A Frozen American Girl (give away)

*PLEASE NOTE: THE GIVE-A-WAY PORTION OF THE POST BELOW ENDED ON 1/6/16… the frozen shoulder is starting to get better, or shall I say “thaw”? Thanks! 

I keep starting and stopping a post I’ve been writing about how I was diagnosed with Frozen shoulder a few months ago.  It’s another bizarre complication of T1D and I did not have an easy time getting it diagnosed (2 doctors thought it was a partial tear of the rotator cuff although I suspected frozen shoulder but they thought I had too much mobility for it to be frozen), 3 failed MRI’s (it was impossible to keep my arm still at that weird angle for so long), and the absurd amount of time I had to wait to get into physical therapy (insurance, referrals, etc).  2 things seem to have accelerated the “freeze” this past Fall… I started boxing again and the trainer kept having me do push-ups on a strange angle and the fact that I ride my bike in Manhattan and have to keep reminding myself to loosen up and hold my shoulders down (I suspect I ride looking like I’m holding on for dear life… because I AM).

Due to this insurance mess, this morning was my last session at physical therapy.  I still have more sessions to go (pre approved) but can’t use them since my plan is being discontinued (12/31) and will have to start this process all over again next month with new insurance.  GRRRRR.

Iontophoresis? Yes please!

Iontophoresis? Yes please!

This week I received a return check from a deposit I had to put on my home many, many years ago.  I was quite surprised and decided 1/2 would go to something special.

When I left physical therapy this morning, there were police barricades every which way and I was redirected to walk across Rockefeller Center.  Big tree, tourists a’plenty, and my path blocked.  There were hundreds of officers standing in line on 5th Avenue.  Today was the funeral of NYPD Detective and Air National Guard technical sergeant Joseph Lemm, who was killed by a suicide bomber last week in Afghanistan.  It was another reminder of just how short this life is, as he leaves behind a wife and 2 children.  When I finished navigating barricades, I was standing in front of the American Girl flagship store which opens at 9am (surprise).

Yesterday my social media newsfeeds and emails were inundated with postings about how The American Girl Company had released a diabetes care kit for American Girl dolls.  So, for the first time in my life, I walked into an American Girl store (holy smokes, kid culture shock), and asked for the diabetes doll stuff.  Yep, they had it on display.  It includes:

Diabetes storage case, ID card, medical bracelet, glucose monitor and lancet device, glucose tab container, an insulin pump, an insulin pen, some stickers, adhesive disk, and a log book.

American Girl Diabetes Care Kit

American Girl Diabetes Care Kit

I did not cry in the store since I was still shocked I was there and have also never understood American Girl dolls.  These dolls weren’t around in my time (I was all about Barbie) but my sister had them.  I always thought they were focused on historical periods which confused the heck out of me because why would Kit from 1934 be hanging out with Samantha from 1904 and why would either of them have inline skates?  Made zero sense to me.

This morning, I learned that there are a TON of these dolls and the American History dolls are just one part.  Kids, well parents, get the dolls to look like the kid.  They have a whole resturant in the store where people go to have tea with their doll.  Kids have birthday parties and all bring their American girl dolls along… and NOW that kid with T1D, can have accessories (a whole kit) that gives their doll the very same devices they use to manage and thrive with T1D.  Yep, no tears until right this very second.  I never grew up with an insulin pump and blood glucose meters came later in my diabetes days (I = Barbie playing dinosaur) but I did play a heck of a lot of sports.  American Girl dolls have a zillion sport accessory options (A ZILLION) and NOW they have diabetes equipment options too. Amazing.  Truly Me!

American Girl TRULY ME

American Girl TRULY ME

I took  home deposit money and bought some American Girl Diabetes Care Kits and then I did what any grown woman would do after being a kid in a toy store… I called my Mom.  Although she was flabbergasted that this diabetes equipment exists for dolls, she was more surprised that for all these years, I’d thought American Girl dolls should have been called Time Traveler dolls.

I now have 6 American Girl Diabetes Kits to GIVE away and my Mom suggested I give them away right here.  So in the comments, please tell me why you would like the Care kit and my Mom will pick out the winners (and I’ll notify you via the comments section by 1/6/16 and I will pick-up the shipping.  Shipping outside of the US will take a bit longer though).

AG box

I ask one thing in return though, that you pay it forward.

On the other side of Pain is Wisdom.  xo

And for more information on how this American Girls diabetes care kit happened check out this story from the LA Times.

AG IP