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08-23-06 |
Living Life as a Diabetic Newsletter |
Issue# 11
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Kimberly Advent
Editor
Ashley's Diabetes
Information Center
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Welcome to our Eleventh Newsletter.
I want to start off by thanking everyone for your support through our families difficult time dealing with my husband Jess' Cancer. I can't tell you how much I appreciate the letters of support. Your kind words have meant so much to me. Just a little update to let you know that Jess' Cancer is in remission. Now we are working on recovery. Unfortunately they just about kill you to save you. Chemotherapy & Radiation take a terrible toll on the body. But, Jess is strong & I know he will be back to his old self by the end of the year.
Again thank you for your support.
Big hugs
Kimberly
I am looking for guest writers. If you are interested in writing a guest column for this Newsletter please contact Kimberly. Let me know what you would like to write about it. Columns must be about 600 words & related to Diabetes. I reserve the right to refuse any article if I don't think it is relevent to the Newsletter.
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- Feature
Article - Stem Cell Research in our Country by Kimberly Advent
- A word from our Sponsor
- Guest Article: Advice from a College Kid by Meg from Wisconsin
- Product Review: Minimed Paradigm Real-Time Insulin Pump
- News on Stem Cell Research
- Sugar Free Recipes
- Kid's Corner
- Upcoming Events
- Subscribe/Unsubscribe
information
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| FEATURE ARTICLE, Stem Cell Research in our Country by Kimberly Advent |
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What is your view on Stem Cell Research? Is your view an educated one? It seems that even the President of our country's view on it is not educated but, based on religious beliefs. I do wonder how his views would change if it was his child that was faced with Diabetes or a crippling disease of mind or body.
My views are based on education & what I have learned to be true about Stem Cell Research. I think that scientists should ask Mothers of diabetics (or any other disease that would be effected by this research) to harvest their eggs. I bet 9 out of 10 would do it. I know I would. I would do anything for a cure for my daughter. I would do anything to take away the finger pokes, the injections, the fear of dialisys or amputated limbs or blindness.
Science has evolved so quickly in the last 100 years. Think of where we would be today if Salk had not created the Polio vacine. If his president had decided that his religious beliefs prevented him from supporting it. In the middle ages they had high infant mortality rates. They didn't have medicines or vacines like we have today. Can you imagine living in a time where you watch your child die & there is nothing you can do about it. I can't tell you how happy I am to live in an era where medicine is so important. Where doctors are learning more & more about how to treat the human body.
Our Country is one of the richest in the world. We lead most countries in research. But, not in Stem Cell research. We are so far behind. I can understand putting laws in to effect that would stop cloning. That makes sense & is a really smart thing to do. But, to stop research on cells that will be thrown away anyway is just ignorant. It makes me crazy listening to them go round & round on this subject. Our President is so busy & so worried what god would think that he can't make a smart decision. You can't run this Country based on your religious beliefs. There are too many different types of religions in the United States to do that effectively.
Don't you think it would be a good idea for our Government to support stem cell research & put laws in to effect to regulate it? I would think that would be the smart thing to do. I'm sure that there will be scientists out there that will look for private funding & then they can do whatever they want to with the research. They will have no limitations. Also if they do find a cure for Diabetes, Cancer, etc. it will only be given to the very rich. It will not help us who can't afford the cure.
Also do you really think that the Pharmaceutical
industry would support a cure to these diseases? No way!!! Not with the amount of money they are making on us. They are making billions of dollars on Diabetics alone. I wonder how much of an influence these rich Men have on our Government. Is Bush really worried about what God would think or is it what the Rich Business Men who own Pharmaceutical Companies think? I'll bet they have a bigger influence on this than we know.
It just kills me that science is going in a direction that can potentially cure the world of these horrible diseases & our own Government is standing in the way.
I'll tell you one thing I can't wait until the next Presidential Election!!
If you have some great tips to help others reach their healthier living goals please send them to me at kimberlydadvent@aol.com and I will share them here.
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| Guest Article: Advice from a College Kid by Meg from Wisconsin
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Guest Article: Advice from a college Kid by Meg from Wisconsin
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Going into college is a big deal for anybody, but it can be a lot more difficult for a diabetic. Right now I'm 19 and just about to start my sophomore year at University of Minnesota- Duluth. Here's the advice I have to offer so far!
