Flat Joe just announced that he wants to take off for his summer tour a bit early. It’s been a long winter in Minnesota and it’s time to get out and about to see spring come alive! So we’ve granted him a bit of a reprieve and his first stop was to see me, Tiffany – the new Joseph Allen team member.

Flat Joe decided to make his first spring/summer stop here at my house after hearing a little bit about my medical history as a child. You see, Flat Joe is our mascot here at Joseph Allen Designs and he represents a heartfelt mission – raising money for Children’s Miracle Network. And no one understands more about what it’s like first-hand about being a sick child, which has continued on into my adult life as well.

My history as an ill child started at birth (July 6, 1984) nearly, but of course that was difficult for me to remember that part of my life. I can knowingly share with you however that I had a severely agitated stomach (so to speak). Like most babies, I struggled with finding a formula that worked for me and my immature digestive system. Over the course of several months (and many sleepless nights of incessant crying) I was taken to see several doctors who changed my formula many times and eventually determined that I needed a stomach and small bowel biopsy to investigate further. During the procedure, the doctors discovered that once they touched the lining of my small bowel and stomach, it would bleed, with merely a slight touch. Not knowing for sure the cause or a medical diagnosis, the doctors decided to prescribe for me a formula used for tube feedings, but for me – to be drank. There were several doctors’ visits and diagnostic medical procedures done over the course of several months following this which eventually led to a short period between starting me on solid foods and a diagnosis on December 23, 1986 that would forever change my life.

That diagnosis was Type 1 diabetes. I don’t think there is anything that can prepare you for a diagnosis like that. Especially for a child, not even 2 years of age. I’ve gotten the comments over the years from individuals (not knowing what else to say and of course they’re trying to be optimistic) saying “well at least you weren’t able to know any different” (As in, I didn’t know of a different way of life). I don’t know if that’s necessarily a good thing. The one thing people don’t understand is that the longer you have diabetes, the worse the wear and tear on your organs and body-as-a-whole it is. I see it was a punch card you get for shopping at Old Navy and spending so much to gain that ‘discount’. Although my punch card is a bit different – I’ve had more years to gain punches towards the possibility of blindness, kidney disease, heart disease, etc.  Fortunately, in recent years I’ve been able to gain better control of the disease, as I’ve been able to gain better control of my life as an adult. It was definitely more challenging as a child; diabetes is hormonally driven as well. So I grew over the years, that too had an impact on my disease and the control that I was able to have. I’ve also found that stress has a tremendous impact on my diabetes and nothing sends it more out of control than stress that cannot be managed and handled.

Fortunately, I’ve been on an insulin pump for a number of years, which has had a profound impact on my control and helped me more than I ever thought it possibly could. When it was first suggested to me by my doctor when I was a teenager, the last thing I wanted to hear about was something that would make me stand out against my peers (being clipped to my belt) more than I already was. I just didn’t know how it would ‘fit’ into my life. But it’s fit very well and made a positive impact on my health overall. I couldn’t be happier that I made the decision to give it ‘a shot’, (no pun intended) because it definitely beat the 6 insulin injections a day that I had been on.

When thinking back to the moment I needed to make the decision whether or not I wanted to start the insulin pump it makes me remember a time in my life when I was seven years old and I had been struggling with my diabetes quite a bit. My endocrinologist at the time (pediatric endocrinologist are very hard to come by) had recommended too much insulin for me – in fact, I was on about twice as much as I should have been on and I was struggling with my blood sugars and because of this instability, it weakened my immune system. Therefore, I was getting sick a lot with the various bugs from my peers at school. I had been struggling so much, that my teachers were upset that I was missing so much school and it was clear that my small body was struggling because I wasn’t able to keep weight on at all. I really didn’t understand at the time how bad things really were for me. But someone else did. Anonymously a person submitted my name for a Sunshine Foundation (similar to Make A Wish Foundation) and I was granted a wish for a trip to Disney World. I would have to say that finding my new pediatric endocrinologist in Texas was one of the biggest blessings I’ve had in my life thus far.

As most stories go, this one really should end here… but it doesn’t.  In addition to a diagnosis of a lifelong disease, I was also diagnosed with rheumatic fever when I was 12 years old. I had been struggling with a series of terrible sore throats and off and on medication to treat several strep throats which led to a time frame in which the doctors decided medication wasn’t necessary any longer. After roughly three months of not being on medication, my sore throats escalated. I finally was seen by an internist who determined that I needed large doses of penicillin distributed in the office intravenously and an appointment was made a week later to remove my tonsils. Unfortunately, it was too late and the rheumatic fever eventually affected my joints in my knees. I can remember the morning I woke up about a month after having my tonsils removed and not being able to move or get out of bed without severe pain in both of my knees. They were swollen, hot and red and felt like nothing I had felt in my entire life up until that point. It was determined by an orthopedic surgeon shortly thereafter that I had developed rheumatoid arthritis as a result of the rheumatic fever. For years following this it affected all other major joints in my body and I was on a series of anti-inflammatory medications – including receiving cortisone injections in my hips.

