Hey Fabulous People,
Happy June 1st! June is such a busy month this year. Here is the list of things stealing my time...
-Start my microbiology class tomorrow
-Continue my masters internship research
-Start filling out my application for dental school (It opens tomorrow!)
-Continue planning my wedding
-Promote the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation's Jr. Board's BBQ and Brews Event (If you're in the Birmingham Alabama area, click the link to get tickets!)
-Visit Churchill Downs with my fiance
-And...turn 27! Yay, birthdays!
I'll have lots to write about in the upcoming months as I get back into shape for a new set of rehearsals starting in August. We have a new choreographer coming in for a November show, so that should be interesting!
So, moving forward. In May I was honored to be featured in Upside Down Plane's new website. Upside Down Plane is a website dedicated to type 1 diabetes heroes as well as offering advice to those newly diagnosed. Check out my interview and explore the other inspiring type 1 diabetes hero's interviews!
-Exit Stage Left
Sunday, June 1, 2014
Thursday, May 8, 2014
A diabetic ballerina is back!
Hey fabulous people,
So, I know it's been two whole years but I'm back! I wish I could have blogged more but with trying to maintain a 4.0 in school and make sure I'm ready to apply to dental school, I just didn't have the time or mental capacity to write. I literally survived on 5 hours of sleep a night for months on end. It's been rough.
Enough complaining from me! Watch my new video and enjoy the new pretty pictures I posted!
-Exit Stage Left
So, I know it's been two whole years but I'm back! I wish I could have blogged more but with trying to maintain a 4.0 in school and make sure I'm ready to apply to dental school, I just didn't have the time or mental capacity to write. I literally survived on 5 hours of sleep a night for months on end. It's been rough.
Enough complaining from me! Watch my new video and enjoy the new pretty pictures I posted!
-Exit Stage Left
Saturday, August 25, 2012
You CAN dance en pointe
I've had several dancers emailing me telling me that as diabetics they were told that they weren't allowed to dance en pointe. What do I have to say to that? They were misinformed! Of course you can dance en pointe. There are many dancers including myself that have danced en pointe and still have healthy feet. Zippora Karz for one of them! So there you go, living proof!
The one disclaimer I have is that if your A1C is out of control it probably is best to wait until it's a bit lower before you pull those pointe shoes on. The reason I say this is that pointe work beats up your feet...a lot. You want to give your skin the best fighting chance to heal from all the abuse. So the better your A1C, the better your feet will feel and the better your pointe work will be!
So eat healthy, keep active, watch your A1C, keep a close eye on your feet and tie those ribbons!
-Exit Stage Left
The one disclaimer I have is that if your A1C is out of control it probably is best to wait until it's a bit lower before you pull those pointe shoes on. The reason I say this is that pointe work beats up your feet...a lot. You want to give your skin the best fighting chance to heal from all the abuse. So the better your A1C, the better your feet will feel and the better your pointe work will be!
 |
| Typical ballerina feet, take good care of them! |
-Exit Stage Left
Sunday, August 19, 2012
Feeling a little Famous
Hey everyone!
Since the fall in now underway I can finally share my dance company's website. It has performance information for all our upcoming shows, plus lots of pretty pictures of modern dance at its finest.
It's just been updated and I am now finally on it! Yay!
...just feeling a little famous at the moment...
Sanspointe Dance Company
-Exit stage left
PS: I am still working on my Dexcom video, I haven't forgotten :)
Since the fall in now underway I can finally share my dance company's website. It has performance information for all our upcoming shows, plus lots of pretty pictures of modern dance at its finest.
It's just been updated and I am now finally on it! Yay!
...just feeling a little famous at the moment...
Sanspointe Dance Company
-Exit stage left
PS: I am still working on my Dexcom video, I haven't forgotten :)
Tuesday, August 14, 2012
Diabetes Gadgets Videos: Part 1
Hey everyone!
I've been getting lots of questions related to pumping and dancing (and sparkles) and I think it would be great to share them with the world!
So as promised, I present to you Part 1 of my 2 part video series about diabetes gadgets. Part one is about pumping and part 2 will be an explanation on how to insert a dexcom sensor in your arm, by yourself with no headaches! Stay tuned!
Also, I talk about Groovy Patches in my video. Check them out!
-Exit Stage Left
I've been getting lots of questions related to pumping and dancing (and sparkles) and I think it would be great to share them with the world!
