Random Acts of Kindness - Birthdays

A few weeks ago, Mommy had a birthday.  Birthdays are a big deal around our house.  Of course, we bring out the Birthday Bear to sing.  The one celebrating the birthday has "Happy Birthday Fun Day" where they get to choose whatever they want to do that day.  Mommy and Daddy usually go shopping and out to dinner.  When it is my birthday, I play Frisbee, get a new Frisbee for a gift and have a special treat.  I usually share my treat with my brother.  Ringo hasn't figured out his "Fun Day" routine yet, probably because he has only had one birthday.
I must explain something very special that happened on Mommy's Fun Day.  Mommy and Daddy had gone out to eat at one of their favorite places they don't get to visit often.  Shortly after being seated, the server brought over their favorite wine and said it had been paid for by one of Mommy's best friends.  That was a great surprise!  Mommy and Daddy continued enjoying their delicious meal and laughed about many events that had happened over the past few days.  I bet they told stories about Ringo and me, we're pretty funny!  In case you didn't know, Mommy and Daddy like to laugh and they do it often.  They enjoy each others company.
Towards the end of the night they asked their favorite server if she would take a picture of them.  Big smiles all around!

When the server came out with the bill, she leaned in and said, "A table just down from theirs picked up the bill and said they wanted to treat them."  Mommy and Daddy were stunned and overwhelmed.  The server went on to say these nice people do this sort of thing on occasion when they are moved by someone they feel deserves their kindness.  Daddy managed to squeak out a 'Thank You' as he was still overwhelmed.  After she left, they sat there in silence for a moment.  Those kinds of things don't happen to Mommy and Daddy, so it was very touching.  Daddy and Mommy were both misty eyed, but Daddy composed himself enough to approach their table to thank them.  The woman from the table came over to Mommy and wished her a "Happy Birthday," and gave her a hug.  The woman's name was Pacy!  (Mommy's other name is Stacy!)
When Mommy and Daddy got up to leave, they stopped by the nice people's table to thank them again.  Once there, the table started a rousing rendition of "Happy Birthday" for Mommy and even sang harmonies!  It was quite good!  What a wonderful evening made even more special by random acts of kindness!
I can honestly say the giver and the receiver of a random act of kindness both feel awesome - kind of warm and fuzzy all over!  Try it!
Love,
Boomer the Mellow Yellow Lab

SpRingo Fever!

This blog will be short because the weather has been too beautiful to stay indoors.  Temperatures in the 50's and  60's with sunshine aren't exactly normal for Minnesota in March, so we're enjoying it while we can!  I promise to write another blog soon talking about random acts of kindness and birthdays!  Happy Spring!

Love,
Boomer the Mellow Yellow Lab

T1D - A Scary Wake Up Call

On the morning of Sunday, February 15th, we had a big scare.  Daddy, Ringo and I woke up like normal.  We noticed Mommy was still asleep.  Daddy looked at her, she wasn't sleeping in her usual position.  He felt her and she was sweating from head to toe.  Daddy quickly ran to grab a soda and a meter called a glucometer to test Mommy's blood sugar (glucose).  Mommy has always been able to wake up when her glucose gets too low; this time she did not.  It was 34!  Normal glucose is 70 - 100.  This reading was dangerously low.  We are so grateful we woke up when we did, otherwise Mommy might not be here today.  Daddy was awesome.  He got her to drink enough soda to pull her out of it.

Mommy was in a deep dream like state and kept asking strange questions.  She tried laying down and drinking her soda at the same time.  Daddy stayed focused.  After 20 minutes or so, Mommy's glucose was 62.  A few minutes later, Mommy woke up completely and asked what was going on.  You could tell she was exhausted.  I think everyone was.  We were scared!

Mommy has T1D, also known as Type 1 Diabetes.  In 2003, Mommy had a pancreas transplant that temporarily cured the diabetes, but it started failing about 8 months ago.  Now she must take insulin again.  People with T1D need to have insulin everyday.  They must monitor their glucose frequently, eat throughout the day and pay attention to every thing.  The challenge is to lower the blood sugar, but not so low that it gets acutely dangerous.

Exercise, stress, illnesses, metabolism and normal activity can affect glucose levels.  This is our new reality.  Ringo and I are fairly new to this.  We have a lot to learn.  Mommy and Daddy remember it from before the pancreas transplant.  This was a scary wake up call for all of us.  A new adventure.  We have done some research on T1D and found some encouraging news.  Researchers in Boston are working on a bionic pancreas and hope to have it available in 2017!  It would work like a human pancreas, so low blood sugars wouldn't happen!

Here's a link to a little video about their work

T1D is a devastating condition.  It took Mommy's eyesight and kidneys.  It usually happens to children; Mommy was 9 when she got it.  It would be great if a cure could be found so the disease never existed.

Someone from the Boston team named David Panzirer said, "It is the only disease I know of where you are making dosing decisions with a medicine that can kill you if you get it wrong.  You are doing those decisions 24-7."

This blog is a bit different from the norm.  We felt the need to share this information to bring awareness to T1D.  We hope a cure is in the near future.  Thanks for giving us this outlet, all of you probably know someone with diabetes - you just might not know who yet.

Love,
Boomer, the Mellow Yellow Lab

Catching Up

When the weather is unpredictable, it is hard to know what toy to play with outside.  The wind could blow the Frisbee out of the yard.  The rolling wheel doesn't provide enough exercise in the cold.  The ball is good for these cold, windy days because it is heavy and Daddy can throw it very far.  Sunny, calm days are my favorite because I love to play Frisbee and Ringo is content chasing me.

