Seventy Degree Weather

This last week I had the chance to go to California to visit my brother, Daniel, and his family in California! The weather was so warm, especially compared to all of our recent snow storms in Utah. Everywhere we went, the girls would take jackets and I would take mine off within five minutes. It was just too warm for me! Andrea, Olivia, Madison, and I had so much fun playing around the park, going to music makers, preschool, and just hanging out! The girls are so cute and I'm going to miss them so much!

The girls loved playing with Photo Booth on my computer. In the morning, they'd come into my bed to snuggle and we'd take funny pictures. And then we'd take some later in the afternoon. And sometimes at night. 

Cars Land!! I was so glad we got to go and see the characters from my favorite movie. We had a blast! 

Luigi's Tire Ride

Hey there, Big Red! We got a picture right before he left. 

The tires are on a giant air tract type thing and when you lean, they move directions. We bumped into each other a lot, when Olivia and I weren't stuck by ourselves in a corner. We weren't so good at the leaning thing. 

KA-CHOW!!! 

Daniel, Olivia (even though you can't see her), and me on the Cars Bumper Ride. I was obviously loving it! 

Olivia told me she built a house for me. Here it was! 

And here was Madi's version of my house. 

The Island Game that Grandma made for Olivia. 

Here is Madi's version of "A Dream is a Wish." She was lovin changing the words! I was trying to remember songs from Cinderella, and she just started spouting them out. She is so smart!

Olivia singing "So This is Love" and trying to copy the vibratto. She sang this song for about 30 minutes while we played at the park. 

This last week I had the chance to go to California to visit my brother, Daniel, and his family in California! Andrea, Olivia, Madison, and I had so much fun playing around the park, going to music makers, preschool, and just hanging out! The girls are so cute and I'm going to miss them so much!

January 28

Everybody in my family received this e-mail from my mom today. Here it was:

Notable events that occurred on January 28^th

•    1724 – The Russian Academy of Sciences is founded in St. Petersburg by Peter the Great.

•    1813 – Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice is first published in the United Kingdom.

•    1855 – A locomotive, on the Panama Railway, runs from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean for the first time.

•    1878 – Yale Daily News becomes the first daily college newspaper in the United States.

•    1896 – Walter Arnold of East Peckham, Kent becomes the first person to be convicted of speeding.  He was fined 1 shilling, plus costs, for speeding at 8 mph, thus exceeding the 2 mph speed limit.

•    1917 – Municipally owned streetcars take to the streets of San Francisco, California.

•    1956 – Elvis Presley makes his first US television appearance.

•    1986 – Space Shuttle Challenger breaks apart after liftoff killing all seven astronauts on board.

•    2012 – Amanda Ricks is diagnosed with diabetes.

Famous people born on January 28^th

•    1887 – Arthur Rubinstein, Polish pianist (d. 1982)

•    1936 – Alan Alda, American actor, screenwriter, and director.  (Hawkeye Pierce on M*A*S*H.)

•    1955 – Nicolas Sarkozy, President of France

•    1968 – Sarah McLachlan, Canadian singer and songwriter

•    1969 – Kathryn Morris, American actress.  (Lilly Rush on Cold Case.)

•    1981 – Elijah Wood, American actor.  (Frodo Baggins in the Lord of the Rings trilogy.)

•    2013 - _____________________ Ricks!

Famous people who died on January 28^th

•    1547 – King Henry VIII

•    1939 – William Butler Yeats, Irish writer, Nobel Prize Laureate

•    1960 – Zora Neale Hurston, American author, Their Eyes Were Watching God

A vigilant reader will note two especially applicable events on this list. One, my new nephew, He-who-must-not-be-named (not Voldemort, we’re just not sure of the name yet, so I guess technically it could be Voldemort if we’re not ruling anything out) is assumedly going to be born today. We’re calling him Baby Jackfred, and my sister-in-law Kristina is in the hospital right now. Very exciting. I’m looking forward to going to visit him today.

The second notable event here was that exactly one year ago today was my official Diabetes Diagnosis Day (Try saying that 10 times fast or singing “Happy Diabetes Diagnosis Day to You” like Whitney just did. Talk about a tongue twister.) Now, since I wasn’t exactly blogging one year ago today—or even six months ago—I’m going to record the story. So, folks, sit down, get comfortable, and prepare for a tale of woe and destruction. Just kidding.

