ATTENTION CANADA: This is cool!!!

George Canyon, award-winning recording artist, hosts an evening of inspiration and entertainment 

to encourage living powerfully with Type 1 diabetes

BURNABY, British Columbia, April 23, 2012 /CNW/ - Today, country music star George Canyon, and Animas Corporation, announced that beginning May 14, they will embark on a five-day, five-city, coast-to-coast tour visiting cities from Newfoundland to British Columbia. The George Canyon & Friends Diabetes Heroes Tour will encourage adults and children living with Type 1 diabetes to live a life without limits despite their disease. George, who has lived with Type 1 diabetes since the age of 14, will be joined by four people living extraordinary lives with diabetes – including a WHL hockey player; Canadian National Para-Snowboarder; a university student who is earning her recreational pilot's license; and a family therapist and diabetes nurse educator, who has personally been living with Type 1 diabetes for more than 50 years. Together, George and these Diabetes Heroes will provide an evening of inspiration and entertainment for those affected by Type 1 diabetes.

"When I was a teenager, there wasn't anyone with diabetes that I could really look up to. So I promised myself that if ever given the means and the platform, I would try to be that person to kids who were just like me," said Canyon. "This tour is a way to provide positive role models to children living with diabetes and to let them know that if they control their disease, they can live their dreams."

Canyon, along with the Diabetes Heroes, will be traveling to the following five cities for a three-hour event each night:

• May 14: St. John's, NL – The Majestic Theatre, 390 Duckworth Street
• May 15: Barrie, ON – Liberty North, 100 Caplan Avenue
• May 16: Winnipeg, MB – Park Theatre Cafe, 698 Osborne Street
• May 17: Edmonton, AB – John L. Haar Theatre, Grant McEwan University, 10045 – 156 Street
• May 18: Prince George, BC – Prince George Playhouse, 2833 Recreation Place

The evening will begin with an opening keynote discussion of diabetes and family dynamics, followed by an interactive session with the Diabetes Heroes, and concluding with a performance from Canyon.

"George Canyon and the Diabetes Heroes are living proof that Type 1 diabetes doesn't have to get in the way of achieving your dreams," said Paul Flynn, Director of Animas Canada. "After the success of last year's George Canyon & Friends Diabetes Heroes Tour, we couldn't be more excited to bring this unique and inspiring experience to children and families living with Type 1 diabetes across Canada."

Admission to these events is free. Seating is assigned on a first-come, first-served basis. Seating is limited and reserved for individuals and families living with Type 1 diabetes, with a maximum of five (5) seats per RSVP. To reserve seats, register online at www.animas.ca/george2012.

To connect with the tour on Facebook and follow along with behind-the-scenes photos and video clips, visit www.facebook.com/gcfheroestour

This initiative is proudly organized and sponsored by Animas Canada, a division of LifeScan Canada Ltd.

About George CanyonBorn and raised in Nova Scotia, George Canyon got his first taste of international fame and music industry attention after competing in and nearly sweeping USA Network's televised "Nashville Star" competition in 2004. Since then, Canyon has released six acclaimed, studio recorded albums; sold over 300,000 CDs and has won numerous music awards including two Juno Awards and multiple East Coast Music Awards, Canadian Country Music Awards and SOCAN Awards, as well as awarded with two certified gold records in 2011.

Canyon, also an actor, has appeared on the highly rated Canadian television series' CBC-TV's "Heartland" and Showcase's "Trailer Park Boys" and has starred in many television programs and specials. He recently starred alongside Dean Cain and Luke Schroder in a made for TV movie, "A Mile In His Shoes" and has just completed a few more TV and movie roles with release dates in 2012/2013.

Recently, George was bestowed with the privilege of being appointed as the first-ever Colonel Commandant of the Royal Canadian Air Cadets by the Minster of National Defence, Peter MacKay, but if you ask George what his biggest achievement has been, he'll respond without hesitation that it has been his work with children and families living with Type 1 Diabetes. Diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes at age 14, George has spent a great deal of time giving acoustic performances and inspirational talks to children with Type 1 diabetes and their families in Canada and the USA. He encourages these youngsters to pursue their dreams and gives advice on how to manage their disease, "If I can change a life or two and inspire a youngster to live a better life. That's the kind of imprint I want to leave," says Canyon. His dedication in his work with JDRF and raising awareness of Type 1 Diabetes has led to George becoming a national spokesperson.