A couple of years later after this initial diagnosis, my joints progressively became more painful and I became more lethargic and tired. Not knowing what exactly was the cause and after having several panels of blood work come back abnormal, the doctors decided that it was necessary to put me on methotrexate. To give you an idea of the detriment of this medication, the warning label includes this wording:  “You should only take methotrexate to treat life-threatening cancer, or certain other conditions that are very severe and that cannot be treated with other medications”

Needless to say, for a 14 year old, freshman in high school – this was very difficult to handle. I had to miss a lot of school, and found it difficult to keep friends or even make friends for that matter that could understand what it was like for me to not be there at school as often as I would have liked to maintain the friendship. I lost a lot of my hair, had difficulty keeping food down and simply wanted to sleep most of the day, just as you would expect to have happen with most forms of chemotherapy. Fortunately, after being on this medication for about 6 months, I began to feel better. Within a short period of time, you wouldn’t be able to tell I had been so ill. So the time I put in towards my recovery was a success!

This story however, has a happy ending….and that is really why I decided to write this when Flat Joe asked me to share my story with all of you. After my endless hours that I spent in Children’s Hospital in Omaha, Nebraska over the course of my lifetime along with the countless hours in other medical offices for doctors visits and tests – I’m healthy. Well…as healthy as it gets for a type 1 diabetic. But after all of this and the number of years that I lived with not only this disease, but others as well – my vision is great, my heart is healthy, as are my kidneys. I’m blessed. …No wait, I’m beyond blessed. I recently gave birth to a happy, healthy baby boy – Owen. One of the biggest concerns for a type 1 diabetic in carrying a child, are the birth defects that we are at increased risk for – heart defects, developmental defects and extremity abnormalities – just to name a few. But with extreme dedication and a lot of work – I was able to maintain my blood sugars and overall diabetes with the help of my wonderful endocrinologist.
Flat Joe has been extremely patient with me as I’ve shared my story with you. I hope that you’ve found my story inspirational and I’d like to send a big thank you to the Children’s Hospitals that have touched my life in dramatic ways. The nurses, doctors and staff that work at these facilities are special individuals who should be commended for what they do every day – helping small children and their families cope with difficult times in their lives with all the patience in the world. Please remember this as Flat Joe makes his rounds this summer and don’t forget that a portion of our proceeds is donated to Children’s Miracle Network who helps Children’s Hospitals with the expenses that they face on a daily basis  – this dramatically affects these children’s lives, as well as their families’ for a lifetime.

Flat Joe would like me to share his experiences with us in our home for the last week now. I have to laugh because wherever Flat Joe goes next; he will be requiring some much needed ‘nap time’. I think if someone would have told Flat Joe he would be having late nights, he would have assumed it would entail partying hard or excitement to a certain degree. …Not the case in our home! As I mentioned above, I recently gave birth to our first baby, Owen – three weeks ago. We have so very much enjoyed learning some of the ‘firsts’ of being a parent but one thing we’re dealing with now is that Owen doesn’t sleep at night. Unfortunately for Owen’s sake, he has his days and nights confused and is also suffering from some gas occasionally as well. All of this leads to him having crying fits and fidgeting all night.

Poor Flat Joe is definitely ready to move on to his next location. He has experienced what it is like to feed a baby every four hours and the several diaper changes a day, along with several wardrobe changes during the day as well. Other than these events, it has been rather boring around our house the last week. I am still recovering from my emergency c-section and not able to do all of the normal daily functions I would like to; although, I would probably try if I didn’t have people checking in on me on a regular basis. Haha! I’m definitely feeling great though and enjoying being a mommy and the daily activities. Flat Joe has been a great help around the house! If only I could train him though to do a load of laundry occasionally, he would definitely not be moving on the next location if that were the case and I’m sure my husband would gladly welcome him into our home with me!  One thing Flat Joe and Owen have enjoyed is bonding with each other, especially in the Little Lamb Cradle N’ Swing. We will be sad to see Flat Joe go, but rest assured he will be in good hands as he travels the country to meet some very exciting people and see some fun places as well!

If you have an inspiring story or have helped others through an organization and are willing to share your story, please let contact us! Flat Joe would love to sit down and visit with you… contact: tiffany@josephallendesigns.com