So as promised, I present to you Part 1 of my 2 part video series about diabetes gadgets. Part one is about pumping and part 2 will be an explanation on how to insert a dexcom sensor in your arm, by yourself with no headaches! Stay tuned!
Also, I talk about Groovy Patches in my video. Check them out!
-Exit Stage Left
Friday, August 3, 2012
Photos of one fantastic duet
Hey fabulous people!
I know, I know, it's been a month and I haven't posted anything. I bit of a little more than I could chew with my chemistry and math summer courses along with teaching another anatomy class. I made it through and collected two more A's to add to my pre-med basket but I certainly have missed posting my blog.
I continued to work on rehearsal for Sanspointe's next show and I want to share some new photos with you! These are from a brand new duet between me and Michelle. It is full of lifts, and rolls and I was so sore afterward. I love how the two tallest dancers were the ones lifting each other! My pump stuck with me through it all though.
Also stay tuned a two part video special I'll be filming while on my short vacation to my home country of Canada. I just flew into Calgary Alberta this afternoon and am having a lovely time relaxing with my friends. I'll be answering all the lovely questions I've been getting about my pump as well as how to insert a dexcom sensor on your arm without any help! Yes, it's possible and easy!
Get excited!
-Exit Stage Left
I know, I know, it's been a month and I haven't posted anything. I bit of a little more than I could chew with my chemistry and math summer courses along with teaching another anatomy class. I made it through and collected two more A's to add to my pre-med basket but I certainly have missed posting my blog.
I continued to work on rehearsal for Sanspointe's next show and I want to share some new photos with you! These are from a brand new duet between me and Michelle. It is full of lifts, and rolls and I was so sore afterward. I love how the two tallest dancers were the ones lifting each other! My pump stuck with me through it all though.
Also stay tuned a two part video special I'll be filming while on my short vacation to my home country of Canada. I just flew into Calgary Alberta this afternoon and am having a lovely time relaxing with my friends. I'll be answering all the lovely questions I've been getting about my pump as well as how to insert a dexcom sensor on your arm without any help! Yes, it's possible and easy!
Get excited!
 |
| Michelle and I are the same size! I was sore from all those lifts! |
 |
| I enjoyed this backwards jump |
 |
| Michelle and I in my favorite pose. My knee hurt for days! |
-Exit Stage Left
Wednesday, July 4, 2012
My New Endo Experience
So this week I had my 6 month check up at my endocrinologist. I wasn't clicking with my old endo so after I met Dr. V at a JDRF function I knew I had to switch. He was nice enough to give an appointment pretty quickly and from our conversations he seemed like a nice, knowledgable doctor. I decided to try him out and if he didn't work for me then I would keep searching for physician perfection.
But I was still nervous.
After shadowing so many doctors it felt weird to be a patient again but I knew my diabetes needed a tune up. I parked my jeep in the massive parking deck and wandered around until I found an elevated walkway leading to the Kirklin Clinic. I was lead into what looked like an airport. I walked by a patient library, a huge pharmacy even a Starbucks. Each level housed different specialties. I must have looked lost and scared because another patient took me under her wing and showed me the way around.
You have to remember that I'm from Canada and when you say the word "Clinic" I think of a small, quaint office with 10 chairs, not a high class hospital with a Starbucks! Anyways, I was checked in by a super nice receptionist (not many are nice!) and after spending 20 minutes trying, and not succeeding to study, I was taken back by a very nice nurse. I tried my best to not panic but I always do and my blood pressure shot through the roof. I told the nurse that I check my blood pressure constantly at the pharmacy and even took photos to prove it. She just laughed and said that I had "White Coat" syndrome. Yes, yes I do! Like a lightening fast ninja she took my blood sugar (104) and A1C. With a cotton ball in hand I was ready to go.
So far so good I quickly got shuttled back to a nice little examination room. The nurse told me to sit on the table and wait for Dr. V. After seeing so many patients choose to sit in the chairs and not on the table I decided that I too, was going to sit in the chairs. I was nervous already, I didn't want to be stuck up on a pedestal too. I sat down, pulled out 3 months of records that I had printed off the night before and bounced my leg to pass the time.
Dr. V came in quickly and immediately I calmed right down. I shared my story of diabetes up until now and he listened carefully and let me talk. I just LOVE it when doctors let you talk! He agreed that the Omnipod wasn't a good fit for me (something my other doctor and I fought about) and even told me that other elite athletes had the same issues as I did. Hah! I'm not crazy! My A1C was ridiculously low. So low in fact that I seriously suspect that the little A1C machine was inaccurate. It was 4.2. How am I still alive you ask? I have no idea. Dr. V looked at the huge amount of data I printed out and told me that he was fine with a 4.2 because I don't actually go low all that often, but told me a number like this probably won't ever happen again. I'm ok with that. Normally I sit at 5.4 or so.
