Asking For Help

I've finally reached a breaking point...

It's been a bit of a whirlwind these past few months since moving overseas for school and I'm starting to feel the affects now more than ever. I'm at that point in the semester when all I can think about are deadlines, assignments and finding enough hours in the day to finish everything I need to. My health has been unintentionally placed on the back burner. I've not maintained a balanced sleep schedule and I often find myself studying into the wee hours of the morning. I get stressed out when my blood sugars are out of range and although I know I can't control everything, I still feel disappointed in myself. Call it a control complex. 

In hindsight, I should have made an appointment to see a GP weeks ago. As a student with type 1, I should really be keeping tabs on their health more than ever, but I often let it take a back seat to my studies. It's taken up until now, when I'm just emotionally and physically exhausted, to actually do something about it. Although it's still nerve wracking, I feel a sense of relief about the fact that I'm seeing a doctor as well as an academic counsellor next week. I don't know what they are going to say, but I'm hoping that I will be able to figure out where my problems areas are and make some much needed changes. 

Diabetes is already a delicate balance, and the added stress of university definitely doesn't help. I know I don't have the same control over my health the way I used to, but I feel better knowing that I'm being pro-active about changing that. My advice to anyone who may be experiencing something similar, would just be to reach out. Be it a doctor/ counsellor/ friend/ family member/ etc., it may help you to gain a new perspective and find direction.

Positive vibes my friends! xx

-Hanna

My Life as a Robot/ I gots me a Dexcom

Now that I am the proud owner of a Dexcom G4 (THANK YOU HEALTH CANADA!!!), ahem, I have started to feel like a little bit of an automaton (cue steampunk music). This snapshot pretty much sums up my life as a diabetic, although I do not live in a sepia world unfortunately.

I jumped right on the ball as soon as I found out that the Dex was going to be available in Canada. I called my Animas rep immediately and ordered. I am very fortunate to have awesome insurance and it was able to cover the entire startup cost of the CGM as well as the monthly costs. I was like a little kid at Christmastime and I opened the box the second I got my hands on it. After inserting the sensor I waited anxiously through the 2 hours of startup time. I got my very first reading and for the rest of the day, watched the receiver like a hawk.

In conjunction with the pump, I feel like I am able to get the best control possible. I guess it is true when they say that "good things come to those who wait." (and those who petition....and who send multiple letters to Health Canada)

Sleep Testing?

Last night may or may not have been one of the strangest nights of my life. This morning I was told that I had been sleep walking around my entire floor in residence. I do have a couple past incidences of sleep walking, it is not a regular occurrence. I wound up going to bed in a friend of mines room because I had managed to lock myself out of my own and conveniently my room mate wasn't home.

This morning I went to add my blood sugars from yesterday into my log book and I noticed that I had tested my blood sugar at 3:37am. Definitely while I was still in zombie mode. Fortunately it happened to be a lovely 6.2 mmol/L. Not quite sure how I managed to do something so fiddly while still asleep though. I get frustrated with all the little bits trying to test during the day.

I know people can do some pretty strange things while sleep walking. It makes me wonder if this has happened to anyone else? I guess it's good to know that my subconscious is still concerned about my health even at all hours of the day.

And They Say You Won't See Changes Immediately...

"It takes 4 weeks for you to start noticing your body changing, 8 weeks for your friends and family, and 12 weeks for everybody else. So keep pushing."

     The above quote is something I see posted all over the fitness board in Pinterest and on all the health blogs I read. While I admit it's a great motivational quote where weight loss is concerned, for me I started seeing results right away.

     I had a little bit of a break in my exams this week so I decided it would be the perfect time to start making use of the free gym membership I have at my university. I have been on a real health kick for the past couple months and I decided that I needed to get back into a regular exercise routine. 

     This week my blood sugars have been almost perfect. I would like to think that if I had a CGM (Continuous Glucose Monitor) that I could be part of the "Flatliners Club".

      I feel absolutely amazing every time I leave the gym. It's an "I feel accomplished"/ "I'm so sore that I want to fall on my face"/ "Tired and refreshed" sort of feeling. And its great!!!!! Exercise is a fantastic stress reliever so I've been a lot less anxious about my midterms. 

So yes. You can see changes immediately.

Shaming Myself + Update

You know how you hate those bloggers who go for ages without writing a post? Yeah.....haha......Me too.....