- Before you go to school, learn to handle EVERYTHING on your own. Whether you need to learn how to count carbs or just keep track of the time so you eat enough (or not too much), you've got to be independent. Parents, you need to do this too. Tell your kid that he's on his own for one week. For that week, leave him alone. Don't tell him when he needs to check his count, change his infusion set, eat, or whatever else. If possible, have him figure out on his own how much a bolus or injection should be. (If he's never calculated it on his own before, get him started by having him figure it out to the best of his ability and then you can check it to be safe.) If there are any dilemmas in that week, work together to resolve them. If not, turn the week into a month.
- As a consequence of the first tip, there'll be some rough spots in the road when you're first living on your own. Be prepared to deal with them. Keep a stash of juice, glucose tablets or gel, and some sort of protein. If you're a motivated student, there'll be at least one night each week that you lose track of time and can't go to the cafeteria to salvage a meal. Stock up so you don't have to bike to the grocery store at 1:30 in the morning.
- Let a few people know what's going on with you. Personally, I don't tell very many people that I'm diabetic. It's easy enough for me to get by when people ask me about my pump or why I've always got juice boxes with me by saying "I can't digest sugar properly. By the way, if you ever notice me looking really pale or acting out of the ordinary, it'd be cool if you could let me know. I won't be offended, I'll probably just need a little bit of juice and then I'll be back to normal. Are you playing in the dodgeball tournament this weekend?" If you don't tell anybody, they'll think you're just drunk like the other half of the campus and they'll give you water. That won't help one bit when you're low…
- Go easy on the drinking. It'll mess with you more than the standard kid with a perfect pancreas. I don't drink at all, but nobody knows it because I go to parties with my buddies and bring a bottle of juice. Everyone just assumes I've got some sort of mixed drink. For the fellows, I recommend a bottle of Coke or Diet Coke. Most people will think there's rum in it. If you're braver than I am (and more willing to put up with the drunk guys grabbing you and telling you they LOVE a sober girl) props to you and good luck!
- Study! The really smart kids in high school are rarely anything more than average in college. Don't wait until it's too late to salvage your grades. That'll get you stressed out and stress messes with your blood sugar.
- Have a whole bunch of fun. You've got 4 years to do what you want without worrying about how you're going to make a living, where you'll live, who you'll marry, and all that kind of stuff. ENJOY IT! Be spontaneous. Strike up a conversation with a stranger. When your professor invites your class to a dinner party at the museum, go to it! It'll be a long time til you have that opportunity again. Dance. During the best blizzard of the winter, sacrifice your mattress as a sled. Be daring- eat the cafeteria food. The more people you get to know, the more likely you'll be offered an internship or research fellowship. Have fun!
If you would like to email Meg here is her email address macdo180@d.umn.edu. Maybe you have more questions related to Diabetes you would like to ask her. She is more than willing to help any of you teens who are getting ready to go to College or Teens that are having difficulties coping with your disease. She is will also take questions from parents of teens. Thank you so much Meg for taking time out of your busy life to write this for us.
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| Product Review:
Minimed Paradigm Real-Time Insulin Pump |
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Product Review
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MiniMed Paradigm® REAL-Time Insulin Pump and Continuous Glucose Monitoring System
The MiniMed Paradigm REAL-Time System is the world's first system to integrate an insulin pump with REAL-Time continuous glucose monitoring, taking diabetes management to a level you just can't achieve with other insulin pumps.
Now you can free yourself from multiple daily injections AND:
- Know your glucose levels around the clock
- Discover the effects of your diet, exercise, and medication on your glucose levels
- Help prevent lows and highs
Safe
- Millions of safety checks each day ensure continuous, reliable performance
- Built-in prompts and reminders help you stay on track for good control
Smart
- Bolus Wizard® Calculator simplifies insulin dosing and reduces math errors
- It uses a scientific "insulin action curve" to protect you from hypoglycemia by factoring in the amount of active insulin left in your body
Finally were getting to the point where the insulin pump will do it all. Right now the cost is very high but, I expect that it will come down in the next year or so. I understand that the sensor pads are also very expensive right now. I was told that they are not covered by Medicare at this time. But, that could change in the future. I remember when the pump was not covered by Medicare. Also most insurance companies are not covering their cost at this time. I was given a demonstation on this pump & was very impressed by it. I can't wait until we can afford to buy one. Right now it is on our wish list. Kim
Check it out on Minimed's Website
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The following editorial appears in Thursday's issue of The Oregonian.
