JDRF

It would seem as if we made a rookie mistake with James' entry into the Funny Car Design Contest.  Yesterday, he was solidly in the third spot, but by the time the competition ended yesterday afternoon, he had been bumped entirely out of the top five by people who had saved their ammunition for the end of the fight.  Hence his design will not have a chance to be chosen for painting on Bob Tasca's funny car. A design to which, I might add, Bob Tasca himself donated.  I wasn't supposed to announce this yesterday, because Christi didn't want to violate his confidence, but screw it.  The driver liked James' design and donated to support it.  Take from that what you will.  

Sigh. This is such a bummer. 

Still, I am very happy we were able to raise over $2300 for JDRF, which is truly a great organization, devoted to finding a cure for Type I diabetes.  A significant chunk of that sum was due to the overwhelming generosity of devoted Cake Eater reader, Russ from Winterset, and his promotion of James' cause to the morons over at Ace of Spades, who generously gave of their spare cash to help out.  We thank all of thee.  You're a great group of people.  Seriously.  Now you can get back to burnishing your street cred by bashing some hobos and sucking down the Val-U-Rite Discount Vodka.  I won't tell anyone your deep dark secret of helping a ten-year-old find a cure for his disease.  It's safe with me.  I promise.  And a huge helping of thanks should go to the ewok in charge of the joint, Ace, for putting up with it.  You're a good egg, dude.  I know, I know.  You don't want anyone to know.  But it's out there.  Pfft.  Deal with it.  

But...

...it would have been so super-duper, freakin' fantastically cool to have played a small part in sending James on the trip of a lifetime, which, in some small way, might have been a decent consolation prize for all the shots, finger sticks, and denied Halloween candy he's had to cope with over his short life.  The kid has put up with a lot, simply because his pancreas crapped out on him.  And he's turned out to be such a great kid, too, because of, and in spite of, all he had placed on his tiny shoulders a week after his third birthday.  I'm very proud to have James as my nephew. 

I'm a fortunate auntie: I have a prodigious number of nieces and nephews.  Over twenty, in fact.  It's been interesting to watch them on their road to adulthood, to see the lessons they learn, and to see how they tackle the challenges life presents them.  Objectively speaking, they're a pretty extraordinary bunch, on the whole, who have taken the privileges they've been granted and have made the most of them.  Sometimes I'm even jealous at the opportunites they've been able to take part, because I sure as hell never had what they had.  The instances where certain nieces and nephews have pissed away what they've been given are far and few between, which, given your average teenager these days, is pretty extraordinary.  Given that observation, James, even though he's ten, has truly risen to the challenges with which he's been presented, and I find that amazing.  If I was him, I'd still probably be ranting and raving over the unfairness of it all.  But he doesn't.  This is not to say he hasn't had his moments, because he has---and who can blame him?---but he's pretty much over it. Nowadays he deals...and he deals well.  He's pretty much in charge of his care now, and he's the one who sticks his finger during testing now, and who makes sure his pump is doing what it should.  The kid has mad math skillz from having to manage his diabetes.  He's learned, partially through fundraising for JDRF, how to be an eloquent ten-year-old when he talks about his condition; he knows that people will be curious, and that they might ask questions, so he tries to put things in a positive light while never blowing off the severity of the situation.  He knows more about nutrition than most adults, and if he follows through with his current career plan, which is to be a chef, I'm sure he'll make tasty, healthy, pleasing food.

So given all this exceptionalism on James' part, you can understand why I'm bummed we couldn't get this done for him.  Alas, however, that's life. 

If James decides to enter the contest next year, you can bet your bottom dollar (which, of course, we WILL ask for at that point) we will not make the same mistake we made this year.  

Thanks to everyone for their extraordinary support.  You're a good group of people and I'm pleased to have you as devoted Cake Eater readers.   

It's time to pimp James' ride again.  For the whole story, go here.

{Let the pimping commence!}

Pimp. Pimp. Pimp.

Now, in case you're one of God's procrastinators, here's the link AGAIN, so you can go and chip in five or ten bucks or more (and have I mentioned we really likes the more?).  James is currently in third place and we need to keep him in the top five for consideration.  The more money we raise now, the less chance there will be on the 14th (which is when the contest ends) that some white knight will swoop in and donate a boatload of cash to some other kid at the last minute to knock him out of his spot. 

Thanks for your support, my devoted Cake Eater readers.   We truly appreciate it.

(And, just to reiterate: NONE of the money James has raised for JDRF will EVER go to embryonic stem cell research.)

UPDATE 8/14/09:  Welcome Moron Nation!  Thanks for popping over and doing what you can. 

