic to a number of other things – the worst being eggs, tomato and bee stings
45. I can’t ever just watch TV, I have to be doing something at the same time
46. I have always been like that and I used to do maths when I was in primary school while watching TV
47. As a result I am quite good at maths, and was a maths tutor for a while
48. At the moment I’m watching Numbers, so maybe that’s why I’m talking about Maths!
49. I made the best lasagne in the world tonight – James agrees
50. I have always liked the name James
51. For some reason most watches I wear end up with chipped glass.  The strange part is that the chip is always on the inside.  My sister and Mum have problems with watches going slow when they wear them
52. I am the youngest in my family
53. I always wanted to be like, and do things with, my sister and my brothers
54. When I was a toddler, my sister and Mum used to do craft things I was too young to do while I was having my nap
55. When I woke up they would say “Here comes trouble”
56. I often have people say that to me even now
57. I first became and Aunty when I was 9 and I am closer in age to my niece than to her father (my oldest brother)
58. I learnt to drive in a Morris Minor
59. I drove my Pop’s Sigma until I hurt my wrist at work and was unable to steer it
60. In 2004 I was very excited when I got a car that was actually younger than me
61. I have a good sense of direction and find it almost impossible to get lost
62. My sister used to be really bad at getting up in the mornings (and still is) so my Mum devised a system in which we got 5 cents if we were up by a certain time and 5 cents if we were dressed, fed and ready by a certain time.  I always ended up with 50 cents at the end of the week – which would buy me a packet of nerds.  Lou was lucky to have 10 cents
63. James told me I had to write the following:  I am the centre of my husband’s world
64. James is the centre of mine.  I can’t do anything without thinking about him.
65. I am finding it very hard to think of 100 things about me but I know it should be easy
66. I like summer because I like wearing skirts
67. My friend once had to ban me from buying skirts because I had too many
68. Even though I like summer I do not tolerate heat
69. When I was a baby I had febrile convulsions, and I now get really tired when I have a fever.  Exhausted tired.  Not get out of bed for days tired.
70. I also get the same when the weather suddenly gets hot.  I can handle slow changes, but big ones knock me out
71. I met James while working in a old persons hostel
72. He was one of the only males working in the hostel
73. My friend and I used to fight over him
74. She wanted him for her daughter and I pointed out it was impractical as she had a son called James so it would be too confusing
75. The only contact I have with my best friends is via the internet.  Eryn lives in China, Dan in New South Wales and Kate in Queensland.
76. I love listening to music
77. I learnt to play the piano and I taught myself clarinet
78. I read a lot
79. I hate borrowing books from the library as I am really bad at remembering to return books
80. I am an optimistic person
81. However, sometimes the glass is half empty
82. I smile a lot – even when I feel horrible I will smile
83. This used to annoy Mum when she took me to the doctors about my sore foot and the would say “does this hurt?” and I would smile
84. I got my first migraine in 2004
85. Since then they have gotten worse, but my dog now warns me before I get them so I can take meds to stop the pain – my brain just stays fuzzy
86. I love the smell of freshly cut grass but I don’t like mowing
87. James ended up in hospital about 2 weeks after we started going out.  When he rang to tell me I didn’t know whether or not to believe him because he sounded fine and he had been ok the night before.
88. The first time I stayed the night at James’s house, I woke up in the morning and he didn’t.  Luckily his brother got halfway to work and decided to come home so he was able to help James. 
89. I still remember the look on James’s face when his brother said “what’s her name?” and pointed at me.  It was a blank look.  After he was asked a few times he said “Wizabef”.  I was very grateful he didn’t say ‘Amanda’ (his ex)
90. I don’t ever ask James questions when he is low – I can judge how conscious he is by looking at his face
91. I never thought that I would be able to do that
92. I find it very easy to inject James with his B12 injection.  This is usually because he gets really irritable and cranky when it is due and I don’t mind inflicting a bit of pain on him
93. I really do love him though J
94. I had pet mice, fish, chickens, rabbits, guinea pigs, a turtle and a duck while growing up. 
95. I really wanted a dog
96. I called my mice dog names (Fido, Rover, etc) in hopes of my parents getting the hint
97. We ended up looking after guide dog puppies as a compromise
98. I now have two dogs
99. Aramis and Carbi are like kids – they fight like brothers, love each other and us, want their Dad when they are scared and their Mum when they are sick
100. James, Aramis and Carbi are my ‘boys’, and my family

Family

Have been chatting to my friend Kate about my nieces and nephews and was looking at some photos my mum sent me so thought I’d share my ‘babies’ with you. James and I now live in a different state to our families (and a different country to my sister – but she is the one who chose to go to China) and so we only get to see family in photos now!!

This is my big brother Jack, his fiance Chris, Chris’s daughter Dominique and Jack and Chris’s daughter Mia. My brother also has a 16 year old daughter Amy.

A close up of Mia

My other big brother, Rich, his wife Kel and baby Cooper.
This is my sister/cousin Jules, her fiance Rodney, their baby Naomie, and Jules’s kids Tommy and Laura

Tommy, Laura and Naomie

And lastly we have my ‘nephew’ Demarco

Aren’t all my ‘babies’ adorable!!

Starting Out

Why Jimney, D. and Me?
Jimney: My nickname for my husband James. James has Type 1 Diabetes, hence…

D= Diabetes. James actually has Autoimmune polyendocrinopathy type 1 (APECED) you can read all about it by clicking that link but basially it means that he has Diabetes, Addisons (adrenal insufficency), Pernicious anemia (B12 deficiency), hypoparathyroidism (leading to a calcium deficiency) and a few other conditions that don’t do much healthwise.

Me: I currently work in a nursing home as a carer. I am also studying for a Masters in Occupational Therapy and am a bit of a professional student!! At the moment I suffer from a great deal of migraines but have just started meds to help stop them. James isn’t so great at looking after himself and so that job often falls to me… which can be stressful at times. Sometimes it almost feels as though I have APECED.

My hubby and I actually have two dogs… one is his – Carbi (short for Carbohydrate of course!) and one is mine – Aramis. Aramis alerts me before I get a migraine!!  Between the two of them they keep Hubby and me in line! Check out www.hypodogs.com to read about their adventures (yes they write a blog – and no i’m not crazy).

The reason we got Carbi is because on November 4, 2004 James had a car accident. He was lucky to escape with only a broken heel bone – however, this needed an operation and the insertion of a metal plate and screws to fix it.

On the day of his accident he had done everything he should have (diabetes-wise), including eating a large bowl of pasta, having a regular soft drink and eating countless muesli bars, but his glucose level still dropped to the point that he didn’t know what he was doing and eventually passed out behind the wheel, went across the double lines and into another car (the people in that car were also ok). After this accident I was worried about him driving and about this happening again. As I have been involved in Puppy Raising for the NSW Guide Dog Association and I understand how much dogs can help and how easily they seem to sense how people are feeling, I searched for information about assistance dogs that would be able to help James when his BGL is low. I eventually found an assistence dogs organisation dedicated to training diabetic alert assistance dogs. Diabetic alert assistance dogs give their owners warning before a hypoglycaemic episode (an episode of low BGL) therefore allow prompt treatment.