For more information on George Canyon, please visit: www.georgecanyon.com and www.facebook.com/georgecanyon

About the "Diabetes Heroes"Joe Solowiejczyk, RN, MSW, CDE is a nurse, diabetes educator, and family therapist who has personally lived with Type 1 diabetes for 51 years. Joe travels the country sharing his expertise and insights on how family dynamics impact diabetes management, and offers strategies for living well with diabetes as a family.

Jordan DePape is a 20-year old centre for the WHL's Kamloops Blazers who has been living with Type 1 diabetes since the age of 13. Jordan has never let his diabetes hold him back. In the seven years since his diagnosis, he had racked up one accolade after the other, including honours such as the league's top forward, top point scorer for a rookie, Most Dedicated Player and Most Community-minded Player. Before joining the Blazers in 2010, he played for the Brandon Wheat Kings and was named to Team Canada West to compete in the World Under-17 Hockey Challenge.

Lindsey Carswell is a 19-year old college student attending the University of Guelph; however Lindsey is far from a typical college student. At the age of 15, Lindsey set out on a path to earn her recreational pilot's license. As a person living with Type 1 diabetes, not only did she have to log her blood glucose tests for months and submit the results to Transport Canada, she had to demonstrate exceptionally tight glucose control before the medical board would issue her a certificate to apply for the license. Additionally, Lindsey has been an avid skier since the age of three and spent time as a children's ski instructor in Banff, Alberta before heading to university.

Mike Fisher is a 25-year competitive snowboarder from Forest, Ontario and is a member of the Canadian National Para-Snowboarding Team. No stranger to hardship, Mike was involved in a motorcycle accident that left him amputated below the knee at the age of 18. Nearly a year later, he was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes. Mike's passion for snowboarding has repeatedly brought him to the podium, earning 7 silver medals and 4 bronze medals during the course of 2009-2010 season on the Canadian NorAm Tour, a 4th place finish at the World Cup and a bronze medal at Canadian Nationals. He hopes to one day fulfill his dream of being in the Winter Paralympic Games.

About Animas CorporationAs part of the Johnson & Johnson Family of Companies, Animas is dedicated to creating a world without limits for people with diabetes through a wide range of products and tools, including the OneTouch® Ping® Glucose Management System, inset® family of infusion sets, and ezManager® MAX software. Animas, from the Latin word meaning "true inner self or soul," has been committed since 1996 to meeting individual patient needs through the development of life-performance technology and unparalleled customer service 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year.

To learn more about Animas and its products available in Canada, visit www.Animas.ca

About Type 1 DiabetesType 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease in which a person's pancreas stops producing insulin, a hormone that enables people to get energy from food. It can occur at any age, but most commonly is diagnosed from infancy to the late 30s. People with Type 1 diabetes must take multiple injections of insulin daily or continuous infusion of insulin through a pump to survive. There are over 300,000 people living with Type 1 diabetes in Canada, with the incidence rate of Type 1 diabetes increasing by 3-5% every year.

Anatomy of Her GlucoCoaster (Along with the Apidra 6 Week Review.)

Apidra has been going well.

Really well.

You might remember that I had a moment of crazy, and randomly filled Sugar's insulin pump with Apidra on Thanksgiving night.  It was 2 days after her last endo appointment...which happened to fall right smack dab in the middle of a perplexing rut of blood sugar madness.

That's always fun.  There's nothing quite like showing up for your endo appointment with practically nothing except 400's to show for the previous week.

Anyway, it's been about 6 weeks now...which means we're about 6 weeks away from our next endo visit.  In this pic you can see that her averages began dropping between the 60 day and 30 day marks.  I'm crediting the improvement to Apidra since the 6 week point falls in there somewhere.

851 finger pricks divided by 90 days = 9.4 tests a day.