This one's for you...

How is it possible that Lemmy is still alive? 

Yep.  July has once again rolled around, and the time has come to PIMP the ever livin' heck out of the devoted Cake Eater readership for my nephew, James. 

You remember James, right?  He's ten, going into fourth grade, and for as long as I've been writing this blog, I've hit you, my devoted Cake Eater readers, up for cold hard cash to help fund research for a cure for his diabetes.  I'd post a picture, but, hell, he's reached that age where I'm not really sure he wants his auntie posting his picture to the web, so we'll avoid that for the time being. This July is no different--I need your cash, or rather James needs your cash so he doesn't have to deal with this stupid disease any longer.  

This year, however, we have a plot twist. 

Yes, I'm still hitting you up for cash, but instead of sending you to James' JDRF homepage, from whence you have all generously donated to JDRF in the past in sponsorship of James' Jaywalkers, his Walk to Cure Diabetes team, I'm sending you here.

{Insert me waiting patiently for you all to make the small gesture and click on the frigging link here.}

 {I'm still waiting.}

{Yep.  STILL waiting.} 

{Are you people completely insensitive to the plight of a ten-year-old boy who was diagnosed with Type I Diabetes at the age of three?  Someone who, literally, has no memory of not having this disease?  JUST CLICK ON THE DAMN LINK, ALREADY!  You're pissing me off and making me think your utter and undying devotion to me, the Goddess of Snark, is just completely false.}

That's better.

Thank you for clicking.  And clicking back, because we know I love those double hits in the stat section. 

Ahem. 

Anyway, here's the deal: That design you saw on that page...you know, this one:

Well, that's James' entry for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation Funny Car competition, sponsored generously by Ford Motor Company (you know, that company who refused to take the bail-out).  Whichever kid gets the most donations in support of their design, will have it painted on Bob Tesca's Ford Funny Car (whatever the hell that might be) and will get to travel to North Carolina with their parents for the unveiling.  James would like fame and fortune. 

So, being a good auntie, it's time to send you all back to the page, which you can find here. (See what a nice person I am?  I didn't even make you scroll back up yonder to revisit said link.) I urge you to donate some money to James' cause, which has the potential benefit of making a ten-year-old kid's year, because, if he won, well, he'd get to go and live the lush life for a weekend, meeting and greeting with celebrity race car drivers, courtesy of Ford, to say nothing of having his design on a race car. But, you could, also, conceivably make his life by sponsoring research to cure a disease he has, which can be treated, but comes with many possible complications, like blindness, death and amputation, and, of course, the inability to eat any of the candy he receives in his pillowcase on Halloween night.

It's a win-win, right? 

Did I mention the donation was tax-deductible?  I didn't.  Well, it is.  So, I guess that would make it a triple win, or what they call a trifecta in the horse racing biz.  What's not to like?

And, no, worries, my devoted pro-life Cake Eater readers, none of the money will go to stem-cell research. 

So, go, give...give like the wind.  Thanks for you support. 

Despite my blogging absence yesterday, we're still continuing with our "Let's Cure Diabetes!" theme this week, and today's entry is from James' mom, Christi, who videotaped bits and bobs from Omaha's Walk to Cure Diabetes. Usually, since I normally do this fundraiser before the walk takes place, I can't really tell you what the walk is like or give you the flavor of it. This year is different, however.

See all those people? They're there to help cure Juvenile Diabetes. Won't you consider joining them by going here and donating a few bucks to the cause?

I know times are tight all around this year.  Believe me, I know this.  But a. this is a worthy cause and b. any donation you make is 100% tax deductible, so it will help you with your battle with the taxman come next April 15th. 

Thanks for your support, my devoted Cake Eater readers.  Because I know that, even though none of you have chosen to cough up some coin as of right now, you WILL let your generous side get the better of you and you'll donate some money before the week is over.

This, my devoted Cake Eater readers, is my nephew, James.

This photo was taken at my sister's house, during our recent family reunion. 

Looks pretty laid back, doesn't he? 

Well, that's the thing.  James, age nine, is laid back, but only as much as he can be.  He works being laid back into his schedule, and his schedule is fairly rigorous because he has Type I Diabetes, or Juvenile Diabetes. 

I've written about James here before, as I help him raise funds every year for Omaha's Walk to Cure Diabetes, in which he and his family are active participants.   So, forgive me, my devoted Cake Eater readers, if this seems all-too familiar, but this disease still exists, there still is no cure for it, and we would, still, really like there to be one. 

