Why this page exists

The reasons for thorwaldgustav.com are:

1. To keep family, friends and all interested parties updated on Thorwald
2. To provide some education on pediatric diabetes
3. To shed some light on giant congenital nevus

1. Thorwald is fine
2. Diabetes is not the end of the world
3. bathing trunk nevus is rare, but is primarily a cosmetic issue

You can find out more about these things over at the background page.

This page has been brewing for a long time. It started germinating in the back of my mind when I first learned about giant congenital nevi (the plural of Nevus), primarily from the support-group site http://www.nevus.org/. I can't say that I got much comfort from that page. There were a lot of testimonials from people about how hard their lives had been as a result of their nevus (or nevi). There seemed to be no one saying what I wanted to hear, which was: "Eh. Big deal."

This page is here to say: "Eh. Big deal."

The various diabetes websites have been far more helpful. Type 1 diabetes really isn't a big deal. What is it? Well, you can get a better description elsewhere, but essentially Type 1 diabetes mellitus is an autoimmune disorder wherein the body stops producting insulin. Because of this, the body is no longer able to metabolize (or process) glucose. Insulin must be delivered from somewhere outside the body, through injections or an insulin pump. Once insulin is delivered, the body functions normally. This means that if you're getting the proper amount of insulin, there's nothing to worry about. Essentially, all you have to do is count how many carbs you're getting and dose yourself with insulin accordingly, people will probably not even realize you're a diabetic.

Enjoy the page. Remember, though this page tends to have more bad news on it than good, if you don't hear anything, it means Thor (pronounced Tor) is his usual clever, active, cheerful self.