5 Years Ago Today....

...Miss Olivia Amber was at Children's Hospital after her diagnosis of Type 1 Diabetes. I CANNOT believe it's been 5 years. Really? Are you kidding me? I still remember many moments at the hospital and I don't really want to relive them. But she is doing o.k. and making it with this disease and we are managing. Here is the letter we just sent out for the Walk to Cure Diabetes event that we participate in every year:

Hello! It's time again for JDRF's Walk to Cure Diabetes. As most of you know, our daughter Olivia has Type 1, or juvenile diabetes, and it is a devastating disease that affects millions of people, a large and growing percentage of them children.

Here is a recent conversation I had with Olivia:
Olivia: Mom, will I have diabetes in Heaven? Me: No Olivia, you won't have diabetes in Heaven. No pump, no shots, no checking your blood sugar, no counting the carbohydrates you eat, no getting a low blood sugar that makes you feel terrible, no chance of getting any terrible disease that might come from having diabetes, no worries about feeling different. Won't that be wonderful? Olivia: Yes, it will!

Until she gets to heaven, please help us raise money to help Olivia live a little easier down here on earth. JDRF has really made great strides in making life better for kids and adults with Type 1 diabetes. She will not grow out of this. She will have it for life or until there is a cure. Your support means so much to us.

Steve tells her all the time that she is not different she is strong. That's true, it was part of God's special plan for her because he knew she could handle it. BUT it can still be a struggle and some days are harder than others. If you can help, please do. If not, that's o.k. too. If you can pray for her, that would be the most we can ask.

August 21st of this year marks her 5 year anniversary that she was diagnosed with this disease. 5 years, can you believe it! She is starting Kindergarten this year. She is doing pretty good with her diabetes but it fluctuates. She is wearing an insulin pump still and we or she checks her blood sugar 6-8 times a day.

We also have 3 other family members in our lives that we are fighting for too. Our brother-in-law and his two kids also have Type 1 diabetes so Olivia has family in Oklahoma that she can relate to and we hope this will also help them.

JDRF funds more type 1 diabetes research than any other charity worldwide and it's making progress along many promising paths toward better treatments and a cure. Thank you in advance for your support and mostly your prayers!

Love, Heather, Steve, Olivia, Audrey, and Owen

Here are our walk pages if you would like to help or see how we are doing:
My page
Steve's page