In the past 6 weeks, we've rarely seen a BG over 300.  Since changing insulins, her overall average has dropped nicely into her ideal target zone of 80 - 150.  I do believe we're seeing the proof in the pudding that Apidra is a more effective insulin for managing Sugar's diabetes. Obviously the true test will lie in how well her numbers do over the long haul, but I'm definitely encouraged.

So, with all that being said...

Diabetes can be a flipping SHREW sometimes.

I present Exhibits A, B, and C - Z:

That was 2 days ago.

Since I'm a "seize the moment" type of girl, I snapped a picture to help me break down the zones, and get to the nitty gritty of how the anatomy of these numbers look from my viewpoint.  

GREEN LINE -- The area just above this line tends to bring a little shakiness, along with hunger. The areas below this line, however, can cause combativeness, confusion, and loss of consciousnesses.  She becomes ravenous once she begins to recover, and often wants to take a nap.  If we cannot bring her blood sugars up quickly using fast acting sources of sugar, she's at risk for a seizure, and her life could be in immediate danger.  She may require an emergency glucagon injection.  Before starting the pump in 2007, Sugar used to pass out from low blood sugars pretty regularly.  It was horrible, horrible horrible.  Thanks to the ability to program an intermittent ZERO basal rate into her regular pattern, keeping close tabs on Insulin On Board, and administering micro doses via her insulin pump we were able to put a stop to these horrifying episodes.

WHITE LINES -- Coloring between these lines brings (me) euphoria.  I think she feels "normal" in this range...sadly, however, I'm not sure she really knows what "normal" feels like.  In this range, she's upbeat, positive, and smiles almost all the time.

YELLOW LINE -- Around the yellow line, she tends to feel a little lazy and distracted.  If she's doing something that interests her, she acts pretty normal - otherwise, she's easily bored.  She might drink a little more water, and tends to ask for repeated snacks, especially if she hangs out in this range for any period of time.  We don't particularly like to see numbers in the 200's, but they're not something that cause much frustration unless we can't seem to bring them down. We'll try up to 2 correction attempts and then a site change, unless she's continuing to climb - in which case, we'll change the site sooner.

ORANGE LINE -- Up in this range, she's definitely thirsty and needing to use the restroom more frequently.  She has a terrible time concentrating, and her handwriting becomes pretty sloppy. She's usually trying to eat anything she can put in her mouth, including a crumb or two from the countertop.  She gets emotional, and often starts crying for no apparent reason.  She's easily irritated and often complains of a headache.  Sometimes she says her tummy hurts as well.  We'll usually attempt a correction via the pump one time as long as no ketones are present.  If there hasn't been a significant improvement within 2 hours, we'll change the pump site using fresh insulin.

RED LINE -- At this point, she's downright cantankerous.  She wants to eat, drink, and stomp her feet.  She becomes incredibly emotional, and cries easily.  Her head hurts, her tummy hurts, her eyes hurt, her legs hurt.  She's dying of thirst, and can't seem to get enough ice cold water. She's downright miserable, and usually needs to lay down to rest for awhile.  If she continues climbing, or stays in this range for very long, she's at risk of DKA, which can progress to coma or death.  This area is managed with an immediate correction via injection, and a complete site/insulin change.

I don't know what it feels like to have a BG under green or up in red.  Since she doesn't wear Dexcom full time, I'm often wondering what direction her numbers are moving.  Assuredly, I would have changed her site on this day when she was 350ish and then climbed to 450ish. With those Dex arrows, though, I knew she was going to be okay.  

I see these sharp rises and falls, and stand in awe of how well she handles them.  You'd never know from looking at her that she was having a day like this.  After 6 years of witnessing how difficult some most of these ranges can be for her, I'm just amazed at how awesome she is.

More on our APIDRA experience...
The day we started.
The experience.
The trial end.
The 6 week review.
The verdict.

Genuine Fun

I'm not sure how to describe the feeling of seeing your children laughing, smiling, and playing...completely carefree.  Unrestricted by the weight of life, and befriending everyone who comes their way without a second thought.

It's magical to witness such childlike joy...happiness...serenity.

Growing up introduces so much extra baggage.  There's so much to think about.  So much to do.  So much to stress over.  The opportunity to bask in the glow of childhood is a welcome reprieve from the day-to-day grind of life.