WHOOPS!!!
I realized the other day that, at one point, this blog was a huge part of my life and just how much I miss it now. Writing posts was an outlet in which I could share my feelings, opinions, doubts, and life moments where it concerned diabetes.

Now, a year and a half into my diagnosis, things are a little different. I am not yet a seasoned pro but no longer a newbie either. I have come to terms that life can never go back to the way it was before but I have also learned that changes are natural and inevitable. Is it possible that this roadblock is actually helping me to better deal with other changes that I will have to face later on? I am still learning everyday about what is going on inside my body and how to best deal with this strange condition. Thank the heavens that diabetes fascinates me because I do enjoy being a diabetes nerd. 

UPDATE TIME

1.) As you may have been able to guess from my last post, YES, I finally started on an insulin pump. I chose the pink OneTouch Ping and I couldn't be happier. His name is Otis and he is my soul mate. ❤️ Being on a pump is making life so much easier and carefree. It has allowed me so many freedoms that I wouldn't have using the alternative. I also just caught drift that Dexcom is going to be available in Canada (actually this time) around November or Deceomber. Christmas present maybe??? Mum? Dad?

2.) I started university at the beginning of September and am pursuing a double major in linguistics and drama. I got way too excited after finding out that there is another type 1 who lives on my floor and I'm doing my best not to scare her away hahaha.

3.) I switched to Apidra and am LOVING IT.

4.) I own a fish named Cisco and he is the coolest.

I LOVE YOU ALL! And I promise that you will hear from me soon. xoxox

Oh My Lantus! A Goodbye Letter

Dear Lantus,

We both knew this was coming for awhile now. You'd seen me spend hours on end browsing the Internet and looking at insulin pumps. It was inevitable. Lets skip the tears, I don't want this to be harder than it already is.

Don't get me wrong Lantus, you are a great insulin. You were my rebound after my falling out with NPH, you gave me the freedoms that he never could. You made me feel steady. You never had mood swings where you would suddenly have a peak at an inopportune time, and you made my a1c so much better. Despite the fact that you always burned just a little bit, you are the best long acting insulin I have ever known.

Now hear me when I say that I am not leaving you for Levemir. You don't deserve that. I just feel that  I don't need a long acting insulin in my life right now. It's not you, it's me.

I know we've been in a bit of a love triangle with Humalog in the mix. And you guys always worked so well together. I'm going to miss the three of us. Although don't tell Humalog, but I'm considering leaving him for Apidra. I just need to start fresh I think.

I'm sure we'll meet again Lantus. Ping and I are bound to have fights and not see eye to reservoir. I am going to need a shoulder to cry on or a jab in the stomach, and it will be you I come to. This is not the end Lantus.

All my love,
Hanna

Intro to Pumping Class on Thursday + Choosing My Pump

        Yes my little sugar free niblets, I am officially on the road to becoming a pumper of insulin. On Thursday I am scheduled in an introduction to pumping class at the children's hospital in my area. It's pretty ridiculous how excited I am. As I mentioned in an earlier post, I did a complete turnaround in my stance on insulin pumps. I hated the idea of being connected to something. I quickly got over that though when I saw all the benefits (oh yeah and all the cool kick butt features some of them have). So below I decided to include the pros and cons of the insulin pumps available in Canada right now that I considered and why I'm choosing the one I am.

OMNIPOD

Pros:
-No tubing
-Sophisticated PDM (personal diabetes manager)
-Don't have to see needle
-Cheaper than many other pumps

Cons:
-Wasted insulin if the "pod" fails
-Inability to disconnect
-Stranded if the PDM is lost
-Bulky under tight clothing/ no ability to relocate pump once attached


MEDTRONIC VEO

Pros:
-Integrated CGM (Continuous Glucose Monitoring)
-Customizable Skins
-Carelink

Cons:
-Not waterproof
-Low Resolution Screen


ANIMAS PING

Pros:
-Waterproof
-Meter-Remote (ability to deliver insulin using glucose meter without needing to remove pump from wherever it is stashed)
-Colour Screen (in Canada there is a high resolution colour screen on both the pump and meter remote)
-Carb database (store foods along with their carb values in the meter. Eliminates guesswork when calculating carbs)
-Customizable alert songs (that's just cool)
-Company will lend you a spare pump if you go on vacation in case something happens to yours

