Showing posts with label video. Show all posts
Showing posts with label video. Show all posts

Monday, September 12, 2022

A Thing to Remember

Almost a decade and a half ago, I wondered what life was going to be like for my little 12 month old type 1. Now 14 years later, I have an idea.  

It's a little bit different.

Sometimes a lot harder.

It can be extra.

But it seems there is not one thing this girl can't do. I don't post here anymore. I don't social media. But this. This I want to remember.

This summer she tried out for her high school hockey team. As a goalie. Never mind that she had only been playing the position for a few months. Or that she had never really had any formal training, save for a few lessons by a guy that works at our rink. Or that she was the only girl. Or that type 1 can make playing hockey (and especially goalie) tricky at best.

She made the team, and this weekend, had her first start. And her first shutout. And her mom almost had her first heart attack.

I love this video.  You can see all the tension leave her body at the final buzzer. Her teammates (most of whom have no idea she even has diabetes), skate up to congratulate her. You can't see her face, but she is beaming.

It's memories like this that make the different, the harder, and the extra that much easier.


Saturday, June 28, 2014

Breaking News



 And now you know why I've been so quiet lately...

Monday, June 16, 2014

I AM TYPE 1

Remember me? My name is Joanne and I used to blog here. I can't believe I haven't posted in a month. Busy is an understatement around here.

One of the projects Fred and I have been working on is a new video. The idea was actually born a few years ago while I lay in bed in the middle of the night trying to get back to sleep after treating a low.

My Canadian friends will recognize the concept... I "borrowed" it from a popular commercial called "The Rant" that was all the rage in Canada 14 years ago.

Two years from an idea to a finished product... We move fast around here. I hope you enjoy it and it brings a smile to your face.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fBtsR1rDAqY

Monday, December 30, 2013

WDD Speech

Awhile back, Elise wrote a speech and delivered it on her school's TV announcement system for World Diabetes Day.  I kept meaning to post her practicing it (we didn't get the video of the actual announcement), and now a month a a half later, here it is!



BTW, she's amazing.

Friday, May 18, 2012

So much to say


DBlog Week Day 5 - What they should know

Oh the things I want to tell the uninitiated about diabetes!  The advocating I could do!  But seeing how I need to be at the park in 15 minutes for Elise's school's Park Day.  I'm going to keep this short and sweet, and let my video do the talking.

It's an oldie, but a goodie... in my opinion.

Friday, December 2, 2011

JDRF Luncheon with Dr. Nat Strand

I am so excited that the JDRF put this video of Dr. Nat Strand's speech from the luncheon we went to in November... now everyone else can hear just how AMAZING she is!

Sunday, November 6, 2011

In her own words

We are on day three of pumping and have survived our first pod change. Here's what Elise thinks of the whole thing (please ignore my morning voice... I always sound like I'm sick when I first wake up).

Wednesday, September 28, 2011

In need of a laugh?



In case you're wondering, she gets her moves from me.

Friday, August 19, 2011

Move

I was thinking about life with D the other day. How it has caused a lot more "movement" in my life. Amy likened it to a mouse on the wheel the other day... running, running, but not really going anywhere. And while that can be true, I'd much rather handle it like the video below.

It is a marvelous piece of work. As I watched it, I thought, "this... THIS is what life with D should be like. This is how I should be moving".

With purpose.

Determination.

Not too quickly.

Enjoying the different places D will take Elise and I.

Taking in the sights.

Having fun.

Appreciating the journey.

But still moving forward. Not standing still. Nor going backwards.

This is how I want to move.


MOVE from Rick Mereki on Vimeo.

Sunday, June 26, 2011

Muito obrigada

A little thank you video Fred put together with some pictures from the Team Elise Portugal walk.

Muito obrigada means thank you very much in Portuguese.


Sunday, May 15, 2011

Laugh and the world laughs with you. Fart and you stand alone

DBlogWeek2011Banner





What we've learned - Sunday

There's a quote I like by Nicholas de Chamfort; "The most wasted day is that in which we have not laughed." I love laughing. I love to make people laugh. When someone tells me I make them laugh, my head practically will explode from the sheer joy of it all.


