I try not to get too excited about diabetes “breakthroughs” or technology announcements. Years ago, before I even had a personal connection to type 1, I covered the Glucowatch and inhaled insulin as a TV health reporter. Never heard of them? Yeah, they didn’t work out so well.

So when Benny was diagnosed in 2006, I was a bit skeptical of the new technology our doctor talked about. Called the artificial pancreas, he described it as an insulin pump, a continuous glucose monitor (CGM)…

Good BG control came up recently when I spoke to a few parents considing an insulin pump for their child with diabetes. I love the pump (we have the Animas One Touch Ping). Benny's been using his for more than five years and it allows flexibility and precise dosing. No shots is a nice bonus, but it's the targeted control that I really love. The pump is just a machine, though, connected to the body by what's basically a band-aid with a stick. Stuff happens. Things go wrong.

Luckily…

This is the obligatory post where I tell you that my son can go trick or treating. He can eat any sort of candy and please don't give him the sugar free stuff.

But this will be our sixth(!) Halloween since Benny's diagnosis of type 1 diabetes and we're so used to the routine it's hardly worth talking about anymore. But... it's always worth talking about. Because there are always new families with newly diagnosed kids.

Just this week I got an email from a mom with a child…

The little things make me happy.

We replace the cartridge in Benny's insulin pump about every three days. It's always a balance between using up as much insulin as possible and making sure it doesn't empty while Benny's at school or sleeping. I hate the waste, but I can't take a chance he'll tap out.

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I took the baby monitor out of my son's room. He's 7. I know what you're thinking - that's way too soon.

No? Well, you probably don't have a child with type 1 diabetes

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I gave my annual diabetes talk to Benny's class this week. I always have fun with that and he enjoys being the center of attention that day. This year, Benny wore his JDRF Walk shirt to class, but kept it hidden under a sweatshirt until it was time for our talk. Then he dramatically unzipped - Diabetics Assemble! - and we explained what Benny's Brigade is all about.

On our way home, I passed another mom in a minivan, a good friend. I waved and she signalled for me to roll down the…

Guest post this week by someone I connected with as part of the Diabetes Online Community (DOC) and then realized he lived here! A rare native Charlottean, Harry Thompson is starting a chapter of Insulindependence in our fair city. What's that? Read on..

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When I sat down to write this post, I had planned to use a slightly modified version of a post I’d written for another friend’s diabetes blog. However, before I finished, I received an email from someone that…

Did you ever see the movie Meatballs? That about sums up my summer camp experience. I spent 8 summers away from home and I have great memories of that time. Got more independent, took on more responsibility and (ahem) may have learned just a little bit about boys.

I'm hoping my children have almost as much fun now that they've started sleep-away camp. This was my daughter's third summer and I mentioned a few weeks ago that Benny had a blast at our local diabetes program. His first…

School started today and, sure enough, my phone started ringing just after 12 noon. I answered, "Oh no, not already!" goofing around, thinking the staff just had a blood sugar or carb question. No such luck: Benny's inset had come out and I needed to go to school.

Didn't we have enough excitement the first week of school last year?

(Just in case you're new here... my son has type 1 diabetes and wears a pump to receive his insulin. The inset -right- is how the pump connects to…

One of the most inspiring stories from this summer's Olympics is, of course, Oscar Pistorius. I'm sure I don't have to explain that he's the first double amputee to compete on the track and make an Olympic final.

When you have a child with a disability or a chronic condition, I think you keep a little bit of an extra eye out for people who seem to have overcome their own limitations. I want Benny to grow up taking care of his diabetes but not letting it get in his way.

I…

"At camp, there was a zip line and your butt hit the water when you went over the lake!"

That's our 7-year-old just home from one week at diabetes camp. It was Benny's first extended time away from us. I wasn't concerned about his safety, this is an American Diabetes Association program with docs, nurses and trained staff. I was worried he'd miss home (and, okay, that I'd miss him).

We dropped him off on Sunday. I held out until Tuesday...…

We're still recovering from celebrating a JDRF Walk team fundraiser last week. Seemed like a great idea to have a drive-thru spaghetti dinner at my house. We thought maybe 60 people would place orders. Instead my wonderful neighbors turned out in force and we wound up serving 140 dinners. That's 280 meatballs!

It really was fun and it gave a big boost to our family team, just in time for the Charlotte JDRF Walk this Saturday.

I…

Something a little different this year as my family gets ready for the annual JDRF Walk. We’re calling it Tweet or Feet .

My 7 year old year son was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes just before he turned two. He’s doing great, but diabetes stinks. It affects everything he does – playing, eating, sleeping – and it’s…

These day, most of the movies I see are with my children. Sometimes the flicks are good, sometimes they're awful, but my kids are always excited about... the snacks.

I seem to lose all sense of reason and proportion at the theater. Tub of popcorn with butter? Sure! Candy in a giant box? Why not? No soda, thank you very much, but I have been known to let them grab nachos with something that sort of looks like cheese.

As you know, my son has type 1 diabetes, so all this stuff is…

One of our big challenges in diabetes care has always been the way Benny's insulin pump connects to his body. It's called an inset and I've described it as looking like a small nicotine patch, with a bump on top. Pictures almost always show it in the stomach. Usually in a thin, gorgeous female stomach. Very realistic, right? But that's another blog!

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After dinner, I usually wait until right before bedtime to check Benny's blood sugar . But around 7pm last night, he said he was really thirsty. With a BG of 458 I could see why! That's way too high and not a number we see very often.

I started to give a bolus (deliver insulin), but the remote meter kept telling me it couldn't find the pump. "Oh yeah," Benny says. "That's because I don't have it on!" I'd changed the cartridge right before dinner - did I forget to put the pump back on…

My son is going to eat corn dogs and nachos. I am so proud.

Benny's in first grade and he's been asking to buy lunch at school since day one last year. Since he has type 1 diabetes, that's a bit of a challenge. We base the amount of insulin he gets on the number of carbs he eats - and you've got to count each and every one.

We pack lunch every day and include a list of the carbs in each item. A staff member has to eyeball what's left from Benny's lunch and make sure he gets the…

You're familiar with the mom bag? The clown car of accessories, it holds everything you need and more. Throw diabetes supplies in the mix and... here's what you get:

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