for a worthy cause

Can you imagine dealing with Diabetes in Kindergarten?

My friend Honey’s son (one of my favorite little photo subjects) was diagnosed with Diabetes more than 2 years ago.  This year he started Kindergarten.  Here’s what Honey has to say about how he’s facing the challenge: 

       

“Ty started Kindergarten this year and things have been going very well.  I think it’s much easier to keep his blood sugar in the normal range when he’s at school because of the routine.  The normal range for him is 75-120 but he goes above and below that too often.  Going to PE, recess, walking around the school, a late snack, stress, excitement, illness and many other factors contribute to his blood sugar going high or low. 

I think Ty does an amazing job of dealing with Diabetes.  He goes to the nurse’s office a minimum of seven times a day to get his blood sugar checked or to get insulin.  He’s always willing to answer questions the other kids have about Diabetes, his insulin pump or about getting his finger poked.   He is learning more about how to take care of himself and he’s become a lot more independent.  He’s learning how different foods affect his blood sugar and what the blood sugar numbers mean in regards to being high, low or perfect.  He had a substitute nurse last week who was not very familiar with Diabetes.  The other Kindergardener with Diabetes came in and told the nurse he had beef jerky for a snack and needed to get bolused (get his insulin). Ty told him he could go back to class because beef jerky doesn’t have any carbs in it so he didn’t need to get bolused.  The nurse checked the wrapper and saw it didn’t have carbs so she sent him back to class.  She thought it was funny that Ty was so confident in telling the other boy he could go back to class.  He is very smart and he amazes us all the time with what he learns and remembers.  I am so thankful that he only has Diabetes.  There is so much out there that is a lot worse.  Ty leads a normal life and just has to deal with a few interruptions a day.  I know it’s easy for me to say that when I’m not the one dealing with it, but I hope I will always be able to help him put it in perspective and teach him that Diabetes shouldn’t stop him from doing anything he wants to do.  But I will continue to hope and pray that a cure will be found in his lifetime.” -Honey C.

       

Ty’s school is currently running a program to raise money for the American Diabetes Association and increase Diabetes Awareness.  I was thinking of ways to contribute to their efforts in honor of Ty, and I have decided to auction couple of photo sessions here on my blog to raise money for this cause.  I will post the details of the 2 auctions separately, but, in short, this is your chance to support a worthy cause and get some awesome photos of your child (or yourself) in the process.  100% of the proceeds will go to the American Diabetes Association.  The auctions will begin tonight, and bidding will end on Thursday at noon.  If there’s enough interest, I will add a 3rd auction!

You can support this cause in a number of ways:

1) Bid on the auctions!  It’s fun. 🙂

2) Spread the word about the auctions.

3) Make a donation directly to the American Diabetes Association.  If you use Ty’s link to donate, I will be able to tell you how much we raise together at the end of the week.  Here’s the link: http://main.diabetes.org/goto/tycrowley

Below are some photos I’ve taken of Ty through the years.

 

 

 

Tags: ADA, American Diabetes Association, auction, diabetes, fundraiser, Ty