I'll never forget a comment I once received on my other blog when I wrote a post about starting Death of a Pancreas:

To encourage other parents like me by captioning your blog with "Death of a Pancreas"? How morbid and stupid is that? if your goal is to encourage and enlighten us who have kids with diabetes, you might want to be more positive and check your facts first. The pancreas DOES NOT EVEN DIE with diabetes. Geez.

This was my response:

Okay, so I was going to just delete the above comment since it most likely is a drive-by comment from a crazy, but on the off-chance that this person is being truthful about who she says she is, I'll address her rather snarky comment.

1) Believe me, I know EXACTLY what diabetes is. I've been living this hell for the past three months. But "Death of the Pancreatic Beta Cells in the Islets of Langerhans" just doesn't have the same ring to it. My daughter's pancreas has failed to function as it should, and to me, it feels like a death. TO ME. Got that? ME!

2) I'm so sorry that you are so easily offended by a simple blog title. If you really are a mother of a child with diabetes, you should know that the only way to not let this disease get you down is to have a sense of humour about it. You should read some of the things we joke about on the diabetes board I frequent. Actually, no you shouldn't. Your head just might explode from the offensiveness of it all.

3) Since you have blocked your ID, I have no way of knowing if you are a crazy or not. I have no animosity towards you, or your comment. I even welcome a response to my comment if you are so inclined. But please, you handle diabetes your way, and let me handle it my way... We're both (supposedly) fighting the same enemy anyway, right?

I was disappointed that she never came back to reply. My point is this; if you cannot find anything to laugh about while battling this horrific fight, then you are already beaten. If Elise grows up seeing me grim-faced all the time while giving her a shot, then that is how she's going to deal with it too. You need to show your child that their life will be what they make of it, not what diabetes makes of it.

I choose to laugh at diabetes (when appropriate, of course), and respond in my own sarcastic way. It's how I deal, how I show diabetes that it's not the boss of me. So, you can choose to let diabetes bring you and everyone around you down, or you can face it with a smile, laugh, or maybe even a jig... because who on this earth can be sad while dancing a jig?

What I have learned from this beating of a disease, the DOC and my own experiences is that laughter can really be best medicine.

Of course, if you're a diabetic, then insulin is the best medicine.
(joke credit - Norm MacDonald)

I thought I'd end this post, and this week, with my video, "What NOT to say to the parent of a type 1 diabetic". Because it still makes me laugh. Every time.







Edited to add: That is not to say that you should pretend everything is okay when it's not. It's okay to be sad. It's okay to grieve. And it's okay to hurt. As someone wrote (and I cannot remember who - I have read so many brilliant posts over the last few days), just don't LIVE there. So cry iff you gotta cry, scream if you gotta scream. Just don't forget to laugh during the in-between times.

Sunday, March 13, 2011

Talking type 1 diabetes with Friends - the video!

In life there are "friends", and then there are friends. The latter (or friends) are the people in your life that try to get it. That want to understand. They may say something that makes you crazy from time to time, but you don't care, because you know they love you and are doing their best to understand what diabetes has done to your life.

The former are the people, that when your child was diagnosed, were nowhere to be found. The only time they are interested is when they run into you by chance; and even then it seems they just talk to hear the sound of their own voice. They speak in stereotypes and say things that are absolutely maddening.

This video is dedicated to those "friends" in all of our lives.




To view it on YouTube, click here.

Thursday, December 16, 2010

What not to say... the video

I couldn't resist. When I saw a similar video about things people say to the parents of multiples, I thought, "Somebody totally needs to do one for diabetes."

Then I thought, "I should totally do one for diabetes." So I did. First, I re-read the very funny post by Kelly Kunik, and the hilarious comments and incorporated some of them into the video.

I wish I had more time to make it better, but this finished product took me almost 8 hours to make; not 8 straight hours mind you, but 8 hours of me doing 5 minutes here and 5 minutes there.

