Hi! May I Introduce myself?

[Cheryl in CA]

Hey, Everyone!

I'm sort of new here. Well, I've lurked in the past. I've been on the parent's CWD list for almost 6 years now. I'm amazed at how many of you here have toddlers with D. My 2-year-old, Sammy, was diagnosed just 3 months ago. My 14-year-old, Chris has had it for almost 6 years.

We're in southern CA, high desert. My dh, Gil, and I have five kids. 4 boys and 1 girl. Gil's in construction and I homeschool the kids and build and manage web pages for a couple of businesses.

I've been finding myself needing lots of support now that I have two with D. A forgetful teen and a stubborn toddler. Makes life interesting. LOL!

I hope to get to know all of you! I'll be asking for advice, and I'll do my best to try to help with what experience I have had in the past 6 years too.

[hold48398]

Hi Cheryl,
Nice to meet you!! You surely have a busy household :). Thanks for the intro- hopefully, this forum can provide all the support you need. Welcome again!

[zimbie45]

Welcome Cheryl

Sounds like you ahve a buzy household, wow... I am glad you introduced your self and I hope we all can benifit from your experiances so far, and we too teh same vice versa...

[isaiah268m]

Greetings Cheryl! This is a great place.

I homeschool as well. Do I know you from the SL forums? Your name looks familiar.

ETA: I also have a forgetful teen.....life is intersting to say the least.

[amyd]

Welcome Cheryl, nice to meet you :)

[allisa]

Welcome !

As I recall there are a couple moms here who have 2 children with D.....

Looking forward to hearing more about you & your family !

[molly]

It certainly sounds like you have a full plate. In the midst of all remember to take a little time for yourself because it all can get overwhelming at times. As I have always found one day at a time. One suggestion to you is to encourage your children to get into a support group because diabetes impacts one's life more than we all realize, especially your teenager. If you already have a endo that you feel comfortable and confident in then it will also help in managing your children's diabetes. Welcome back and drop a line anytime.
Molly:) :) :) :)

[selketine]

Wait! Can't you get the teenager to take care of the toddler?;)

William was also dx'd when he was 2 yrs old (26 months exactly). You do sound like you have a full plate!

It is amazing how many who post here have young kids with diabetes. I think you will be especially helpful to parents since you are experience with both ends (toddlers and teenagers).:cwds:

[RobinKop]

Hello & welcome!

[Ben'sMommy]

Hi Cheryl.
My son Ben was dx'd at 7 months. He is 2 and a half now and is pumping.
Welcome!
Carol.

[Hollyb]

Hi Cheryl,

I have a 14-year-old too, but he hasn't had it for quite a year yet. Welcome.

[kristy]

Hi Cheryl! Welcome :) . Lexie was diagnosed when she was 2 so I can understand what you are going through with the toddler, but for the teenager, I don't have a clue!! I am sure that you can give me some advice in the near future regarding home schooling. Lexie would only be in Pre-K this year, but I do not care for the public schools here. There is a private school that I am interested in, but they don't start till K, plus, they do not have a school nurse which concerns me. Anyway, I think I am going to keep her home for a year or two and see how home schooling goes (plus, she does not know when a low is coming on - that scares me). Anyway, welcome!!

[Cheryl in CA]

Thanks for the warm welcome!!

Margaret, what are the SL forums? Are you on the main parent’s list?

Molly, thanks for the advice! This diagnoses time around I tried not to do what I did after my older son’s diagnoses. I stressed so badly that time that I actually had hair falling out in clumps! After that I asked Jeff to start up the Newly Diagnosed CWD list (runs in spurts) for me to moderate for parent’s who are dealing with those newly diagnosed feelings. I wanted to comfort parent’s and try to prevent them from stressing so badly. That was very therapeutic for me. I also had us join a local support group in which I was very active in for a while.

Chris, my 14-year-old, has already met other kids with D and has a very good friend across the country (we met on the list) that we see every other year. I think it’s great that he has someone who really knows what he goes through that he can be friends with. Sammy, however, is so familiar with D because of Chris, that he probably thinks that every family has D in it. His vocabulary was filled with D terms like “Are you low?”, “test”, “What’s your number?”, “Did you bolus?, “How many carbs in that?”, etc.. All he says now is that he wants a pump like Chris. LOL!

As far as endo’s go… we’ve had some good doctors and a few really bad doctors. Next week we are going to have a new endo because of our insurance changing and I’m a little nervous about it. All I want is an endo that will basically write up the scripts that I want so that I can take care of my kids on my own. I’m familiar with just about any insulin or regimen that’s been used since the year 1999. I trust my own judgment over any doctors at this point. I’m no doctor but we parent’s do learn to deal with D on an hourly basis, 24/7, and know our kids metabolism and insulin absorption better than anyone who went to medical school.

Carol, actually Chris has been a great help with Sammy! I try not to leave too much on him since he has to already take care of himself, but he understands Sammy’s needs and how he feels when he’s high or low..so he is a great comfort to Sammy. I do trust him taking care of Sammy more than I do any of the other kids. He’d be a great D nanny. LOL! Wouldn’t we all love to have one of those?

Kristy, I think you’ll love homeschooling! When they’re little it’s just so much fun! High school is a little harder, but the kids are usually studying on their own by then. I took my older kids out of public school because we have the worst schools in the nation out here. Besides I was just sick of being at the school everyday to watch over Chris. The ding dongs at the school almost landed him in ER a couple of times from neglect. It just wasn’t worth it. Homeschooling had been a HUGE blessing for us right from the beginning.

You guys are wonderful parents! You have the toughest job on this earth…I know. Thanks again for welcoming me to your forums.

[isaiah268m]

Margaret, what are the SL forums? Are you on the main parent’s list?



Cheryl, The SL forums are "Sonlight" forums, the homeschool curriculum I (mainly) use. I believe there's a "Cheryl in CA" over there...which is why I asked...as if there aren't many many Cheryls in CA. :) In fact one of my best friends growing up was a Cheryl, and we were in CA.

Again, welcome to these forums. I think your idea of a "newly diagnosed" parent's forum is fantastic!