Stacey Simms Blog

Back!

So great to go back to work today. I almost didn't mind the 3am alarm clock. Almost.

I'm hoping this will be my last health update for a while; it'll mean things just keep getting better. At this point, I'm just going in for tests every 2 weeks or so, to make sure my liver is still healing. I'm eating more and am happy to report I'm gaining weight (never thought I'd type that sentence). 

I've been told to slow down a bit.  That's great advice I've been given before, but I've never really taken it seriously. Well, I'm listening now.  I have to. 

After all...

 

Thanks so much again for all the wonderful emails, tweets and comments here & on facebook. It's great to be back.

Slow (But Steady!)

I have never been known as a very patient person. I'm also not one to get a lot of sleep. So the last three weeks could be some sort of cosmic payback or even life's way of teaching me a lesson. 

I'm recovering after a big scare involving a prescription drug's serious effect on my liver (more here).  It's probably too soon for me to be laughing at stuff like this (left) but the website Iheartguts is so ridiculous it's funny. They specialize in plush organs. That's right, cute & fuzzy versions of your heart & pancreas.

I'm definitely getting better, but it's relative. Right now, getting better means sleeping maybe 12-14 hours a day instead of 18-20. It means eating bland foods like applesauce, mashed potatoes and jello instead of barely able to stomach a glass of water.  I'm thankful and I'm trying to be patient.

Since April 18th I've only left my house for doctor's visits and blood draws. Well, that's a lie. I'll probably get in trouble with either my parents (!) or my work, but I'll tell you anyway. Slade and I snuck out Saturday night and saw The Avengers.  I'm so glad we did. I was getting very down and that movie was the perfect fun distraction. (Mom, I promise, we didn't go out to dinner or anything else. Just sat in the car on the way there, sat in the theater for the show, then back in the car and home.)

One of my nurses helped me a lot, too. I was getting a little whiny about how long my recovery was taking. She set me straight, telling me how lucky I am we caught this early. Another recent patient, similar age, similar circumstance, took months to get where I am now. 

I have missed some great stuff. The Charlotte JDRF Walk and our first time as a family team. Benny's Brigade did great, thanks so much to our wonderful friends who stepped in to make sure Lea & Benny had fun.  I missed several events at which I was supposed to speak or MC.  Another JDRF walk, the Leukemia/Lymphoma Society Man & Woman of the Year, etc. Again, everyone has been gracious and understanding.

I am very hopeful I'll be well enough to travel to NYC for my dad's 70th birthday party later this month. That's something I can't imagine missing.

I'm teling you, though, I do have to get out of this house again soon. Does anyone read ASOIAF, the George RR Martin series? I keep thinking of Strong Belwas and all that liver & onions.  (If you watch HBO Game of Thrones, we'll just have to wait & see if he shows up!)

I truly hope to be back at work on Monday, May 14th, if for no other reason than I am sick and tired of changing my out of office email message! Truly, that's a moving target. I'm just trying to take it slow and steady and yes, be... patient. 

Thanks so much for reading, commenting and checking in. Your messages are really helping me get through this. 

Health Update

I haven't been at work for two weeks.  I've been really sick, but I'm going to be fine. I need some more time to recover and I hope to be back at WBT soon. And no, to answer an email I got from a listener, I am not hiding out after having cosmetic surgery!

Here's what happened.

At the beginning of April I'd been feeling very run down and even more tired than usual. Since my wake up call for the last ten years has been 3am, I'm used to being tired. This was different. When my body started giving me some other signals - I'll spare you the details - I called my doctor.

Dr. H. took one look at me and said, "Do you know your eyes are are yellow?" I hadn't noticed, but they were. And my skin was sort of orange.  Classic signs that something was wrong with my liver. 

I'm pretty healthy, except for that back problem I told you about last fall. What could be wrong with my liver? Over the next few days, they ruled out all the really scary stuff. No Hepatitis A, B, or C. No mono, no Epstein- Barr. No cytomegalovirus (say that three times fast).

Was it gallstones? Something with my pancreas? We did an ultrasound - thankfully normal. The rest of my body was healthy but my liver tests were all coming back "alert!"