Our local T1 support group held its annual Christmas party last weekend.

We added 5 new hand prints...

There was a visit from Santa...

There was a bounce house...

And (gluten-free) cookie decorating...

Plus a BLUE themed ornament exchange...

The kids bounced and played the night away.  Moms connected with other moms...dads with dads...siblings with siblings.  Newcomers were welcomed with open arms.

For a night, no one noticed the meters beeping or random test strips on the lawn.  Finger pricks and juice boxes...highs and lows...no one judged the mound of icing on one cookie or the pile of sprinkles on another. We were all gathered together making the most of diabetes during the holidays.

My friends, it was a fantastical night.

I wish you all could have been there.

I'd like to extend a very special THANK YOU to Animas.  You might remember when I mentioned that Animas and I would be working together.  Well, my official Animas page went live last week, and they sponsored our Santa visit and bounce house as a way to give back to the local community I care so deeply about.  Thank you, Animas.  You're an amazing company on so many levels.  I genuinely care about these families, we genuinely love our Animas pump, and I'm genuinely honored to share the exciting journey ahead!

Children with Type 1 Diabetes

Claire Duncan: Awesome.

One day my little girl with Type 1 Diabetes is going to become a big girl with Type 1 Diabetes. Yes, my friends...one day she's going to grow up.  (GASP!)  As much as I'd like to keep her in the safe haven of my little nest, I have to admit that part of me is excited to see what adventures she will embark on.


I wonder if having diabetes will make her think twice before trying things that intrigue her.  I wonder if it won't.  Like all of my children, I wonder what her future will hold...and I'm honored to be a spectator as she grows into the person she is yet to become.


Recently, I had an opportunity to interview an amazing PWD who is living life to it's fullest, and pushing the limits when it comes to her life with diabetes.  From marathons to triathlons, it seems that NOTHING can stop Claire Duncan.  Not even swimming across the English Channel, facing 6 foot waves while managing an insulin pump, and getting entangled in seaweed...

Would you mind sharing a little about your T1D diagnosis story?

I was diagnosed with type 1 at the age of 23. I had just started my life as a freelance classical musician and It came as a complete shock. There is no history of diabetes in my family and I knew nothing about the condition and so I started to read as many books as I could find.  One common theme was the importance of exercise for weight-control, insulin sensitivity and avoidance of complications. I had no previous involvement with sports, but I started to run and built up one mile at a time. After about 18 months, I ran my first London Marathon to raise money for the British Diabetic Association.

When did you begin swimming, and how long did you train before swimming across the English Channel?

I started swimming at school but didn’t take it up again until I was about 30.  A few injuries meant I had to leave off running and so I started swimming and cycling, which lead to my participation in triathlon. I worked up through to Ironman distance, which meant regular 3 mile swim sessions in open water.

The challenge of the channel swim was to swim without a wetsuit, which I found quite daunting and very, very cold! I trained about 6 hours a week in the pool from January through until April. In April I moved to open water, starting in the Lido (100m open water pool) and moving to the lakes. I had to experiment with new ways to fuel. I used gatorade for pool swims and a product called isomaltulose for open water (this is a very low GI carb, which meant I could drink it before I got into the lake and it would slowly get into my system, so that I didn’t need to stash other forms of carbs inside my costume)!

I found the cold water hard to tolerate and I started in 55 deg water for 30 mins at a time. I found my blood sugars would rise due to the cold water shock and my hands would claw. I adjusted my basal rate to cope with the cold shock and solved the clawed hands by taping my fingers together for my longer swims! I swam with a “swim safety device” in the lakes, which is an inflatable dry-bag that I could keep hypo treatment in and use as a float if I felt hypo (I didn’t need to use it for this purpose but it made me feel more secure). I tried to swim 5 times a week with as many 6.00am starts as possible in order to experience the water at its coldest! My swims ranged between 1 and 2 hours each and sometimes I would swim twice in one day, so that I could simulate the idea of relay swimming.

What was the biggest challenge you faced during the swim?