So we discussed tweaking my basal rates, poked my scarred up dancer feet, and checked my back fat for any pump bumps. All good to go and super healthy. He was worried about my thyroid since I hold onto a lot of water weight and have super irregular periods (too much info? Whatever!) Also he wanted to test me for celiac and a whole other host of hormone, autoimmune and whatever he could think of problems. I'm going in on Friday to donate half my body in blood and hopefully everything is peachy keen and I'm good to go for another 6 months.
So, I do believe I have reached physician perfection. Luckily Dr. V is young so I'm guaranteed to have a great doctor for a while. He listens, doesn't yack about other patients or the weather and wants to negotiate with me on treatment options. He treats me like an equal. Plus it's also cool to know that he's at the same JDRF research meetings as I am so we can discuss fun cutting edge stuff. Like the Varapmill study that I posted about a few weeks ago.
Well it's the 4th of July and I have sufficiently cooled down after my run. It's time to hit the pool!
-Exit Stage Left
But I was still nervous.
After shadowing so many doctors it felt weird to be a patient again but I knew my diabetes needed a tune up. I parked my jeep in the massive parking deck and wandered around until I found an elevated walkway leading to the Kirklin Clinic. I was lead into what looked like an airport. I walked by a patient library, a huge pharmacy even a Starbucks. Each level housed different specialties. I must have looked lost and scared because another patient took me under her wing and showed me the way around.
You have to remember that I'm from Canada and when you say the word "Clinic" I think of a small, quaint office with 10 chairs, not a high class hospital with a Starbucks! Anyways, I was checked in by a super nice receptionist (not many are nice!) and after spending 20 minutes trying, and not succeeding to study, I was taken back by a very nice nurse. I tried my best to not panic but I always do and my blood pressure shot through the roof. I told the nurse that I check my blood pressure constantly at the pharmacy and even took photos to prove it. She just laughed and said that I had "White Coat" syndrome. Yes, yes I do! Like a lightening fast ninja she took my blood sugar (104) and A1C. With a cotton ball in hand I was ready to go.
So far so good I quickly got shuttled back to a nice little examination room. The nurse told me to sit on the table and wait for Dr. V. After seeing so many patients choose to sit in the chairs and not on the table I decided that I too, was going to sit in the chairs. I was nervous already, I didn't want to be stuck up on a pedestal too. I sat down, pulled out 3 months of records that I had printed off the night before and bounced my leg to pass the time.
Dr. V came in quickly and immediately I calmed right down. I shared my story of diabetes up until now and he listened carefully and let me talk. I just LOVE it when doctors let you talk! He agreed that the Omnipod wasn't a good fit for me (something my other doctor and I fought about) and even told me that other elite athletes had the same issues as I did. Hah! I'm not crazy! My A1C was ridiculously low. So low in fact that I seriously suspect that the little A1C machine was inaccurate. It was 4.2. How am I still alive you ask? I have no idea. Dr. V looked at the huge amount of data I printed out and told me that he was fine with a 4.2 because I don't actually go low all that often, but told me a number like this probably won't ever happen again. I'm ok with that. Normally I sit at 5.4 or so.
So we discussed tweaking my basal rates, poked my scarred up dancer feet, and checked my back fat for any pump bumps. All good to go and super healthy. He was worried about my thyroid since I hold onto a lot of water weight and have super irregular periods (too much info? Whatever!) Also he wanted to test me for celiac and a whole other host of hormone, autoimmune and whatever he could think of problems. I'm going in on Friday to donate half my body in blood and hopefully everything is peachy keen and I'm good to go for another 6 months.
So, I do believe I have reached physician perfection. Luckily Dr. V is young so I'm guaranteed to have a great doctor for a while. He listens, doesn't yack about other patients or the weather and wants to negotiate with me on treatment options. He treats me like an equal. Plus it's also cool to know that he's at the same JDRF research meetings as I am so we can discuss fun cutting edge stuff. Like the Varapmill study that I posted about a few weeks ago.
Well it's the 4th of July and I have sufficiently cooled down after my run. It's time to hit the pool!
-Exit Stage Left
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