We were very nervous at that point, especially because I was absolutely exhausted. I would sleep for two hours, get up for about 20 minutes and go right back to bed. I couldn't eat. I lost 6 pounds in 4 days.

Finally, I was able to see a liver specialist.  I'm so glad I did. Dr. R.  figured it out in just a few minutes. Turns out a medicine that had been prescribed for me for the back injury can, in rare cases, cause serious liver problems. The drug is called Diclofenac and is sold under a few different names.  This specialist had only seen a handful of cases like mine in his career, but it can be very serious. Some people have been hospitalized and a few have needed a liver transplant.

The good news was, we'd figured out the cause well before my liver was severely damaged; I'm expected to make a full recovery. The bad news is that, other than stopping the offending medication, there's really no treatment. My body just needs to heal. It's a slow process.

So each day, I do feel a bit better. I'm sleeping less and eating a bit more. My skin is no long oompa-loompa orange, and my eyes are almost back to normal. Just yesterday I started feeling bored and today I'm able to sit up and write this blog. Those are great signs.

I am so grateful for all the emails, texts and phone calls. My neighbors and friends have been wonderful making sure Lea & Benny get to baseball and girl scouts - the kids haven't missed any events because of my illness. Of course, Slade has been working overtime to keep our household running.

I really hope to be back on Charlotte's Morning News next Monday, but it all depends on my recovery. The folks at WBT have been wonderful. Bo Thompson and Jim Szoke are just doing a great job and my thanks to Carl and all the managers for being so supportive at this time.

(Of course, Szoke always has the best line.  When I told him what was going on, he sent this email: "There are funner ways to ruin your liver.")

I'll keep you posted on my return to radio here and on Twitter, Facebook, smoke signals, etc.

 

 

 

 

Tweet or Feet - Week 4 (the end!)

We're still recovering from celebrating a JDRF Walk team fundraiser last week. Seemed like a great idea to have a drive-thru spaghetti dinner at my house. We thought maybe 60 people would place orders. Instead my wonderful neighbors turned out in force and we wound up serving 140 dinners.  That's 280 meatballs!

It really was fun and it gave a big boost to  our family team, just in time for the Charlotte JDRF Walk this Saturday.

I started this campaign to spread the word about type 1 diabetes and to gain some attention for the Charlotte Walk. Since the walk is almost here, Tweet or Feet is winding down.

As of today, #tweetorfeet has been seen by more than half a million people!  Thanks to everyone for all of your mentions, RT's and new follows. In the past few days, we got some great high profile mentions from Bret Michaels and Sam Fuld.

The featured links last week were:

Joslin Medalists

LADA Diabetes explained

Can an insulin pump (or any medical device) be hacked?

Major League Baseball player Sam Fuld

College Scholarships for students with diabetes

Our last winner, for helping spread the word, is @M_Furr - a JDRF advocate from here in the Charlotte area. Mark wins a $30 gift certificate to Rotelli.  Congrats!

Thanks again for supporting Tweet or Feet. I'll let you know what we're cooking up next.

(I know you're wondering - no, I didn't make anything for the spaghetti dinner. Slade wouldn't even let me boil the pasta!  I was allowed to clean up, though.  Thanks, hon.)

Tweet or Feet - Week 3

Very excited about the boost we got last week from Matthew Berry's followers and a RT from Jay Cutler! Trying to keep the momentum going for this week.

If you're new here, welcome! My 7-year old son has type 1 diabetes. He was diagnosed at 23 months and you can read more about our story by scrolling through the blog. Tweet or Feet is a way to spread the word about type 1, get some help for our family walk team, and give away some prizes, too.

This week's randomly chosen winner among those who've used the #tweetorfeet hashtag is @BaldingEagle5.  He's another type 1 parent and you can watch their awesome family walk video here.  This week's prize is a WBT gift package and a Twitter mention by CBS News Anchor Jeff Glor.

To enter, use the #TweetorFeet hashtag to help us spread the word about type 1 diabetes.  RT'ing one of my posts featuring a link is the easiest way. I'm @staceysimms (nice to meet you).