On January 30, we lit a candle for Rudy.  It's hard to believe he went to Heaven two years ago.  We miss him so much.  He did a great job picking out Ringo to join our family.  We can see a lot of Rudyisms in Ringo.  It makes us smile.

Mommy and Daddy had an event at the Cannon River Winery on Saturday, February 7.  It was for local authors.  They had a wine tasting, live music and eight authors.  It was a good time, they met some nice people, made a few contacts, tasted some wine and sold some books!  Ringo and I went to our friend, Jennifer's house.  We saw our friends, both human and canine.  Charming little Ringo met a new girl friend named Zoe!  They were inseparable and cute.  I got tired and took a nap on Jennifer's bed.  We like it over there, it's fun!

Link to the Cannon River Winery event pictures.

Our book sales have been steady, which is quite nice.  We'll never be millionaires, but everything helps.  We had a big order (16 books) from a Children's Hospital in Missouri!

Mommy hopes she can stop using her crutches in a week or so.  She'll still need the cast, but she can walk on it.  Paws crossed!  We're shooting for Spring!

Love,
Boomer the Mellow Yellow Lab

Our Friend Hobey Baker

Last week, a very dear friend and neighbor went to Heaven.  Hobey Baker was a very wonderful boy who loved to run and rarely barked.  He's a lot like me.  We also have being mellow and loving our family in common.  We loved to run the fence line together and he was the fastest of all of us.  He was very special to brothers Rudy, Ringo and me.  We will miss him very much.

Hobey had a tough start to his life, but was so lucky to be adopted by his people who gave him the TLC he needed and deserved.  He came from the Red Lake Reservation, where he spent most of his time outside.  When his people adopted him, he had a badly infected leg.  They got him the medical attention necessary and saved the leg!

Like my brother, Rudy, his life on Earth was far too short.  He loved life and touched the hearts of many.  We knew his people loved hockey because of Hobey's name.  Hobey Baker was named after a college hockey player from a long time ago.  They have a trophy named after him that they give out to the best college hockey player every year.  The name really fits our friend, Hobey Baker - because he's the best!

We included the link to little video of Hobey enjoying his Christmas present from us this year.  What a happy boy!  We love you, Hobey!

http://youtu.be/viPIUiXdPvg

Love,
Boomer! the Mellow Yellow Lab

Parallel Lives

Hello everyone!  For this entry, I have asked Mommy to be our guest blogger.  She has written a piece that I thought might interest all of you.  I have also included a link* to a 4 minute video that Daddy made called "Everything Happens for a Reason."  I hope you enjoy.  I'll be back next time.
Love,
Boomer the Mellow Yellow Lab

Recently in the news, I heard about a woman named Amy Purdy, a paralympic bronze medallist and contestant on “Dancing with the Stars.”  At the age of 19, she had meningitis, which caused the loss of her legs below the knee and ultimately a kidney transplant 2 years later.

I can’t help but wonder if 19 isn’t a mysterious age where cataclysmic events occur?  My life somewhat parallels that of Amy.  Instead of losing my legs, I lost my eyes.  I too had meningitis, but mine triggered Type I (juvenile) diabetes.  Like Purdy, my life changed dramatically at 19, when I lost my sight after a 5-month struggle.  At 31 I had my first kidney transplant.  I also had a pancreas transplant at 39, and another kidney transplant at 45.  Amidst all of the transplants, other health issues intruded.

Unfortunately, I am still trying to earn my “medal” and haven’t been on DWTS (although I’d love it!)  I am trying to stand “On My Own Two Feet” (title of Amy's book) by also being an author.  I pen the children’s series, “Rudy’s Little World” and currently have 6 published books about a variety of atypical subjects.  I also speak to audiences of all ages and sizes, sharing my story and proving you can overcome challenges! Again, like Amy Purdy, I don’t let challenges keep me from obtaining my goals.  I also believe everything happens for a reason.

*Everything Happens for a Reason link

Saying Good Bye to 2014

Our family really tried to get into the Christmas spirit, then it hit the wall.  Choral Concerts, shopping and wrapping for our church's "Adopt a Family," donated books to a Children's Hospital, two parties and a nicely planned Christmas dinner turned into quiet, lay low and try to keep any thing in to stay hydrated.  That's right - Mommy and Daddy got the nasty flu!  Not the short kind, either.  The long, lingering body aches, high fever, nausea, feel  like you are coughing up a lung kind.

Ringo and I did our best to take care of them.  They rested quite a bit (not like them at all) so we tried to be really quiet.  We like taking naps anyway, so it wasn't too hard.  Every once in a while, we gave them a kiss to make sure they were still breathing.  It's a good thing I don't have to write an essay on "What I did on my Christmas Vacation," it would be pretty boring.

They are starting to feel better now, just in time for Daddy to go back to work.  They still have the cough.  Mommy had to go to the doctor Monday for her yearly cancer screening.  That always causes a little stress.  Ringo and I are keeping our paws crossed.

The last few days have been extremely cold!  Below zero!  At least the Sun has come out!  We had a couple inches of snow, so that was nice to play in for a while.  We are ready to start a new year!  We hope you all have a great new year in 2015!  Thanks everyone for a great 2014!

Love,
Boomer! the Mellow Yellow Lab