There were 2 main challenges. The first was swimming in the big waves as the English channel is one of the busiest shipping lanes in the world, which meant we were surrounded by very big boats! A passing ferry would send a wake of 5 or 6 feet which would lift me high up in the water. The wave would then hit the support boat and bounce back and hit me again! I had swum in the harbour at Dover but I was not expecting the waves to be quite so big out at sea. After a couple of minutes I managed to calm down enough to swim with the waves and have the confidence not to try and fight over the top of them.

The other challenge was to try and keep my diabetes on an even keel. The adrenalin of the event made my blood sugars rise and I had to take small corrective bolus’ to compensate. I also had to swim harder than I had anticipated to get through the waves and to keep warm (the water was still around 55 deg). I also found that I didn’t want to eat as the swallowed seawater and rocking of the boat made me lose my appetite! Again, the joy of my Animas Vibe saved the day and a change of basal rates saved me from forced-feeding!

What's next on your list? 

I want to return to triathlon. A niggling back injury means that running is hard work but I want to do some shorter sprint distance races. I need to work on weight-training to build more power and this again is throwing up new challenges with balancing basal rates! I am planning to race the London Triathlon 2012, which should be exciting in our olympic year!

PS -- That's a pretty nice Animas Vibe you have there.  We can't get those in the U.S. yet.  How did you like it?

The Vibe is amazing! The CGM facility is a real bonus as I have not had the benefit of this before. Meter tests are great but it is only a result for that one moment in time. It has been so useful to join the dots and see trends during different activities and I have changed my basal setup based on the results. I took part in a triathlon with it the week after the channel swim and it was great to see what happens real-time during a race. It is also good to know that with the water-proof facility and the rubber skin, it is pretty bomb proof and I can get on with things without worrying about my pump.

    

Thanks for taking the time to share a little more about your amazing experience, Claire.  I'm completely inspired by your accomplishments, and excited to reaffirm that the sky's the limit for my daughter!

Important Information - Please Read. (Thanks.)

I'm very transparent about our life with diabetes and celiac on this blog.  It's important to me that I document our experiences as accurately and honestly as possible -- not only because I care about you, my readers, but also because this blog will serve as an account of our family's journey in the years to come.  Since I value the relationship I have with Candy Hearts' readers worldwide, there's a few things I want to share with you.

Disclaimer:  First of all, I am a Registered Nurse.  That being said, please understand that earning my nursing degree did NOT, in anyway, prepare me for the experience of raising a child with type 1 diabetes.  It's been several years since her diagnosis, and, sometimes, I still wonder if I actually have any idea what I'm doing.  I am not a professional who can manage either your or your child's diabetes and/or other health concerns.  Any information I share, here or otherwise, is not intended to serve as medical advice.  Any medical decisions you make regarding your and/or your child's health and well-being should always be made under the supervision of a physician whom you trust.

Disclosure:  I have entered into a contract for sponsorship by Animas Corporation.  This means that I will receive financial compensation to blog/vlog about type 1 diabetes from my perspective, as a parent who is raising a child with type 1 diabetes.  On occasion, I will also speak publicly about our family's experiences with type 1 diabetes and the insulin pump we have chosen to manage our daughter.  This relationship may also include travel assignments and travel expenses will be provided by Animas Corporation.  (No, I won't be quitting my nurse-job, in case you were wondering.)



Sugar began wearing a pump in 2007, and currently wears the Animas One Touch Ping.  This sponsorship contract does not in any way affect my opinion regarding her insulin delivery system.  The solid history of positive experiences we have had with Animas has done a fine job of shaping said opinions.  I don't think that will come to a surprise to anyone who has read Candy Hearts for any amount of time.  Let's face it.  Every blogger has biases.  But not every blogger discloses them.  I want to be honest with my readers.

Animas does not select, edit, or approve any of the content written and posted on Candy Hearts.  This blog is solely owned by ME, MYSELF, AND I...so rest assured that nothing will change over here.  Animas and I have been in contact about this relationship since March 2011 -- you've still been reading the same Candy Hearts, right?   The difference going forward is that there is an official contract in place, and Animas will begin publishing posts I've blogged/vlogged specifically for them in various media outlets.  Unlike my personal Candy Hearts' posts, these posts will be subject to their copy review process.


Any questions?


Feel free to email me...Wendy -- candyheartsblog@gmail.com!