So enjoy. Sorry Reyna, that I didn't incorporate any bad - er - colourful language into it. Little ears were listening. I was even admonished for using the word "stupidity".








For those of you who cannot see it on my blog, click here for the YouTube link.

Saturday, September 25, 2010

Team Elise Walk Video

Today is our JDRF Walk to Cure Diabetes. Because we are lame (or perhaps just had a baby or something like that), we never got to make a new video. So in honour of this year's walk, I thought I'd post last year's video. The video may be old, but the sentiment remains the same.



Go Team Elise!

Saturday, May 15, 2010

A glimpse into our life


Saturday - Diabetes Snapshots


I meant to do something more with this post, but things got a little crazy towards the end of the week. Here are a few of the pics that I did manage to get...

Snack time... gotta love the almond butter! How many carbs do you suppose are on her spoon, fingers, face and left smeared on the plate?



Elise helping me make her morning smoothie by sneaking a taste of plain yogurt. Actually, she always asks first... sweet and sad at the same time.


Elise LOVES to help in the kitchen!


Something new we've started... not sure she gets the concept, but the idea of getting to put a sticker or stamp up there makes her so happy! Her prize? A big girl bike! (we were going to get her one anyway)


Why must we do this?


A little collage of Elise getting her shot ready. Ignore the major bedhead she's got going on.

I also thought I'd put Elise's walk video from last year up... you don't want to miss it. Featuring uber-cute pictures of Elise, plus a bonus track of me singing at the very beginning!!! We're hoping to have the 2010 version done very soon.


Thursday, March 18, 2010

Team Elise Canada

This is for all my fellow Canucks (or peeps living in Canada) out there... Team Elise Canada will again be taking part in the JDRF walk on June 13, 2010 in Toronto.

If you have the means, we would love for you to donate. Just go to canada.teamelise.com (or click on the address to get there). And of course, if you live in the Toronto area, you can even be a part of Team Elise Canada, get your very own Team Elise shirt, AND meet Fred's super-cool family!


Below is out Team Elise Canada video (okay, it's really our video from last year's walk, with some extras tacked on at the beginning. It's still worth a look... Fred does a great job on our videos!)

Thank you for supporting Team Elise!


Monday, October 12, 2009

Elise showing off her skills

After a blah day, this scene made me smile. Elise took her meter, lancet, and a cotton ball and was checking her pumpkin's BG before dinner.

Sunday, August 30, 2009

Team Elise video

When Fred and I set out to make our walk video, I asked myself, "what do I want our message to be?" I thought about it a long time, and it wasn't until I was listening to my Ipod and the song "Beautiful World" by Collective Soul came on, that it hit me.

Hope.

I want people to see the hope that we have. For Elise's (and everyone with D) future, for her life, and for a cure. Without that hope, I just don't know how I'd be able to get out of bed in the morning.

Here are the lyrics:

In the morning
Hope is whispering to me quietly
Some confusion
Seems to reign continuously over me
Though I walk through the valley
No more shadows will cover me
Now you've opened my eyes
It's a beautiful world
When I've got you here to hold
It's a beautiful world
Where all Heaven's light is shone
It's a beautiful world
When I've got you here to hold
It's a beautiful world
When I just let love take control
In the evening
Faith is watching over me, I believe
As I'm lying
In arms of security I can see
All the ways you have given
In my hour of blinding need
Now you've opened my eyes
It's a beautiful world
When I've got you here to hold
It's a beautiful world
Where all Heaven's light is shone
It's a beautiful world
When I've got you here to hold
It's a beautiful world
When I just let love take control
The only way to hope is through tears
The only way to faith is through fear
The only way to love is when you kneel
Now you've opened my eyes
It's a beautiful world
When I've got you here to hold
It's a beautiful world
Where all Heaven's light is shone
It's a beautiful world
When I've got you here to hold
It's a beautiful world
When I just let love take control


Amen.

So, without further ado, here's our video.



If you would like to walk with Team Elise, or donate, you can go here.