Cons:
-No CGM
-Limited options for skins


So by what I've written you can probably hazard a guess as to which one I've decided on. Animas Ping baby! For a while it was a little bit of a toss up between the Veo and the Ping (Sorry Omnipod, but I knew you weren't going to work for me after about five minutes). I really like the idea of continuous glucose monitoring especially since I will be at university next year. I would love to be able to catch any possible nighttime lows and know my BG and any given time. But in the end, I could just see myself using more of the features on the Ping (e.x I'm a lifeguard/ swimming instructor. The waterproof feature was kind of a no brainer.) I'm still hoping and crossing my fingers too that the stand alone cgm system Dexcom will be made available in Canada soon. Happy pumping everyone!!!

Gluten Free - Diabetic - Vegetarian.....,.oh joy

As mentioned in one of my posts from the beginning of this month, I have been on a mostly gluten free diet. So far, it has actually been quite easy to find substitutes. For example, today I had a burger bun that I didn't know was gluten free until my mum told me. It looked, smelled, and tasted just like real bread. But alas, on top of eating gluten free, I am also a vegetarian. I decided to stop eating meat in the 7th grade. That's about 5 years ago now. I really enjoy it and don't think I will go back to eating meat anytime soon. That's right folks, I am a 17 year who doesn't eat meat or wheat, and has to significantly limit my sugar intake. Believe it or not, it has not been that difficult to find foods that are yummy and nutritious that still fit my dietary needs. I have had amazing pastas, sandwhich's, burgers, pizzas*, bagels, you name it! Natural health food stores are your friends. They house everything you could possibly ask for. But unlike your local grocery mart, they understand that some people have certain restrictions on their diets, and willingly accommodate. They stock their shelves with the foods that you love and give you more options than you ever had before. So can I eat everything that people with "normal" diets eat? No. But I can ge pretty darn close. Happy shopping everyone. :o)

hannathedrivingdiabetic :)

YESSSSSS!!!! I did it.......Miss Hanna Taylor passed her drivers test. Just like any other teenage girl..... Sure I have to have a medical screening in order to re-class my license, but it's done. Here is my "driving prep" list:

1.) Make sure I know where I'm going, how long I'm going to be gone, and if I plan on eating anything while I'm out. This isn't just so my parent's know what I'm up to, it's so I know in advance what could possibly happen to my blood sugars.

2.) ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS make sure I keep fast acting sugar on me. Last thing I need is getting pulled over by a cop who thinks I'm drunk just because I'm having a low.

3.) This builds on the last one: I, without fail, make sure I check my blood sugar before the keys go in the ignition. If it's below 4.4 mmol/L, I eat something.

4.) I stop every so often to check my blood sugar while I'm driving. It's always better to be safe than sorry.

5.) So this hasn't happened yet, but I'm going to get a decal for my car that let's other drivers know that I have diabetes. This is good for two reasons, a.) if my driving is affected in anyway, people may be less like to to "road rage" while around me. b.) in case of emergency, people automatically know what my condition is.

So my last piece of advice to you is to be aware of your body and your blood sugar, but don't become obsessed to the point where you're forgetting about the basic road rules. And please please please, do not try to check your BG while actually driving.

SAFE DRIVING EVERYONE!!!!

Canada Always Misses Out

Well, "always" might be a little bit of an exaggeration, But I really have noticed that Canada does really miss out on some cool products that other countries get (cough, cough Great Britain, United States). Namely the two products that I'm getting at are Dexcom and Symlin. I mean honestly, other than the integrated Medtronic real-time on their pumps, Canada has no access to any other countinuous glucose monitoring system. Not fair at all. We want tight glucose control just like everyone else! And Symlin (a.k.a Pramlintide/ Amylin) in an injectable drug used to prevent post-meal glucose spikes and can sometimes allow you to use less insulin. For me, as soon as I started on insulin I started gaining weight like nobody's business. Less insulin would be a godsend.

So why is it that Canada doesn't get the cool stuff like some other countries do? I mean, we are a fair sized country that maintains great connections with Europe and the States. From my research it is narrowed down to mainly these two things; Health Canada (Canadian equivalent of FDA) has not approved it yet, OR the manufacturer does not think that Canada has a big enough market to make a profit.

THIS IS A TOTAL BUMMER!!!

p.s On the plus side though, two cool things we do have are the InsuLinx glucose meter and the color screen on the Animas Ping meter-remote.