Our links this week were:

    Artificial Pancreas Explained

    The winner of last year's Amazing Race (who happens to have type 1).

    JDRF Charlotte's Faces of Hope video, featuring local kids

    JDRF National Walk video with Nick Jonas.

This week we also ordered our team shirts. Love the way the proof looks!

There's still time to join Benny's Brigade for the JDRF Charlotte Walk at Carowinds on April 21st. We'd love to have you! (just click here for more info). You can donate at that page as well, which would be wonderful.

Thanks so much again for all your support. 

 

Tweet or Feet - Week 2

This week I'm getting some Tweet or Feet help from a friend at ESPN, so I thought it would be fun to include a quick personal sports update. Benny played his first-ever baseball game on Tuesday.

Trying something new means figuring out the best way to incorporate diabetes care without taking Benny out of the game. Right now, we're taking the pump off for baseball (did the same for football, but left it on for soccer). BG was great, ran him just a bit on the high side (170 at inning #5), and all good overall.

Benny played catcher for two innings, got two singles, an RBI and came home for the winning run. I may never let him play again - how do you top that? Of course most of these kids aren't all that focused on the score, at 7 yrs old they just want to make sure they get ice cream after the game!

Thanks so much for helping me spread the word about type 1 diabetes through your RT's, mentions and shares of #TweetorFeet. This week's winner for doing that is @KTeasOnline. They receive a one hour massage at Massage Envy and a Twitter mention from Matthew Berry, ESPN's Senior Fantasy Analyst (340,000 followers). Big thank you to Matthew for his help (and, if you're one of his followers, for reading this far. Thanks for checking us out).

Here's what we linked to this week:

The Big Blue Test

The You Can Do This Project

JDRF Countdown Magazine article about pregnancy and type 1

Hannah's Dream Team 2012 JDRF Walk video.

Tweet or Feet also got some media love in the Charlotte Observer Parent to Parent Column.

Remember, you can still sign up to walk with us on April 21st at the Charlotte JDRF Walk at Carowinds. Click here to join Benny's Brigade (or to donate). Hope to see you there!

Tweet or Feet - Week One

Off and running!

Week one of Tweet or Feet was so much fun - thanks for all of your support. Since this first week was just a couple of days - we started last Wednesday - I put this recap off until today (Monday). Going forward, I'll announce the winner and do the recap on Friday. Got that?

The randomly selected winner of those who used the #TweetorFeet hashtag last week is: @MCMcMillanMCM - Michael & Kathleen McMillan.

They win a gift certificate to Rotelli and a mention by Fox News Supreme Court reporter Shannon Bream (26,000+ followers). She's a little busy with health care reform coverage this week, but took the time to help us out. Thanks, Shannon!

Great to see the RT, mentions & shares. We even had a few people sign up for our walk team! If you missed them, the links from this past week are:

Artifical pancreas project update

"Top Chef" contestest Chef Sam Talbot talks about living & cooking with type 1

Our family page for the Charlotte JDRF Walk, April 21st at Carowinds

Week two will feature more information on progress in diabetes, and I'll introduce you to some amazing people living with type 1. Please look for #tweetorfeet on Twitter, or go right to my Facebook page here.

Remember, mention #tweetorfeet on Twitter or share one of my posts on Facebook to enter the weekly contest. Campaign ends April 21st with the Charlotte JDRF Walk.

Tweet or Feet?

Something a little different this year as my family gets ready for the annual JDRF Walk.  We’re calling it Tweet or Feet.

My 7 year old year son was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes just before he turned two.  He’s doing great, but diabetes stinks. It affects everything he does – playing, eating, sleeping – and it’s increased his chances for health complications as he gets older.  While the researchers do their thing to find a cure, we’re excited about new technology that’s already making living with diabetes easier and safer. 

Advances in diabetes take two things: money and more people better educated about this condition.  Every day for the next month, I'm going to use social media to ask for your help with both, with either a tweet or your feet.

