reflection

This photo is to represent my reflective mood.  And I like bubbles.  The firetruck means nothing to me.

I have to admit sitting down to write the last NaBloPoMo post for July is a little tough.  While I am happy the personal challenge is over, I will miss the discipline it took to come here and share my thoughts e-v-e-r-y-d-a-y.  Maybe I should up the ante and commit to blogging everyday for 1 entire year . . . . eh, I'm not THAT disciplined.

I did go back in the dusty archives of Three Thirty Three to take a peek at what was happening this time last year.  I figured reflecting on a post from last July would be fun way to see just how different, or the same, our lives have been.

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7/29/10

feel the love

So, eating better is supposed to make your immune system stronger, right? 

 

Five antibiotics for five people with strep throat.  We must all love each other LOTS and LOTS to share germs like we do.

Yep; a clean sweep in our household.  Dave didn't actually test positive at the doctors office with the rest of us, but was prescribed antibiotics anyway and was informed to take it if he felt any symptoms.  "Hhhhmmmm, maybe this is why I have been so wiped out the last couple of days and have had a headache and scratchy throat!"  says the hubby when I tell him about the appointment.  Um, yeah.  Open the hatch and down the gullet with the antibiotic bullet!

Now empowered with our prescriptions, I must stock up on some probiotic rich yogurt and kefir for some major gut healing at the end of the next 10 days.  This should all fit in so nicely with the real food challenge our family will embark upon on August 5th for 10 days. 

Huh.  10 days of antibiotics and 10 days for the challenge.  I wonder what the significance of a 10 day cycle is?  I suppose I could 'Google' it, but I would much rather have someone respond in the comments with the answer.

thankyouverymuch.

Off to heal.

 

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Well.

 

We took the 10 day course of antibiotics and killed the strep bacteria.  As I recall, this was the 2nd round of meds to treat strep throat; the 1st being a month earlier.

 

As far as the 10 day real food challenge?  Not so much.  I blew off the challenge and decided to focus on the challenge(s) of a new school year schedule instead of trying to implement a rigid eating plan.  What we did instead was to s-l-o-w-l-y phase out hydrogenated oils and trans fats and food that my grandmother would not have recognized as foods, over the course of a couple of months.  This process, however, was thrown off kilter when Ellie was diagnosed in late September with Type 1 Diabetes.  Suddenly I did not care WHAT kinds of foods she ate, but instead focused on CAN I FIGURE THE CARB COUNTS of what she ate.  Now that we are 10 months into T1D we are back on track with healthy foods and I now know how to find a 'carb' in a 'haystack'.

 

Reflection

 

What is the biggest thing about last year's post that just jumps off the computer screen at me?

 

I think this was the beginning of the end for Ellie's insulin producing islet cells in her pancreas.

 

You see, the common theory as to why the islet cells are suddenly attacked by it's own body (T1D is an autoimmune disease) is that an environmental or genetic trigger 'woke' up the autoimmune cells to go attack the insulin producing cells.  

 

Triggers such as an illness.  Or rapid succession of illnesses . . . . wearing down the immune system.

 

Something maybe like strep throat back-to-back.  Possibly.  We may never know.

 

But looking back at this post and the line up of antibiotics I can not help but wonder if the end of July, 2010 was also the end of Ellie's disease-free life.

 

 

*I do want to say, for the record, we are living and thriving and loving life in July of 2011.  Ellie's T1D has not held this family back nor has it given us a 'downer' view forward.  This just happened to be the post from last year and my reflections on that post.  Thank you ALL for sticking with me and supporting me through this loooooooong month of everyday posts!