Gluten Free And Me...

***Before reading this post please note that I strongly discourage anyone from doing or changing anything in their diets without first talking to their medical proffesional(s). I know my body but I do not know yours.***

     Just these past two weeks I decided I was going to try something. I stopped eating gluten. No I'm not a Celiac, nor do I have a gluten allergy or intolerance. And I'm definitely not self-diagnosing myself. My objective was to cut gluten from my diet for a little bit to see if it made a difference. And boy did it ever! I've already lost 8 pounds of the weight that I put on since I started on insulin. I feel much less tired and groggy and my concentration has improved tenfold. 

    I thought it was going to be really hard but I was pleasantly surprised. For those of you who don't know, gluten is a substance found in wheat, barley, rye and many other grains. Meaning it is present in pretty much all pasta, cookies, bread, baked goods etc.  But you would not believe the amount of gluten free options out there. I just found some gluten free perogies and taquitos that are positively scrumptious. Some of my favorite brands so far are Udi's and Glutino, which between them, have a massive variety of cereals, breads, bagels, granola bars, and even desserts. Panago Pizza even offers a gluten free crust now too.

    Both my parent's are in on this too. We have all read the book "Wheat Belly" by William Davis M.D. It talks about the numerous benefits there are to eliminating gluten, especially wheat, from your everyday diet. This can be really good for diabetics too because wheat can really make blood sugars spike.

So before anyone tells me that I should not be making this change unless I actually have to, I have been feeling so much better without this kind of food in my life. I am ensuring that I am not missing out on nutrients and I make sure to closely monitor my blood sugars. I have succeeded very well on a vegetarian diet for five years now and I can can definitely accomodate for this change in my life too.

Have a super Saturday!!!!

Ultimatum From Hell: Low-Carb vs. Low-Fat

With almost all foods nowadays having a "low-fat", "non-fat", "fat-free" or "light" version available, one might be tricked into thinking these are the perfect way to still enjoy all the things they typically eat while being able to shed the pounds. Makes sense right? Less fat you eat the less gets stored in your body. Well unfortunately this may not be the case for people on insulin. Be very wary my diabetic friends of so called fat-free products. Yes it's true, they do contain less fat than the original product. But I invite you to let your eyes wander just a little bit further down the nutrition label. Have a good hard look at the carb count. Allow yourself to look again at the fat, now again to the carbs. More often than not, items that are advertised as fat free will have more carbohydrates per serving thn their fatty counterparts. This is because the makers of the product will often add more sugar to make up for the flavor lost when the fat was removed. This is especially true for things like sour cream, cream cheese, chip dips, and milk. For type 1's and some type 2's that means more insulin. And insulin is often associated with weight gain. So for us diabetics this is kind of a lose-lose situation. Eat the fatty version which can make you gain weight? OR Eat the non-fat version, which means more insulin, which can also make you gain weight? Bleh, this blows.

Camping and My Little Slip-Up

Being summer and all, my fam jam's and I have been trying to get out camping more. Up until now we had only gone one or two days without at least making a trip back into town for groceries, work, etc. But this time we decided to go way up north to our relatives ranch for four days straight. Now this may not seem like very long but you guys probably didn't make the same mistake I did......................... I forgot extra pen tips. :/

Now I remembered to pack extra insulin, extra glucose tablets, extra test strips, spare meter, carb counting book, log book, extra lancing device and lancets, etc. I even brought my sharps bin! I just forgot one of the most vital items to a diabetic after their glucose meter and insulin. And without these little pen tips I wouldn't even even be able to access the latter.

So now I'm being forced to alcohol swab and reuse the pen tips I do have. Kind of a no-no but better than not taking my insulin at all right? This just goes to show that you really have to triple and quadruple check your supplies before you hit the road. I'm definitely making a check list for next time. Happy camping!!!

How To Get The Insulin Pump Experience Without Being On A Pump

I've been desperately wanting to get on a pump since about 3 weeks after my diagnosis. But alas there is that "wait it out" time period that my hospital enforces to allow you to get used to your diabetes before switching from MDI (Multiple Daily Injections) to an insulin pump. Usually they tell you to wait at least a year, but because I am older than most of their typical patients and very independant with my diabetes management they said that they would try to get me on one a lot sooner.