Tony Mazzaschi
AAMC
Thursday, July 27, 2006
United against Bush's stem-cell extremism
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Oregonians can take heart that all members of the state's
congressional delegation support this life-saving research
Members of Oregon's congressional delegation provided a significant
footnote to President Bush's first-ever veto last week: Every one
of them opposed it.
In the House, it was no surprise that Oregon Reps. Earl Blumenauer,
David Wu, Darlene Hooley and Peter DeFazio, all Democrats, voted to
override Bush's veto of a bill expanding embryonic stem-cell
research.
What was telling, however, was that Republican Rep. Greg Walden
sided with them against the president, too, after joining 21 fellow
Republicans in a letter urging Bush to sign the legislation.
Sens. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and Gordon Smith, R-Ore., also opposed
the veto but never got to vote on it. The override effort in the House fell
51 votes short of the required two-thirds majority.
Smith's decision to break ranks, like Walden's, speaks volumes. In
a July 16 guest column in The Oregonian, the senator argued
eloquently that it would be "unusually tragic" if Bush spiked the
stem-cell-research bill that the House had passed by a comfortable
bipartisan majority.
"Tragic" isn't too strong a word for it. And "extremist" isn't too
strong a word for Bush's position. He opposes federally financed
research on stem cells obtained from embryos discarded by fertility
clinics, insisting it's the same as taking human lives.
That may be Bush's personal religious conviction, but it isn't
shared by most Americans. Polls show broad support for such research,
including up to 70 percent of Republicans in some surveys.
As frustrating as Bush's veto was last week, it was nonetheless
reassuring to see that Oregon's two congressional Republicans are
well within the American mainstream on this issue. Likewise, it was
good to see them disconnected from the genuine weirdness emanating from the
White House last week.
The photo-op staged to sell Bush's veto was almost as creepy as it
was dishonest. He was shown surrounded by "snowflake babies," children
born of frozen embryos from fertility clinics.
The crude and completely false implication was that stem-cell
research would mean the death of such kids. As Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa.,
took pains to point out, more than 400,000 rejected embryos now
languish in U.S. clinics, and only 128 have been adopted.
Yet Bush spokesman Tony Snow amped up the dishonesty by saying the
president considered such research to be "murder," a statement he
has since tried to soften.
The vetoed legislation had nothing to do with "the taking of
innocent human life," as Bush recklessly branded it. It would have eased
unwise restrictions he imposed five years ago on federally funded
embryonic research involving tiny clusters of cells, no larger than a grain
of sand, that would otherwise by discarded by fertility clinics.
Not a single life would be lost. Bush's veto means only that
hundreds of thousands of extra embryos at U.S. clinics will go to waste
instead of into studies to help conquer pernicious diseases.
Fortunately, Bush's power doesn't extend across the Atlantic. The
25-nation European Union decided Monday to continue funding this
vital research.
The United States, meanwhile, will lag on this medical frontier, at
least until it has a leader willing to put public policy ahead of
private religious beliefs.
Stem Cell updates come from The Stem Cell Information Newsletter run by Steve Meyer.
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Diabetic Banana Bread
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons low-sodium baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 1/2 cups slice bananas (3 ripe bananas)
1 egg
1/3 cup canola oil
2 Tablespoons sugar
1/2 cup unsweetened orange juice
Nonstick cooking spray
Preheat oven to 350F. Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and cinnamon in a bowl.
Stir to blend. Puree the bananas in a blender. Add the bananas and remaining ingredients and mix well.
Pour into a loaf pan that has been sprayed with nonstick cooling spray. Bake for 40 to 50 min. Cool on
a wire rack. Makes 1 loaf.
Serving size: 1/2 inch slice
Yield: 1 loaf
Exchanges: 1 Fat, 1/2 Fruit, 1 Starch
Nutrition: 141 Calories (34% from fat), 2.4 g Protein, 21.2 g Carbo, 5.4 g Fat
Recipe brought to you by E-Cookbooks library
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Ashley and I will be walking in America's Walk for Diabetes. Please visit my Personal Walk page at The ADA's walk center. Please sponsor Ashley & I as we walk to make money for research to help fight & find a cure for diabetes. My personal goal is to make $500.00 and I am on my way. My groups goal is $1,000.00. Last year my group raised over $1,200.00. We actually had a silent auction bake sale at the bank I work for. It was a big success & we raised several hundred dollars. For the last ten years I have made it my personal goal to do everything I can to help support those who will bring an end to Diabetes Forever!! Please help me in that fight!!!
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