My Fall Semester at BYU leading up to January 28 was not one that will go in the record books of the greatest semesters of all time. For some reason—we’ll get to that later—the entire semester I was having all sorts of crazy things going on with my body. I assumed it was because I was in a new environment, I was living away from home, I was eating a lot more Top Ramen, Taquitos, and Mountain Dew Throwback and fewer carrots, spinach, and apples. And by fewer I mean none.

The “crazy things going on with my body” included symptoms like very dry skin that wouldn’t heal no matter how much lotion I used; drinking loads of water, we’re talking eight to twelve 24-oz Camelbaks a day; peeing a whole ton, just ask my five roommates who shared a bathroom with me; fatigue to the point where I wouldn’t want to walk up flights of stairs because I was just too tired; falling asleep in every class, regardless of the amount of sleep I’d gotten the night before; and, well, other symptoms that just aren’t exactly fun to write or talk about. Let it suffice to say that I was not doing very well. Looking back, I was probably pretty grumpy too. I remember learning some of the symptoms of cancer that are very similar to diabetes, including the drinking a lot of water symptom. One day, I decided that I just wasn’t going to drink any water. I had bowling class and I could only drink when I got a strike, which was never. After bowling class, I think I downed two 24-oz Camelbaks. I was so thirsty. I was waking up 4 times a night to use the bathroom—in fact, I could go from my room to the bathroom without turning on a single night and almost while sleep walking.

One night, my roommate Annabelle and I were on WebMD looking up my symptoms. Two results came up: I was diabetic or I was pregnant. Since pregnancy wasn’t an option, diabetes became a hypothetical option. I didn’t really consider it, but I did ask my mom about it and she immediately called and got me a doctor’s appointment.

When I came home the weekend before my appointment to let my mom just coddle me with soup and bedrest, my parents came to know the extent of my symptoms. When we went to my favorite restaurant—Chuck-A-Rama—and I only drank Coke rather than eating the usual 7-course meal, 4 courses being ice cream, she knew something was wrong. When I slept for 11 hours, woke up and only drank Coke again at my favorite breakfast place, and then came home and immediately took a nap at 10:30 in the morning, she knew something was wrong. She had a very spiritual prompting that she needed to get me in to the doctor, and she needed to get me in now.

I woke up and she told me that we were going to the doctor. I wasn’t happy about this. I wanted to wait. I don’t like the doctor and I thought I would be fine. She insisted, and I grudgingly went along in my “Power in Purity” EFY shirt. At InstaCare, I told them about my symptoms. I even added, “I’m also peeing a whole lot, but I don’t know if that has anything to do with anything.” They had me pee in a cup, which was obviously not a problem since I could have filled about 6 of them every time I peed, and then we waited. I laid down in the examination room. When they came in, they told me I was a Type-1 Diabetic. I didn’t really know what that meant, but my mom started crying. Then they said that they were going to have to take some blood to be sure, and since I knew what that meant, I started crying.  Turns out my blood sugar had been over 600 for months. A normal sugar level is somewhere between about 80 and 150, so that is problematic. There were ketones in my urine, I had dropped about 30 pounds without really realizing it, and my A1C was off the chart. They told me that they could get me an ambulance or my dad could drive me straight to the hospital. Good thing I was wearing a cute outfit, right?

When we got to the hospital, they took great care of me. I was on an insulin drip machine to get my sugar levels in check. The nurses were nice. I never went alone as someone in my family was always there. Kristina and Adam brought me balloons, even though they popped a second later. Heather and Platte and the kiddos came and visited, even though Belle was scared of me, probably because my hospital gown was about 30 sizes too big and I was attached to a machine. Daniel was calling at least three times a day to see how I was doing. Whitney probably spent about half of my time in the hospital right up on the bed with me, sitting and making me feel better. We poured over diabetic packets, diabetic apps, diabetic online sites—learning that Halle Berry and Nick Jonas both are Type 1 Diabetics. I had officially joined up with a cool clan.

