New Year --> New Mindset...

I have been trying over the last few months to get a post written and to be honest its been extremely hard. Its been hard in the past but never this hard. I start to write and it brings back emotions I wasn't able to deal with yet. Since November our lives have changed. Not necessarily for the worst... just new challenges to deal with. But one thing its taught me is it really comes down to how I react to the issues that come up. I have been working hard on the thoughts that are in my head and how I choose to act or react. I have been using mind calming techniques to help keep my anxiety down at times and sometimes I win at it and times I don't. I have taken control of my anxiety which has helped me immensely. Trying to find ways to help it and just taking control of finding new options is a big help and has helped the new mindset come into play easier. I don't feel like I am fighting as much to keep a new mindset anymore.

Back in November I almost lost my son. He was suffering from what i thought was the flu but I ended up rushing him to the hospital in the city when he was complaining of severe pain and all of a sudden lost a ton of weight. We sat there for 4 hrs before the Doctor came to look at him and ended up ordering blood work. Once the blood work came back 30 min later we found out what was going on. My son was going thru a Diabetic Ketoacidosis (DKA for short) and his blood sugars were in the high 60's almost 70's. The emergency room went into crisis mode. They did a chest X-Ray and found out he had air around his heart and had a possible hole in his esophagus. They called the Children's Hospital and they sent their special PICU team over to pick my son up. He was then transported to the Children's Hospital and rushed into the ICU. With giving him insulin and proper fluids they couldn't give it too fast so they didn't cause his brain to bleed and put him in a coma. He was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes... no it doesn't run in the family so were shocked. He spent 4 days in the ICU and one day upstairs in the regular ward. We got placed with an amazing Diabetes team and those days while we were in the hospital we learned how to manage Type 1 Diabetes. We have had amazing people help us and were very compassionate throughout his care there at the hospital. We have had to go back every two weeks for checkups and more learning but since after Christmas it is now down to every couple of months. My son is pretty good at managing it and has his good days and bad ones. He has days he gets frustrated he has it to deal with... all apart of the diabetes roller coaster. It was an extremely scary time for us but had so many great people offer help and just knowing they were there for us meant a lot.

With my son now having Type 1 Diabetes he needs certain things to help monitor and manage it. One being that we have switched over to the Freestyle Libre. Its not cheap... the reader itself is only $55 but the sensors are $98.99 and they only last 14 days at a time. So that cost is twice a month. I am trying to get my work benefits to pay for it but they are putting up a fight. My son's Endocrinologist is fighting hard back. We hope to get it covered soon as its only been out up here in Canada since October 2018 and in the US for a year. It has made a major positive impact on his life. We are able to manage it better and keep on track of lows a lot faster. You hook it up to your computer and can print off graphs & daily reports of how his day is going. I highly recommend it and will put a link at the bottom of this post to it so you can read more about it.

I have been having my own health issues and mostly all are good except one right now and we are seeing how that one plays out to see what the end result will be for it. But the lump I got removed out of my arm came back cancer free so yay on that one. Things with the boyfriend are still great, just enjoying time together and getting my son to hang out with us more these days too. Its nice seeing them bond and have him help my son out with things. He has some great male role models in his life. My parents are still there for us and don't know where we would be without them either. Sure wish I didn't have to get their help as much as I have been. My dorky four legged brother is still pretty cool and getting calmer as he gets older. Want to spend more time with him hopefully soon and get him out hiking with us. Still trying to sell my house and still getting lots of action on it but no solid deals on it that stick. So here is hoping one comes soon. Would be great to finally move on and have that fresh start and be closer to work, friends and other life opportunities. Excited to see how it plays out and where we will end up.

We were able to get away to Florida over Christmas and man it was prefect for all of us. Just what the Doctor ordered. We were able to get some heat, do a lot of relaxing and some sightseeing. We stayed in Orlando but flew in and out of Fort Lauderdale. Got to see some of Florida that way but we also got to go to Daytona Beach which was awesome. We met friends of my parents there for lunch and we took in the beach afterwards. Went to Cape Canaveral and Disney World too. Was such a great trip and it was great to see my son smile and be happy again. I want to head back to Florida to see more of it and get a tour in of the Everglades this time. Relaxing was the the most important thing we really needed.

Slowly and surely this year is working out better then last year. Last year I wasn't sure if we would all make it to see 2019 in one piece. It hit me New Years Eve after midnight struck and I broke down crying. No idea why other then feeling relief that we made it and survived. Was thinking too I let go a lot of stress and that night I got a call finally for an appointment to see a specialist about this last issue I'm going thru. Could be a number of things but after that happened my mind felt clearer and I felt calmer a bit... whatever it was I felt better despite what I was going thru. As the saying goes what doesn't kill you makes you stronger.... well I must be super fricken strong now. lol I also know I am not a victim and I am a survivor... no matter what I always over come it.

I am back running more often and am on week three of my half marathon Training plan. I am running my 7th or 8th Half Marathon at the end of May in Calgary and am trying really hard to stick to my training program. I really want to get my best time this year and prove to myself I can be under 3hrs again. I am also doing a few OCR's as well and yes they are with X Warrior Challenge and they have new and awesome things this year... your always welcome to join me or sign up under my Team Stubborn Warriors to take advantage of Team Perks. Just ask me how!!! No Excuses!!!! I ran a total of 51km in January so will see how much I end up running this month.

Link to the FreeStyle Libre glucose monitor: myfreestyle.ca/en/

Until next time...

Daytona Beach Florida

Orlando Florida

My son in ICU :(