Tweet: I’ll put out a message each day about type 1 diabetes. Please take a moment to check out the blog, video or info.  Then pass along the message with a RT or a share. I'll mostly use Twitter or Facebook, but feel free to Pin it or put it on MySpace. Storify or spotify -  I’m not picky!  We'll use the hashtag #tweetorfeet and I've got some fun prizes and social media rewards if you take part.

Feet: Join us at the Charlotte JDRF Walk at Carowinds on April 21st. We'd love to have you sign up with our family team or make a donation. If you'd prefer, you can make a general donation to the JDRF Walk here. 

So tweet, and spread the word about diabetes awareness, or feet, donate or join us at the Walk event. 

Thanks so much for your support!

Let's All Go To The Movies...

These day, most of the movies I see are with my children. Sometimes the flicks are good, sometimes they're awful, but my kids are always excited about... the snacks.

I seem to lose all sense of reason and proportion at the theater. Tub of popcorn with butter? Sure! Candy in a giant box? Why not? No soda, thank you very much, but I have been known to let them grab nachos with something that sort of looks like cheese.

As you know, my son has type 1 diabetes, so all this stuff is a major treat. We do have some ground rules for dealing with these big carb/fat loads: popcorn or candy, not both, and I try to go the movies in the afternoon instead of at night, so the popcorn BG spike doesn't happen at 2am. We also don't go to the movies all that often, maybe once every two months.

Recently our local Regal Cinema improved and expanded the concession stand. At our last visit, to see the Lorax, Benny picked out a box of sour patch watermelon candy. Gross. We were debating how much I'd let him eat when he noticed the new menu included smoothies. He loves those, and they sounded better than his first choice, so I asked the manager for the nutrition information. They didn't have it. In fact, there was no info for anything on their menu other than the prepackaged candy.

I tried to looked up the smoothie on my phone, but couldn't find listings for Regal Cinema food except for popcorn.  There have to be at least 15 other items on this new menu. Since Benny gets his insulin based mostly on the number of carbs he eats, this is important information for us.

Luckily, after 5+ years of type 1 diabetes, we're pretty good at guessing.  I went with 40 carbs in the 12 ounce smoothie and Benny's BG stayed steady all evening. Got lucky this time, but I hate rolling the dice like that. 

I put in a request on Regal's PR phone line - we'll see if they get back to me. This snapshot from one of their theaters in California is as close as I got, but no carbs and it's from 2009.

I couldn't find info for AMC or other national theater chains - this article helps explain why. Seems movie theaters are exempt from all the new FDA labeling regulations. That's unfortunate. We already know this stuff isn't health food; I just want to make informed choices, even about the junk I choose to eat!

If I were still working in television news, I'd hire a local lab and do this as a sweeps story. (Announcer voice: "Fancy new food at the movies - why the theaters don't want you to know just what they're serving.") Hint, hint, my TV friends.

As of this posting, Regal had not returned my phone call. I'll update if they get back to me.

Got Talent (2)?

One of the fun things about the Charlotte Business Journal's Forty Under 40 Awards is the talent portion of the show.  It's not enough to be the best and the brightest and get on the list; before you recieve the award, you have to showcase a "hidden talent."

I MC'd this year's award ceremony, so I had a front row seat. We had a singer (Keith Anderson), a tap dancer (Susanne Dixon) and a turkey caller (Jason James).  Douglas Edwards showcased his beautiful photographs, Keith Taylor memorized the names of all the honorees in alphabetical order and Josh Beaver can imitate Star Wars characters. 

There were some pretty slick videos:

 

Molly Grantham from WBTV can sing the 50 states (click here). (I'm so embarassed; that little red light behind Molly is me taping her with my Flip cam)  The audio from on stage was pretty good, but the video wasn't. We used the sound on Charlotte's Morning News - you can listen to the segment here.

I hope to link up some new pictures and videos in the next few days. If you know an honoree, ask them to email me their stuff at ssimms@wbt.com.  I told the Business Journal they should set up a YouTube channel for this - but I think a few of the folks were happy to let their talent stay off the web!

I called this post Got Talent (2) because I wrote about this event in 2010  - a time long ago and far away when I, too,  was under 40. These kids today...