- Where do you live?
- Wilmington, NC
- What Makes You Laugh
- Dan is definitely the comedian of the family. He makes everyone laugh. Andy is constantly giggling at things his dad does. We have a lot of laughter in our family and Katie, who's six months now, is just beginning to take part in the laughter. Andy seems to be the only one able to make her break out in complete belly laughs though. I guess it's a brother/sister thing!
- Favorite Sports Team
- We love to watch baseball, but our favorite family activity is just spending time together. Dan and Andy are totally into model airplanes. Dan builds them from scratch and Andy loves to go out to the shop and spend time with his Daddy while he builds. Katie and I love to go on walks together when the weather is nice. She's so observant.
- What Helps You Get Through
- My love of God and knowing that everything is in His hands. He gave me these kids for a reason. I may not have the full picture yet, but I know what I'm doing will touch someone's life, somehow, some day.
- Favorite Meal
- Spaghetti is definitely a family favorite. It's easy to make and it's one of the things I can get Andy to eat without any fights. Pizza is also a favorite. We move around a lot, but Dan always finds the best New York pizza place in every town we live in. He has a knack for finding people who came from New York and cook really good, authentic, New York pizza!
- Helpful Resources
- The internet has been a great resource. When we found out Andy had Neonatal Diabetes instead of Type 1, I instantly found many resources on the web that helped explain his rare type of diabetes. When we were expecting Katie last year, I found out about an e-mail group that was started for parents of children who had Neonatal Diabetes. It's been great to have other parents going through the same thing we do. Tip: If your child was diagnosed under the age of 12 months, the University of Chicago is doing a study where you can get your child tested for free as part of the study. Though most children who test positive are those diagnosed under the age of 6 months, they are including those diagnosed under 12 months. Go to neonataldiabetes.org for more information. You can also check out my blog at babieswithdiabetes.com
- Date Diagnosed
- Andy 8/24/05 (4 mo) Katie 8/28/09 (10 Days)
- Question for Everyone
- How do you let go of the control and start letting your child take control of their own diabetes? And what age do you do this?
- Vacation
- We usually just take road trips for a day but sometimes will go all the way to Mississippi where my parents live. Once a year, Dan takes Andy on a "boys" trip. We always pack the meter, Andy's pills, and a snack and a drink. When flying on a plane, we make sure we have money so we can buy a snack/juice after going through security. One time, security made Dan throw away a bottle of juice for Andy. Andy was still on the pump at that time. Luckily there were no problems, but if he'd had a low, there would have been no way to bring him up quickly. We were very mad. Make sure you bring a bottle or cup and get juice after going through security.
- Question For Team
- How can we make more people aware of Neonatal Diabetes? I know there are more out there who may have it and may not even be aware of it. What can I do to help get the word out?
Family of the Week
The Vacchio Family
3 Comments on “The Vacchio Family”
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Michelle Rago Apr 13, 2010 (2 years ago)
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Christy Vacchio Apr 13, 2010 (2 years ago)Neonatal Diabetes is diagnosed during the first year of life. Roughly 50-60% of children diagnosed under the age of 6 months will have some type of genetic mutation that is causing the diabetes. It was previously thought that this was just a very early onset of Type 1 diabetes, but through research in the UK and the US, they have found that these genetic mutations are just blocking the insulin production. These patients still have the insulin producing cells in their bodies, but the mutated gene essentially blocks the communication between the blood and the pancreas. Many patients with these genes can be treated with oral sulfonylureas which is the same thing most Type 2 diabetics take in the beginning of their disease.
For my two children, they both have the most common gene causing their Neonatal Diabetes, KCNJ11. However, there are many different kinds of mutations that can occur and my kids have one of the more rare mutations V59M. Unfortunately, this particular mutation is also associated with developmenal delays (about 80% with this mutation). My son is about to turn 5 in April and is mentally about a 2.5-3 year old. Luckily, since we knew to look for it in Katie when she was born, she started the oral medication at 10 days old and so far is developing on track.
Please feel free to contact me if you have more questions about this disease. redcurls3@yahoo.com
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Anne Golenya Apr 13, 2010 (2 years ago)I've looked up Neonatal Diabetes on the internet, but I'm still not clear how it differes from Type 1 or Juvenile Diabetes, other than it is developed under 1 years of age. My two children have Juvenile Diabetes.
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I hope that makes sense.