In the mean time though, I have been nosying around and I have found a way to get very close to "pump life" while still being on MDI's. There are three steps in this process and they are listed below.

***Please note that I am not a medical professional and that everything I am going to talk about works for me but may not work for you. This is also stuff that I have talked about with my diabetes team and I recommend that you do the same before trying any of these techniques.***

1.) I-Port Advance

I started using this device not because I have a phobia of needles but becase I was tired of the little red marks that all the injections were leaving on my stomach and thighs. I also wanted to get used to wearing something on my body for when I start using a pump.

The I-Port mimics infusion sets because it requires only one needle prick every three days. But instead of having tubing connected to your body, you inject your insulin with pens or syriges right into the device. The needle never touches your skin. It is inserted the exact same way that most infusion sets are and just leaves a tiny flexible cannula (plastic tube) beneath your skin. This little device is also great for kids who are scared of needles because it only requires 10 pokes a month as opposed to 3 or 4+ a day!

2.) Basal/ Bolus Insulin Regime (Lantus)

I think it's safe to say that everyone enjoys sleeping in. But if you're on the insulin program I was on before than that is just not an option. Until just recently I was using Humalog (aspart) and Humulin N (NPH) in the morning, Humalog again before dinner, and then Humulin N before bed. Sure it meant that I didn't have to inject myself at lunch because of the peak period of the NPH, but it also meant that I had very structured mealtimes with not a lot of wiggle room. If I wanted to sleep in I would still have to get up at 8:00am to give myself insulin and eat a full breakfast and then go back to bed if I wanted, but that practically never happened.

So my diabetes nurse recommended I try out a basal/ bolus approach. This involves taking Lantus (glargine) insulin that runs in the background and then taking the rapid acting Humalog to cover my meals and snacks. Lantus is a peakless insulin that allows me to eat whenever I want (or not at all if I don't feel like it) and gives me a lot more freedom in regards to sleeping in. Hallelujah!

Just like on a pump, the Lantus replaces the tiny drip of fast acting insulin and just lets you "bolus" for your meals by giving yourself rapid acting insulin.

3.) FreeStyle Insulinx Meter

This is not just a meter. This is the meter to end all meters. It is based on pump technology and can recommend an insulin dose based on your blood sugar and how many carbs you plan to eat. When you set it with someone on your diabetes team it even takes into account your insulin to carbs ratio, how long insulin stays in your body for, and how much insulin it takes to lower your blood sugar. This saves me a ton of trouble and has definitely helped me keep my blood glucose in range. Not only does it do the work for you but you can also set your own photo as a bcakground pic. Neat! The software it comes with it pretty awesome also and it lets you create graphs and charts to print off and show or email to your diabetes team. Oh and did I mention it's touchscreen?

GRRRR!!!! Yet Another Challenge in my Already Hectic Life

Hahaha now THIS would be so useful!!!

So as mentioned briefly in my last blog, I am currently preparing for my class 5 road test (drivers license). I have had my learners for a year and a half now and I'm just tired of waiting! I'm scheduled to do my test tomorrow but just yesterday I thought "hold the phone. I have diabetes now, this changes things." So in a panic I started doing some research to see what the conditions were, what I had to do, etc. I freaked out when I saw a European article where there was talk about a new law not allowing diabetics to drive if they have  two or more hypos a year. TWO! And that includes while they're sleeping!!! I also posted on some diabetes forums to ask if people knew the protocol but it nobody really knew for my area. After some extensive searching I found that in Alberta, apparently all you need is a medical screening saying that you're okay to drive. This alone bummed me out because I though that I was going to have to completely reschedule my test because it would have taken forever for me to get in to see my doctor. Luckily though I called the agency where I was planning to sit (drive?) the exam. I'm allowed to take the exam but if I pass then I will need to have that screening filled out and sent in before they can re-class my license. Bummer, but at least I get to do my test. Wish me luck!!!

It Just Hit Me

This weekend it hit me just like that. I have type 1 diabetes. I wasn't really doubting my disease beforehand but I never really actually sat down and thought about the fact that I have a life changing condition. I guess it was something to do with the fact that by the time I got out of the hospital two months ago, I felt completely normal again. I felt like I did before I was sick and nothing felt different. But these past couple weeks with the stress of finals, piano examinations, work, my drivers test coming up, and just plain teen angst (I will admit I do suffer from that one haha) my blood sugars have been going a little bit out of whack. Now I'm pretty good about counting my carbs, taking my insulin on time etc. But I've realized that it's way more than that. It is a constant juggling act of  food, insulin, stress, exercise, activity, even horror movies set them off because your heart starts racing. I came to terms with diabetes as soon as I found out I had it, but I didn't quite understand how it's kind of an "allover" disease. I am learning everyday though.

