Sunday September 13, 2015

Dear Cassidy,

Mom and I are writing together this week so I hope that is ok. First off we wish you a happy birthday on your birthday. Of course you will get this a day after your birthday so we are really late wishing you a happy birthday but it is the best we can do.

We hope that your week went ok and that you are safe and sound physically and spiritually. You probably know if you have transfers already. Either way we pray you can find happiness in your new companion.  O the joys and trials of serving a mission.

Well, we had another eventful week. It was full of roller coasters but not the Lagoon kind.

Monday

This was Labor Day.  I didn't have work so we all slept in a bit. However, because of Katelyn's wedding I hadn't done all the yard work. So I got up and mowed the rest of the lawn and made a new attic cover. The one we had was just a piece of sheet rock and the wind kept blowing it up and down. So I made one of wood and put a latch on it so it would be easier to get in and out of.

Mom went on a walk on the river trail and then took Hadlie to see the horses. Hadlie is becoming quite attached to them. She brushes the baby horse every time she goes down.

I got us some McDonalds French fries. And since mom hasn't told you, the diet coke machine in the lobby area of our McDonalds has not been right ever since we got back from the ranch.  That means that mom and I have to ask to have it filled up at the drive through. It is quite the inconvenience.

We cleaned up the house and then the Jacksons came over for a BBQ.  Jim had got a new game called "Cover Your Assets" and we played that a bunch of times. We also played our 7-up card game.  Kortney and Jerimiah came over but Jerimiah only stayed for a bit and then left to go do something with his friends. They stayed until after the premier of the Studio-C season which ended at about 9pm.

Colten had been at the Mountain Man thing all weekend and got home at about 5 or 6pm. He had a good time and was very grateful to sleep in his own bed.

I had recorded a college football game and so I watched that until I went to sleep. Mom read a book while I was watching the game/playing my guitar.

Tuesday

This was busy day. For our life insurance we had to have a nurse come over and take our blood and urine sample. We were not supposed to eat anything until after she was done. That was about 9:30am. 

I have continued to not feel very good, (remember I have mentioned that I keep losing weight?) so I made a doctor appointment for this day at about 11am.  I stayed home until my appointment.  At the doctor I explained my symptoms, losing weight, thirsty, weak etc.  He said it sounded like diabetes but that it could be my thyroid as well. He was a bit perplexed because men my age and weight don't generally get type II (age/weight onset) diabetes. Anyway, I left and would get the test results on Wednesday.

Mom went grocery shopping after the nurse left which she says is one of her favorite activities (JK).

Hadlie has a young women's value experience of cooking dinner for two weeks. She has helped plan and cook the meals all week. This night we had chicken rollups and they tasted very good. Of course I was also very hungry.

Mom and I usually try to hold a YSA meeting with the other ward coordinators every quarter. This time we decided to go see each of them rather than have a Sunday meeting. This night we went to see the Talbot's in the Lone Pine ward as they were just called to replace the Kaluau's.

After that we did our new usual routine which consists of helping the kids with their homework. I am now on to helping Hadlie and Colten and River with their math. Hadlie was really struggling with a particular principle.  You know how frustrating that can be for both of us.

Wednesday

I got up and exercised and then went to work. Mom got the kids off to school and went to exercise herself.

While at work I got the results of my lab work. I have diabetes, however it is a bit unique as I will explain on Thursday's report. They made an appointment for me to see the doctor on Thursday at 4pm.

Mom went to lunch with Missy Webster and they got a pedicure. She had a good time and they giggled like little girls, probably.

After work we had dinner, Teriyaki Steak which Hadlie again helped with. We read scriptures.

After dinner Colten and Hadlie went off to YM/YW activities and Mom and I took River to do some more YSA visits. Our visits were good and hopefully motivate the people to get out and invite the YSA to church.

When we got home we spent a bit of time playing guitar and reading before bed.

Thursday

I got up and took the Jr. High kids to school.  I had a normal day at work.

Mom got River off to school and then went down to help with the horses. She now does the job by herself that Hadlie and she used to do together in the summer.

I went to my Dr. appointment and mom met me there.  They took some more blood and then we went into the doctor office. Dr. Hoggenson said that he thinks I have a type of type 1 diabetes (like Tyler has) but that it comes on later in life. It is somewhat rare so they don't look for it very often and I had a blood test earlier in the year that didn't show diabetes for some reason. Its actual name is Latent Auto Immune Diabetes in Adults (LADA). So for some reason my body attacked itself and the pancreas stopped producing insulin.

