September 2014

Welcome Dragon Tamers! Thank you for subscribing to the monthly e-newsletter from WaltzingTheDragon.ca, THE trusted online resource for families living with type 1 diabetes in Canada. Our goal is to provide you with practical tips and highlight relevant information for your dragon-taming journey.

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Outrunning Diabetes

Sebastien Sasseville climbs mountains, runs marathons, and lives with type 1 diabetes. He is now more than halfway through a 7500km solo run across Canada, from St. John's to Vancouver. He's running to raise awareness for diabetes, to raise funds for JDRF, and to inspire and empower others. He's running for all of us who live with type 1 diabetes. Come and meet him when he's in your area. Check out his progress, cheer him on, and support his efforts financially at outrundiabetes.ca

 


Great Diabetes Adventures: Handing It Over, Changing It Out, and Painting It Red


Your Child's Diabetes Care: Passing the Baton

Sometimes it feels like, as parents, we'll be doing all the diabetes care forever. Sometimes we stay stuck because we're not sure what our child needs to know to care for her own diabetes. Sometimes we're unsure of what we can expect at different ages. If you'd like to look ahead and plan for how to transition diabetes care in a way that's manageable and age-appropriate, use our article Diabetes Self-Care: What Does My Child Need to Know? as a launching point to explore what batons you can pass to your child or teen now, and how to prepare for the future.                                              

Pump Basics: Changing Sets

For families using an insulin pump, we'd like to highlight Waltzing the Dragon's Level 2 Basic Pump Skills section. If your child is afraid of the discomfort of infusion set changes, take the fear away with Numbing an Infusion Site. To avoid infections and irritation, and to keep those sets stuck, we have tips on Cleaning Infusion Sites and Prepping the Site: Adhesion and Irritation. Explore the options!


Tired of Painting it Grey?

If the risks of eating out, at restaurants and at the homes of friends and family, have your family eating in and hiding out, check out these tips on special occasions and eating out from our Diabetes Basics section. And then paint the town red! 



Join the Conversation


Good news for those with dietary restrictions... a new restaurant has opened up in Calgary, offering something for everyone: gluten-free, low carb, vegan, vegetarian. Diner Deluxe "infuses classic comfort food with a local twist" and their Aspen Landing location recently restored Michelle's faith in the possibilities...

  

Questions? Comments?

Send us a note: admin@WaltzingTheDragon.ca.

Recipe of the Month

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies  

1 cup butter, softened
1 cup brown sugar, packed (210 carbs)
½ cup granulated sugar (100 carbs)
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla

2 cups quick-cooking oats (not instant) (92 carbs)
½ cups all-purpose flour (230 carbs)
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
2 cups dark raisins (246 carbs)


Preheat oven to 350°F. 
Cream together butter and both sugars in a large bowl.
Beat in eggs, 1 at a time. Add vanilla. Mix.

Stir in rolled oats. 

Add flour, baking soda and cinnamon. Mix well.

Add raisins. Mix well. Drop by rounded tablespoons into greased cookie sheet about 1 inch apart. Bake for 10-12min. Makes about 4 ½ dozen cookies @ *16 carbs per cookie. 

Can be made gluten-free by substituting GF all-purpose flour for the wheat flour, adding ½ tsp xanthan or guar gum, and substituting GF (pure) oats for the non-pure oats.

*Actual carb count will vary according to the GF flour used and the resulting total number of pieces. For guidance on calculating carbs for baked goods, check out: How Do I Figure Out the Carb Content for Mixed Recipes & Home Baked Goods? at WaltzingTheDragon.ca

Diabetes and the Family 

When a child gets diagnosed with diabetes, it impacts the entire family. Brothers, sisters, mothers, fathers, grandparents and friends are all affected. And while it’s hard for the child who’s diagnosed, many times it’s even harder on the parents. Explore whether that may be true for your family, and what you can do to grow from here, from Joe Solowiejczyk, diabetes nurse educator, family therapist, and type 1 since 1961.


*Article Brought to you by Animas Canada

All the best to you and your family as you tame the diabetes dragon...
-Michelle & Danielle

Michelle MacPhee & Danielle Krause
Co-Creators, WaltzingTheDragon.ca



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What is Waltzing the Dragon?

WaltzingTheDragon.ca is a Canadian website for families dealing with type 1 diabetes, created by two parents of children with diabetes: Danielle, a former Registered Nurse, is a mother of three teens (one of her sons has had type 1 diabetes since 2001); Michelle holds a Masters degree in Psychology and is mom to two young children, including a 6-year-old son (who has had type 1 diabetes since 2008).

The articles on Waltzing the Dragon have been reviewed for content accuracy by the clinical staff at the Diabetes Clinic at the Alberta Children’s Hospital, ensuring the material is grounded in science and best practices. Then, as parents, we provide the practical, experiential layer, sharing “tips from the trenches”, sharing what has worked well in our families. At WaltzingTheDragon.ca, we strive to make the dance a little easier by sharing with you the science of effective diabetes care, as well as the art that makes one truly successful. We hope that, as a result, all of us can focus less on the dragon and more on life.

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