Guest Post: Mila Ferrer of Jaime-dulceguerrero.com

I first met Mila Ferrer early last summer while she was investigating different platform options to launch her type I diabetes blog. In only a few months she has proven to be a strong voice in the diabetes blogging community and I am proud to feature her today as my first guest writer. Take it away Mila...

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Hi, I'm Mila Ferrer, I write a blog in spanish about Type 1 diabetes. Why? My younger son Jaime was diagnosed at the age of three. Since then, our family has been learning and educating ourselves about this condition, to be able to provide Jaime the best care. My blog Jaime-dulceguerrero.com is filled with experiences, education and mostly support to other families. During this learning process we've met the most amazing group of parents and patients, people that are as committed to educate and support as we are. This wonderful community or DOC (Diabetes Online Community) is eager to help, promote education and inform about anything that might be useful to us parents and patients. 

As a parent my first search was to meet other families, having a young kid diagnosed with T1 Diabetes can sometimes be overwhelming, and it's nice to know that we are not alone. Thats how I met Scott and Arden, I started reading his blogs and really connecting with his feelings. My family wasn't alone. Scott and I have decided to share some of our posts, that way we'll keep sharing our thoughts and experiences through this journey.

I want to share with you my thoughts and feelings about the DOC. That group of people who are always there to answer questions and lift your spirit when your feeling blue. This link will take you to the spanish version. I also created a tab on the page that is named Mila's Blog, there you'll find some of my posts translated. Hopefully you'll enjoy my posts and find them helpful to you and your family, feel free to ask me anything in english, I'm fully bilingual (sometimes I like writing better in english than spanish). 

You can find me on Twitter @dulce_guerrero (english and spanish information)

or on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/Jaimemidulceguerrero

Mila

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Please take a moment to check out Jaime-dulceguerrero.com but before you do... dust off your high school spanish and give Mila's DOC post a read... It is linked above but I'm including it in it's entirty right here.

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¿Qué es una comunidad? Para mí, una comunidad es un grupo de personas que trabajan o buscan un fin común. Ese grupo de personas que hablan el mismo idioma, viven experiencias similares y se ven reflejados en otras historias. La comunidad se apoya, busca el bienestar de todos y comparte ideas e inquietudes.

Algunos de mis compañeros de viaje en esta travesía llamada Diabetes.

Afortunadamente cuento con una gran comunidad que apoya a mi familia y me ha servido de ejemplo en este gran proyecto de educación.  Me refiero a el DOC (Diabetes Online Community) o la Comunidad de Diabetes en Línea. Esta comunidad cuenta con tanta gente maravillosa, talentosa, inteligente, pero sobretodo comprometidos con la diabetes. Lo más curioso es que no he conocido personalmente a ninguno de ellos, sin embargo en nuestras conversaciones en Twitter o Facebook es como si nos conociéramos de toda la vida. Siempre dispuestos a ayudar, a contestar preguntas y apoyarte cuando te sientes frustrado.

En muchas ocasiones cuando tengo alguna duda o me ha pasado algo fuera de lo común relacionado a la condición de Jaime, recurro a mis colegas blogueros de diabetes. Através del DOC he conocido padres y madres de otros niños igual que Jaime y pacientes adultos que llevan años manejando la condición. Quién mejor que ellos para contestar preguntas, aconsejar y dejarnos saber que no estamos solos. Ellos viven lo que yo vivo, tenemos las mismas preocupaciones y queremos lo mismo; el bienestar de los pacientes de diabetes.

Durante este mes de noviembre el DOC ha trabajado mano a mano creando conciencia y apoyando las actividades benéficas que provean un mejor tratamiento a los menos afortunados, la Gran Prueba Azul fue un éxito. Otra actividad que hizo el DOC fue crear un intercambio de tarjetas postales entre familias y pacientes diabéticos. Alrededor de 530 personas participaron de este intercambio, Jaime envió postales a Canadá, Australia, Reino Unido y varios estados de los Estados Unidos. De igual manera él recibió tarjetas de estos niños, la carita de emoción de Jaime al leer cada postal fue de gran valor. Inclusive hasta una nueva amiguita por correspondencia hizo. Esta actividad nos relaciona con otras personas y crea un lazo muy fuerte entre los pacientes.

Me siento muy orgullosa de pertenecer a una comunidad tan activa y deseosa de trabajar. Una comunidad abierta a recibirte, dispuesta a ayudarte y compartir entre si educación, información y sobretodo apoyo. No estamos solos, hay toda una comunidad que con mucho gusto y placer te darán la mano cuando lo necesites.

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Mila, gracias por compartir tu blog con mis lectores y por su amistad en elDOC. Mejor de mí, Scott (lo siento, pero tuve que usar Google Translate,espero que funcionó!)

I am a guest blogger at D Mom Blog

 

Today is a BIG day, no not because it’s my Mom’s birthday (Hi Mom, Happy Birthday!), because I’m a guest blogger today on the D-Mom Blog!

All this week the D-Mom Blog has been featuring guest post for back-to-school and today my blog is running on the front page. I wrote about how to build a strong and lasting relationship with the people that care for and teach your children during the long school year.

Leighann (D-Mom) called it, a “must read” on her FaceBook page and went on to say that, “Scott is a strong voice in the d-blogging community. His posts are always thoughtful and provide great information. He is one of the few D-Dads sharing his story of raising a child with diabetes.” on her blog.

Her blog is a favorite in the diabetes blogging community and it was an honor to be asked to write for it. I hope that you can take a moment to visit my post and perhaps leave a comment. Click on the link below to be taken directly to it...

http://www.d-mom.com/diabetes-at-school-building-relationships/

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The following are archived comments from this post. You can post new comments below.