NO WAY!!!

So I'm out for a midnight run to McDonald's with a bunch of my friends and I saw this girl there that I was acquaintances with. I went over to say hi and catch up because I hadn't seen her in awhile. We were sitting at one of the tables and she asked me if I was buying anything else. I responded with "No I have to be careful about what I eat because I've got diabetes." She just looked at me dumbstruck and was like "You have diabetes? Me too!" I hadn't known this fact about her before and because I have only been a diabetic for 8 weeks and I hadn't seen her since then and the topic of diabetes had never come up. We went on to have a huge conversation and yes, it came to us excitedly showing off our meters and insulin pens to each other. Some of my other friends walked in and I was literally jumping up and down and pretty much yelled "She has diabetes too!" Everyone in McDonald's must have thought we were insane. But then again it was the middle of the night and it was mostly filled with teenagers. She was just as excited as me because she also thought that she was the only one in our town that was our age who had type 1.

But hang on, here's the craziest part. About an hour later after this girl had left, I was still at McDonald's talking with my other group of friends and one of their friends who I'd never met before. My friend Lara and I were just getting up to go home and I was still talking about how excited I was that I had met another diabetic. Anyway, this girl that my friends brought with them looked up at me and said "Wait, you have diabetes? Same here!" Well to say the least my mind was blown. I looked to Lara who was getting ready to drive me home and just said "Well we can't leave now!" Same story as before. We talked about our diagnosis and experiences. This one girl had had a couple runs of DKA (Diabetic Ketoacidosis) just like I had when I was first diagnosed.

 My excitement was through the roof. I mean, what are the chances that I had never met another T1D and I meet TWO my age in the space of about two hours at the same place? It was so neat to talk to people who had to go through the same stuff as me and who completely understood. We must have looked like losers showing and comparing our meters and medical alert bracelets but to be honest it was so awesome to be able to see that someone else other than myself had to live with this condition on a daily basis. Although neither one of these girls goes to my school, I have swapped numbers with them and we have been talking non stop since last night. I guess they're right when they say "you're not alone".

Thank You to Everyone Who Donated!!!

This is just a quick little post to thank those people who donated to the Telus Walk to Cure Diabetes that happened today. I will put up a full post tomorrow when I can upload the pictures and videos from the walk. This is a shout out to the following people who donated to my team.

                                                                    -Rick Brilz
-Trudy Chapman
-Daphne ter Kuile
-Janifer Calvez
-Siqueria family
-Susan Sosick  and family
-Kerri Lockwood
-Robin Greenwood
-Reid Mercer
-Dave Kennady
-Gord McCulloch
-Max Zbrodoff
-Teresa Fowell
-Pat and George Taylor
-Angela Haworth
-Chalane Potaka
-Patrick McMillan
-Kayla Hickey
-Dale and Brian Fea
-Cheryl Taylor and Owen Key
-Chris Burke
                                                                   -Andrea Vaney

My JDRF Bag of Hope Finally Came!!!

So after I first got diagnosed I definitely took advantage of all the freebies that companies were offering. Free meter's, free literature, and yes, the infamous JDRF bag of hope. This bag is given out free to type 1's who order no more than 3 months from their diagnosis date. It is designed to help new diabetics under the age of 18 cope with their new condition. Although it varies, the contents usually include and backpack, different sorts of literature and promotions, and if you're under the age of 12, a teddy bear with diabetes named Rufus or Ruby that is meant to help teach children about injections (I still got a Ruby bear and I'm 17! lol). 

I think that this is an awesome tool especially for younger children to ease them into their new lifestyle. It's cool to know that you are supported no matter what and who doesn't love free stuff right?

Newly diagnosed type 1 diabetic? Get your Bag of Hope here!

U.S.A - http://www.jdrf.org/index.cfm?page_id=110888

Canada - http://www.jdrf.ca/index.cfm?fuseaction=home.viewpage&page_id=49CBE4C1-CF1C-2465-1A563F42916C1785