Friends For Life 2012: The First Days.

We've never flown with all three girls in tow before.  It didn't help that Sugar was diagnosed with an early ear infection 2 days before our flight or that the washing machine flooded our laundry area - twice - while I was trying to get the vacay laundry done.


But nothing was going to steal our joy.


We were headed to the Children With Diabetes Friends For Life Conference in Orlando, Florida!

The flight was smooth, and the girls did great!  Spice's flight landed about 10 minutes after ours, and our family felt complete as we set off to enjoy her summer visit by attending this family-oriented T1 focused conference.


There have been a few immediate sightings -- Heather, Misty, Meri, Sara, Kim, Karen, Kelly, Jess, Kerri, Scott, Scott Johnson, Lee Ann, Bean's Mom, Ginger, Tim...and I'm sure there are others, but my brain is moving WAY faster than my fingers!!!!  It's weird.  To "know" these faces -- their stories, their struggles, their victories -- and then to casually encounter them in passing as if we've known each other for years.  Oh, wait.  It HAS been years.  Years of keeping up with their blogs, Facebook statuses, and (occasionally, for me at least) Twitter updates.  This evening, I was able to sneak a way sans kiddos, and headed to the lobby with my laptop to take advantage of the free wi-fi...as I was sitting here, they started trickling by after dinner...one by one, until I found myself surrounded by a dozen or more friends, most of whom I was meeting for the first time in real life.  


Anyway, Sugar had a retinal eye exam earlier in the day, and it was completely fascinating to me.  The doctor really took his time with her, and we learned that she'll probably need glasses for a slight case of nearsightedness (this has changed since her eye visit last year.).  He pointed out an area of sun damage on the back of her eye, and explained that long term sun damage can lead to cataracts...don't worry...he said everything looked normal for her age, but it was a definite reminder of why sunglasses are so important.  Perhaps, however, the most amazing part of her exam was this...

Anyway, in the days to come, I'll be updating about my very own Animas pump start, making art with the diabetes trash we brought along, and sharing information from the sessions.  Be sure to like the Candy Hearts Facebook page for some exclusive photos you'll only find there as the rest of this journey unfolds.  

Stay tuned...the fun is just beginning!


Disclaimer:  Our family's attendance at the Friends For Life Conference in being sponsored by Animas Corporation.  As I've previously disclosed, I have a contract with Animas which compensates me to blog/vlog about type 1 diabetes from my perspective, as a parent who is raising a child with type 1 diabetes.  You can find the previous posts I've written for Animas HERE.  Animas is not paying for any entertainment excursions, park visits, or mickey mouse ears for all 4 girls.