This year, however, I'm not going to go into how many insulin shots James has to receive every day because, well, he no longer has to receive them.  Thanks to the fabulous Omnipod pump he started using this past winter, he receives a steady dose of insulin, all day and all night, and no longer has to endure a shot before each meal, or one of long-acting insulin in the morning.  His blood sugar numbers no longer get excessively out of whack, thanks to him just being an active kid, so my sister, his mom, no longer has to force him to eat at regular intervals to get his blood sugar numbers back up, or, conversely, get him to slow down, to get them back down.  At school, he no longer has to go track down one of the adults at school who know how to give him a shot before lunch.  No longer is he, or his family, restricted to a tight meal schedule.  It was a given, before he had the pump installed, that if you couldn't get a hold of his mother at any other point during the day, you could at least track her down right before six at their house, as they had to eat PRECISELY at six because of James' diabetes.  No longer.  They can keep up with baseball and basketball games, and eat when they get home, whenever that might be.  (Ironically enough, I'm told, my brother-in-law gets a little cranky now if dinner isn't on the table at six.  Because he's gotten used to it and he likes having his dinner then.)  Christi, my sister and James' mom, no longer has to pack up half the fridge and part of their pantry with food James would eat before they leave the house.  Now, it's just a few snacks and that's that---no different than anyone else with active, hungry kids.  Mainly, though, the best part about the pump is the freedom it's given James.  When he goes on a sleepover, his mother no longer has to show up at seven in the morning to give him a shot.  He's no longer tethered to his parents, because he had to be tethered to them.  Not so much anymore.  The pump gives him the freedom to be a kid...a regular, active kid.   He even enjoys showing it off, as he did at the family reunion, when he ran around in his swim trunks, the pump attached to his abdomen via waterproof tape.  He thinks it's cool, and you can't fault him on his observations because, damn it, it is cool.

Of course, however, there's a catch.  There always is one when medical intervention is needed, as I've learned this past year, and James' case is no different in this regard.  While the pump works well and regulates the amount of insulin he needs, he still has to check his blood sugar often.  Which means numerous finger pricks all day, every day, and it's quite freaky, when you see him do it, because he does it without a second thought.  It's just part of his routine.  Also, for the pump to work optimally, he needs to stick to an optimum diet, meaning he doesn't really have leave to eat things he wouldn't have eaten before he went on the pump.  Yes, he could, conceivably, snarf a Snickers anytime he wanted to, because they can adjust the insulin dose to allow his body to handle it, but it's not something he'd be able to do all the time, because it would send his numbers out of whack.  They want the insulin dose to be steady, and the only way you can do that is to keep the diet it has to handle steady.  This means that, yes, he still has to count carbs, and while Christi tells me he's quite good at adding everything up,. it's just not a skill you want a nine-year-old to have.  Thank God he, apparently, doesn't suck at math, like his dear Aunt Kathy.  But, most of all, the lifetime risks of having Type I Diabetes haven't magically disappeared because he's using a pump now.  As a result of being insulin-dependent, he could still, possibly, go blind; he risks amputation of his hands and feet because insulin isn't kind to the nerves in those regions; and he could possibly go into a coma, if he doesn't watch his blood sugar levels and take care of himself.   While the pump is great, it's not a cure-all.  Just because you can manage the problem better, doesn't mean it's a solution unto itself.  I think people sometimes forget that. 

A little over a week ago, James and his family headed home early from our family reunion to participate in the Omaha-Council Bluffs Walk to Cure Diabetes, sponsored by JDRF, or the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.  This organization has been there for James since Day One of his diagnosis, and he likes to return the favor by raising money for them every year.  This year, the walk went great (even though Aunt Kathy didn't have her blog up and running in time to fundraise beforehand), and Christi, his mom, will be posting some video she took of the event for you, my devoted Cake Eater readers, to view at your leisure, so you can get the flavor of the event.  Even though the walk has passed, there's still time to donate to James' team, James' Jaywalkers.  If James' story has inspired you to help out, Go here and give what you can.  No donation is too small and, honestly and truly, we're grateful for every dime.  All together, they've raised about $3000 total, but they're still a bit short of their goal.  Let's see if we can't help them out, eh, my devoted Cake Eater readers?

I should also mention that, while JDRF researchers have been actively researching a cure using stem cells, James and his family have chosen to send any money they raise toward other research programs that don't involve the use of stem cells, adult or otherwise.

Thanks in advance for any help you may choose to give.  We truly do appreciate it. 

*this post will be sticket to the top of the page all week long to guilt you, my devoted Cake Eater readers, into coughing up.  How could you resist helping a cute little redheaded kid like James?  I don't see how it's possible.  Give early, give generously.