Welcome Friends!
Julia M.
Pennsylvania
Birth Date - March 2, 2002

Main Diagnosis - Type 1 Diabetes complicated by celiac disease

THEME: Chickens
Biography

Julia was born on March 2, 2002. She is the youngest of our four children. She lives on a small farm with her two older brothers and one older sister, her mom and dad, a dog, some chickens and ducks.

The day after her 8th birthday, Julia was rushed to Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. She was dangerously close to slipping into a coma. My husband and I learned that she had Type 1 Diabetes. When she was admitted to the hospital she had Diabetic Ketoacidosis (DKA). That first night in the hospital was the longest night of our lives. We spent a week in the hospital, adjusting to our new normal. Counting carbohydrates, giving injections, learning all of the details that we needed to know in order to keep Julia healthy. She wears an insulin pump, the infusion site must be changed every three days.

Three months after the diabetes diagnosis, Julia had an endoscopy that diagnosed her with Celiac Disease. Celiac Disease is an autoimmune disorder of the small intestine, triggered by eating gluten, found in wheat, rye, barley and oats. The small number of times that Julia had ingested gluten since diagnosis results in painful blisters inside her mouth and down her throat. When she is glutened, the coating of her small intestines gets damaged and she is not able to absorb all of the nutrients from her food.

A few months after both diagnoses, we received another autoimmune diagnosis: Hashimotos Thyrodiditis. When her tests reveal that her thyroid testing needs correction, she will need to take a daily thyroid hormone replacement.

These conditions currently have no cure. Type 1 Diabetes requires non stop monitoring - checking blood sugar levels, calculating insulin dosages, being on the lookout for sugars that are too high or too low, waking up throughout the night to monitor her.

You would think that having just one of these conditions would be a heavy burden for such a young person to deal with. Through all of this, Julia remains a happy, confident, positive young girl.
Life is good.
When you sign up to stitch for Love Quilts you will get a confirmation of your sign up.  If your pattern is a duplicate you will be asked to pick another pattern.
We encourage you to join the LoveQuiltsUSA Yahoo group to check the pattern listing for duplications yourself before you sign up.
The lists of patterns already being stitched are posted on the database.  LoveQuiltsUSA is an open group so you can sign up easily and view the patterns right away.  Please follow this link to sign into the Love Quilts Yahoo Group...

LoveQuiltsUSA

Once there click on the link "database" on the right to view the children and their patterns.  Once you find a pattern  that you want to stitch and have confirmed it is not already being stitched  you may return to the sign up form, fill it in and submit it.  If you have any questions about the yahoo group please email Cyberfogie@aol.com, Vicki, for further instructions (yahoo groups email only!)  Thanks!



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