Mom and I asked a bunch of questions and he wrote us out prescriptions for all the insulin, needles, meter and other stuff that I would need. He then sent us to a diabetes councilor to talk to us about how to use all the stuff. Mom ran home to take Hadlie to do the evening horse work and I went to the Payson Pharmacy where the councilor was.  Mom met me there about an hour later.  We were there for probably 3 hours. I took my blood sugar and gave myself a shot (actually they are little pen looking things but it is really a shot).

I checked my blood a few times that night seeing where my blood level is. The main difficulty is trying to figure out how much insulin to give myself to account for what I am going to eat and not take too much so you get low blood sugar.

Needless to say I did not sleep too good this night.  Mom slept good but she got up with Brownie once at night. Maybe Brownie has diabetes.

Friday

I got up and worked out. I took it easy since I didn't know how it would affect my blood sugar. It ends up that it took about 20 mg/dL (or points) off my blood sugar level which is ok. 

Mom got the kids off to school and went and worked out. Then she went to Brooke's to get her haircut.

I met mom there so I could get my haircut. I did some experimenting with the amount of insulin to take and we consulted with Tyler quite a bit. Briggs and Finn were home and I played a bit with Briggs until I had to go. Mom stayed longer as her hair was in tinfoil when I left.

Mom went to get all my supplies today. The total bill was $650.  That is supposed to be for one month. Now, we have the money in our Health Savings account and we will hit our deductible soon. Then they will only be like $100 or so. Still that is something we are going to have to adjust to since it will start all over at the beginning of the year.

That evening I went and borrowed a truck from Ricky so we could pick up Papa and Grammies old mattress. They bought a fancy hospital bed like one that tips up and down etc.  We at dinner, Chicken Noodle Soup, and then went to pick up the mattress. Brooke and Adam were there, surprise, eating dinner with them. We talked for a while before packing up the mattress and heading home. Mom helped me unload the mattresses from the truck. At one point she dropped the mattress and I asked her what was wrong and she said "I am not a man!" I thought it was funny.  We are getting the mattresses in case you need them when you move out/get married.

I watched the end of a football game until bed time. 

Saturday

We got up and had some breakfast. I now have to figure out how many carbs are in each meal so it takes me a bit longer. I then did some stuff at home waiting for the wind to calm down. I then sprayed some weeds and scooped some poop. Mom and the girls went to the horses and the farmer's market.

We had an adventure and went out to lunch for the first time with my diabetes. I calculated stuff pretty good and it turned out pretty good. We returned Ricky's truck and then went back home. I was able to work on my music and finish Jim's CD. I also worked on some of my songs.

I am really enjoying that football season is back.  I recorded 3 games and watched them here and there.  BYU played Boise State. The game was close and BYU won in the last seconds again which was very exciting.

Sunday

We had regional conference. The presiding bishop, the General Relief Society president, a seventy and then Elder Ballard spoke. Elder Ballard's talk was very good as were all the others.

We love you very much. We want to know all about any transfer or fun things. I know things get routine after a while but we do love to hear any details and see any pictures you take.  Keep working hard and having faith and the Lord will bless you. Stay Golden.

*From Mom without Dad around...As we've sat together writing this to you Dad is very concerned that you'll be worried about him and this new adventure with diabetes. I've assured him that you'll probably take the news just fine and be grateful that he's been diagnosed with something that is treatable. The last week before the diagnoses was harder than actually finding out what was wrong. Dad looks skinny which isn't bad, but he's been quite a bit weaker and his coloring has not been that great. So although this will present some new challenges for us there are some blessings we see. First, Dad is a very routine, regimented person which will greatly help in his day to day dosing of insulin. Also, Dad by nature is a pretty healthy eater. There probably isn't a lot of ice cream in his future, but that's ok. And lastly we're so grateful for Tyler. He's lived with this disease for so long and is so knowledgeable that he's already been a huge help to us. He's already spent several hours on the phone with us. Also because of him we really had a good basic knowledge of diabetes and what the treatment would entail. So for now, there's a lot of guess work and figuring out going on, but we'll get a handle on it quickly and pretty soon it'll just be normal life around here. You will have to get used to all the shot, needle, blood talk when you get home as I know that's your favorite. River is going through the same thing now. She gets queasy when we talk about it and last night happened to see Dad give himself his dinner shot and then she couldn't eat anything. She'll adjust.  So just know we're doing good. Dad is in good spirits and of course had his doctor, nurse and diabetic counselor all laughing.

Love Mom and Dad

 Colt all dressed up for his new internship at UVRMC in the cardiology lab!

 All our new diabetic stuff!