Suzanne, Pancreatitis, and the Love Bugs

Greetings from Jack! It's been a long time since I've written an entry, so I decided to contribute (at the strong urging of Suzanne). How have things been with us? HECTIC!! Suzanne decided to stay at home with the boys full-time and her last day with Komen was Friday, 2/15. As I'm writing this posting, Suzanne is spending her first "post-Komen" moments with the boys. I called a little while ago and Luke was screaming in her ear and Jacob just went down for a nap. Honestly, I have no idea how Suzanne does it. The only thing I can think of is that she has the energy of a marathon runner; she definitely gets this from her dad (Darrell). Each weekend, we'll finish the dishes after dinner and I'll settle-into one of my favorite space-related shows. After wondering where she has been for the past 15 minutes, she'll emerge with a clean load of laundry or clean bottles. Suzanne and I will come-back from the movies to find Gayle with the boys and Darrell completing another project around our house. It's a wonderful trait to have; unfortunately, I don't have this because I love the Science Channel too much.

Suzanne wanted me to write about my health. On March 20th of last year, I had my pancreas and spleen removed and had my remaining islet cells moved to my liver. As a result, I became a Type 1 diabetic. I won't lie...diabetes is hard. I often get depressed at the thought of pricking my finger 8 times during a day and dispensing insulin another 4-5 times a day. However, it's wonderful not having to rely on pain medication to make it through the day. It's also nice that we can make long-term plans without having to worry about if I'm going to be in the hospital or not. There's also some hope long-term that a cure for diabetes will be found. In my particular case, I'm more of a "Type 1.5" than a Type 1 or 2 diabetic. My body did not reject my islet cells like a typical Type 1 patient. My pancreas happened to be chronically ill and it had to come-out. Thus, my body has doesn't have the "rejection" mentality for the islet cells. This is extremely hopeful for us and a possible cure could be found in the next 5-15 years in the form of stem cell islet cells or an artificial pancreas.

Finally, I wanted to write about the Love Bugs. Luke and Jacob mean more to us than anything in this whole world. Each morning, I look-forward to spending time with my boys throughout the day. Don't get me wrong -- it's a LOT of work. Luckily, we have our families and friends here to help us out. I've included pictures of "High Cheeks" (Luke) and "Low Cheeks" (Jacob) to show you their growth progression. We got the "Cheeks" names from a friend of the Tate family, Gay DeHay. We think those names describe them perfectly.

On a final note, I want to thank my wife for making the substantial sacrifice of leaving her job, which she loved very much, to stay home with the boys. I told her that she can always go back if she wants to or she doesn't have to go back. The decision will always be hers and I will support her 100%. I love you very much, Honey!

Our days of going out to eat all the time or going to movies are over now that we're operating on one income. Luckily, we have all the fun we need at home with our three children...Luke, Jacob, and our Flat Screen. Have a great day and please leave comments! Suzanne LOVES reading them.