Leighann of D-Mom Blog

As always, a very thoughtful and USEFUL post, Scott. Thank you for gracing the virtual pages of D-Mom Blog today.

Friday, August 12, 2011 - 10:16 AM

Fathers Discuss Diabetes

Sanofi Aventis put together a thoughtful diabetes blog some months ago and since then I’ve had the opportunity to speak with and get to know Laura Kolodjeski quite a bit - she helps run the blog, ‘Discuss Diabetes’ and she’s good people! 

Laura contacted a few of the Dads in the diabetes community and asked them to write a blog for her Father’s Day series... the first blog went up today and I hope that you get the chance to check it out. Come back here each day this week and I’ll post a link to the next blog - I hear that the week ends with a little something from yours truly.

Okay, get going!

Friday

Wrapping up the week with Laura

Thursday

My favorite memory with Arden - by me

Wednesday

Time moves quickly - George Simmons

Tuesday

Bennet Dunlap really likes being a dad!

Monday

Up first, Manny Hernandez

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The following are archived comments from this post. You can post new comments below.

Laura Kolodjeski

Scott - I cannot begin thank you enough for sharing your favorite memory with Arden. It still makes my eyes well-up. Have an awesome Father’s Day! Best, Laura

Thursday, June 16, 2011 - 05:34 PM

Scott

You're welcome... gonna make me blush.

Friday, June 17, 2011 - 01:58 PM

My Favorite memory with Arden

The following is a Father’s Day blog that I wrote for Discuss Diabetes. I’m posting it here in it’s entirety for those that missed it. I hope you enjoy!

Today, we’re featuring Scott Benner, a.k.a. @ardensday, as part of our Father’s Day Tribute series. Scott has been a stay-at-home father since 2000. He’s been blogging about what it’s like to be the parent of a child with type 1 for the last four years. Thanks Scott for being part of our Father’s Day Tribute series and for sharing this beautifully written, sincere post that literally left me with an empty tissue box.

Q. What’s your favorite memory with your daughter?

When I received the topic I knew immediately what I’d write about, that is, I do have a favorite memory with my daughter, Arden, but writing about it in an interesting and meaningful way, well, it took me a number of days to understand how to do that.

My wife, Kelly, and I were married in the summer of 1996, we have two children. Our son, Cole, is 11 and our daughter, Arden, is 6. Arden was diagnosed with type I diabetes a few weeks after her second birthday.

We are a family that takes a lot of pictures and the last time that I looked we had nearly 45,000 images in iPhoto. Most every one of them has been filed in my mind as pre and post diagnosis. I don’t know why and I certainly don’t have this thought purposely but I do find that it happens quite often — I’ll see a photo and I think, “Arden wasn’t diabetic in that picture”.

It happens with most every photo except this one…

This photo was taken on Cole’s first day of kindergarten by Kelly. We were waiting in our front yard for Cole to arrive home from school. Kelly had taken the day off to be there when Cole got on the bus and she stayed home to welcome him as he got off.

This seemingly innocuous moment is my favorite with Arden in part because this day was a perfect day. This moment, these 20 or so minutes that we spent waiting for the bus to arrive and playing in the grass, was the apex of the day. I remember now, just as clearly as if it were yesterday that I felt perfect inside. I think that even if you don’t know me, you can see on my face the sheer joy and pure love that I have for Arden, Cole and Kelly. It was all but pouring from me as I looked into her big eyes. I should stop for a second, I just realized that I’ve never thanked Kelly for taking what has been, is and may well forever be my favorite photo of Arden and me. Thank you so much Kelly!

Before. I bet that every parent of a child with type I just read that word and knew what I meant. Anyway, before Arden was diagnosed I didn’t understand life. I thought that I did but circumstances have leant me a unique perspective and that perspective has clarified what it is that I’m to take from and give to a day. Thanks to this clarity, I see the beauty in things that may well to most, be unworthy of a second glance.

So that’s my favorite moment with my daughter, Arden. It happened at the end of a perfect day, a day that I spent with Arden and my wife just feeling good about life, excited at the world of possibilities that existed for our family. It culminated in that patch of grass somewhere between watching Arden holding on to my wife’s leg as she learned to walk and the exact second that that photo was taken. In that moment my heart was as full and as happy as any of us could ever hope for – and I am lucky enough to have a picture of it so that I can never forget what perfect feels like and who makes me feel that way.

I hope that your child’s life with type I opens your heart to what really matters and that you are able from time to time to forget that there was a before and just take in the wonderment of now. I know all too well that much of your lives are filled with stress, worry and a constant and nagging sense that something bad is waiting around the bend. I know the failure that a high BG makes you feel and that the guilt of that reading lasts too long. I know that with diabetes comes arguments, extra costs and a prioritization that is often unfair to you, your spouse and others in your family. I know all of that and still I choose to believe that there are more perfect days ahead for my family and for yours.

My heartfelt best to you and yours. You are not alone.

Scott – I cannot thank you enough for sharing this incredibly personal moment between you and Arden (and Kelly). I wish you and yours a very Happy Father’s Day!  

All the best, Laura K.

Disclosure: This blogger received no compensation for this post. All opinions contained in this post reflect those of the blogger, and not of sanofi-aventis U.S., its employees, agencies or affiliates.

This entry was posted on Thursday, June 16th, 2011 at 5:00 am and is filed under General, Lifestyle. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.

My diabetes365 interview

The website www.diabetic365.com invited me to be part of their ‘Diabetic Heros’ interview series. The interview took place on Father’s Day and was posted just the other day. Diabetic365 was kind enough to allow me to repost it here at Arden’s Day. 

I think that the information that was revealed during this 20 or so minutes is worth the time it takes to hear it.

The interview is in two parts, I hope that you take a look. Please also take a moment to check out diabetic365.com.

part I

part II