The worst moment in the hospital came in the morning. Sleeping in hospitals just isn’t fun. They wake you up at least every hour, checking vitals, taking blood, etc. It’s hard to sleep with an IV. The beds could be comfier. The rooms could be bigger and smell better. Anyway, I just wasn’t sleeping well. I was, however, very hungry. I’d been eating so much for months and months since my body had been craving sugar like crazy, and I was used to a high intake of food. My food was now being regulated, but it didn’t mean that my body was liking that. When it came time for meals, I’m convinced that I was the first one calling in as soon as I could to get my disgusting chicken alfredo or my quesadilla (the best meal at the hospital.)

When it came time for breakfast, I hurriedly ordered a yummy meal. I had strawberries and hot chocolate who knows what else. All I know is that I was starving and it looked delicious. They brought me in my food and immediately after a nurse walked in and told me that I couldn’t eat it. Apparently you weren’t supposed to eat while you were on the insulin drip and that it was a problem. The food was literally right under my nose, and I had to sit there and watch it be taken from me. I cried my eyes out. I think, in reality, I was crying because my life was changing and there was nothing I could do to stop it. Finally, they came in and told me I could eat my food. Those were the sweetest words that I’d ever heard.

Somehow, in the hospital, I still maintained my school work and I ended up getting a 4.0 for the semester. While I did work my tail off for the grades I got, the Lord was behind the A’s for that semester.

I was visited by many ward members and received may prayers while I was in the hospital. I could feel them. I can testify that the power of prayer is real. I could feel it then, almost like it was a tangible feeling. I was grateful for those prayers that helped me maintain my optimism.

While many may not know what Type-1 Diabetes is, it is an incurable disease that is caused by genetics. No, I did not eat too much chocolate. No, I did not gain so much weight that caused my body to develop insulin resistance. Nope, it was simply in the cards for me and it showed up when it did. And that’s the truth. There’s nothing I could have done to stop it, nothing my parents could have done, and nothing that can be done to cure it. And that’s life.

I check my blood sugar about 7 times a day, and I take shots probably about 5 or 6. I don’t mind the shots. That has been a real blessing—overcoming my very real fear of needles. At age 18, I would cry whenever I had to get a flu shot. At age 20, I take a shot like I’m eating an orange: it’s normal, natural, and just a part of life now. I really don’t remember ever being able to eat without taking a shot. I don’t mind it anymore. Diabetes, as my doctor always says, is just a “five minute a day annoyance.”

Obviously, I did not always remain positive. After I was diagnosed with diabetes, my eyes developed cataracts and I had to get surgery in both of my eyes. That was hard. After I received my mission call, the church told me they were reassigning me because diabetics don’t go out of the country. We sorted it out after tears and worrying, and I’m still going to Scotland and Ireland. But that was hard. One day, I wrote the following in my journal: “Diabetes is starting to get me down a little bit. All the problems that I currently have basically stem from being diabetic. I hate sitting there at night when everyone else can eat and I can’t. I hate having to count carbs and take my shots and not eat everything I’d have eaten before I got this stupid disease. I hate having to constantly think about how fat I am and how terrible I look, knowing that before I was diabetic, I didn’t really have to worry about it. I hate looking at other people, never worrying about any of these things, and feeling so different. So alone.” So yes, it wasn’t always an easy journey. But I am pleased to say that the days of feeling alone and sad were few and far between.

As of now, I can’t believe how far I’ve come since one year ago. I have a mission call and am about to go serve the people in Scotland and Ireland, two of the most gorgeous places in the entire world. I have an incredible family that has supported me throughout the entire thing.  I had a wonderful “Team Amanda” that came to Walk For a Cure. I have a wonderful nephew coming today. I have a niece coming next week. I have another nephew coming in June. My sister, Whitney, is getting married 12 days before I leave on my mission. I’ve been through the temple, I’ve decided my major, I’ve moved apartments, I’ve learned to love and become best friends with the three girls I lived with—Marcel, Annabelle, and Angie. I’ve gone to London, seen Justin Bieber, left my teenage years, become a Bronco’s fan, learn to love Diet sodas and sugar-free hot chocolate, run my first 10K, and—most importantly—strengthened my testimony of the very real power of the Atonement. It does not only cover sins. It covers loneliness. It covers sickness. And it absolutely covers the heartache of a 19-year old girl, confused about her newfound disease.

So, thank you to my mom who sent that sweet e-mail to our family. Thank you to all those who have supported me and strengthened me through this last year. I am sincerely grateful. And—most of all—thank you to Adam and Kristina’s cute new baby who will share this happy day with me!