Isn't it when you really want something time just seems to stop ? In 11 days, just 11 days our lives are going to change. 11 days from now Brad will gain freedom. 11 days from now I will learn what it is like to not worry so much. 11 days from now Sabrina will have a furry black lab little brother.
It is like when you are kid and you are counting down to Christmas. I remember I had a Santa Clause face from 7up or Coca Cola (can't remember which one) and you had to glue a cotton ball to the face of Santa for each day in December. I remember looking at it and thinking, UGH, it is never going to get here! There is all this excitement and joy because, holy cow, Santa is coming. This is how it feels waiting for this little miracle. 11 Days feels SO FAR AWAY! I know it will be here soon enough and the hard work of training him will kick in, but we are ready for it.
Do you know what it is like to worry about your grown husband driving? Or worrying that his blood sugar is dropping while he is watching your two year old? This is what diabetes does. It took away Brad's ability to do some of the things he loves. You can really take driving for granted until you can't do it because your family is so afraid of what might happen.
This is why 11 days is so amazing to us and it seems like a lifetime to get here. I have a flood of emotions right now. None of which are fear.
In 11 Days, our lives are going to change for ever.
Thank you to Dan Warren, Cheri Campbell, the other trainers that I have not met yet and all the Warren Retriever families. For everything. For the hope, for Kai, for all you do, and mostly Brad's life.
Love from the bottom of my heart,
Tiffany Bates
Our mission is to fight back against Type 1 Diabetes with the help of Service Dogs by Warren Retrievers. FIGHTING TYPE 1 DIABETES
Friday, August 17, 2012
Wednesday, August 1, 2012
Cocktails for Kai
We happily invite you to an evening of friendship and support in honor of Kai, Brad's new diabetic alert dog.
Kai will be delivered to our family on August 28, 2012, and we are so blessed to have the opportunity to begin experiencing the changes he will make in Brad's life.
Sharing our news with you is but a part of the support we are asking you to help us with. Significant funds are necessary to insure that Kai does remain a family member. He will definitely be loved and appreciated for the constant assistance he will give to Brad's very brittle Type 1 diabetes. One means of support will be participation in a silent auction as well as voluntary donations which are all tax deductible.
We hope we can count on you and that you will share with us appetizers and drinks on the evening of Saturday, September 8 at 6:30 at Greenbriar Hills Country Club, 11225 Big Bend Blvd., Kirkwood, Mo. 314-822-3011.
Let us thank you in advance for helping our family, and, of course, mostly Brad, to achieve what will become a new and wonderful way of life.
Please RSVP to 314-402-5248 by August 31 and we look forward to an evening of warmth and inspiration because, until there is a cure, there is a dog!
The Bradley Bates Family
Monday, July 23, 2012
Delivery date and a tough weekend
We received the BEST news this weekend! Cheri Campbell emailed us our delivery date! September 5th was to be the date that we finally got to meet our little guy. But last night as we were driving home, Brad got a phone call from Cheri. They needed to change our delivery date, to August 29th! We are so excited! Sure no problem, we can handle getting Kai a week earlier! I am sure this date might change again, but that's OK. Good things come to those who wait, right??
The funny thing is I got a message through Facebook from Cheri. The email address she had for us was not the right one. She said she was trying to get a hold of us to schedule our delivery and she needed to know if any dates were bad in the Aug/Sept time frame. I told Brad very excitedly about the message. I looked at him and said "There isn't anything in that time frame that we can't change is there?!" He started cracking up. Of course not. What could be more important than Kai coming? Absolutely nothing!
This was one of many awesome things that happened this weekend. Brad's family was in from out of town and we were all enjoying the company of each other.
This leads me to the tough part of the weekend. Brad's blood sugars were SUPER high. We are talking consistently 300 - 400 range. He has never run highs like that consecutively for multiple days. It was very troubling to him. It made him really angry and he feels helpless because he would give a correction for the high and it would not budge.
I can tell you it is tough being the wife of a Type 1. Everyone hears about the highs and lows and what they do to a diabetic. But there are also the emotional pieces of diabetes that you don't hear about. The "why do I have this disease", "why am I running high when I haven't eaten anything", "are they ever going to find a cure", "am I going to die because of this disease?"
So no only do you have to deal with treating the lows or highs, you have to help pull them out of this thinking. It can be very tough and depressing. Brad had so much anger this weekend and we talked about it. He was upset because of the highs. I cannot blame him. As we talked through it all, I told him that he is not going to die because of one weekend where his blood sugars were high. He just looked at me and said "You don't understand how I am feeling. You don't know what it is like for me on my side. I am the one who has this." I can understand how he feels. I can even sympathise, but he is right, I don't have diabetes and I don't know how he is feeling.
Kai will not only be helping with tighter glycemic control, he is going to be helping combat those feelings of hopelessness, that there is never going to be a cure. This is how amazing these dogs are. This is why I am willing to raise $20,000 for Kai. This is why Kai is so important to us and we haven't even met him yet. He is going to help us fight back against this silent disability.
I have started calling Kai our super hero with paws. He is going to be a super hero for Brad. Always looking out for him, loving him and supporting him through it all. I want this for Brad so much and I am just so happy it is happening.
Tiffany
The funny thing is I got a message through Facebook from Cheri. The email address she had for us was not the right one. She said she was trying to get a hold of us to schedule our delivery and she needed to know if any dates were bad in the Aug/Sept time frame. I told Brad very excitedly about the message. I looked at him and said "There isn't anything in that time frame that we can't change is there?!" He started cracking up. Of course not. What could be more important than Kai coming? Absolutely nothing!
This was one of many awesome things that happened this weekend. Brad's family was in from out of town and we were all enjoying the company of each other.
This leads me to the tough part of the weekend. Brad's blood sugars were SUPER high. We are talking consistently 300 - 400 range. He has never run highs like that consecutively for multiple days. It was very troubling to him. It made him really angry and he feels helpless because he would give a correction for the high and it would not budge.
I can tell you it is tough being the wife of a Type 1. Everyone hears about the highs and lows and what they do to a diabetic. But there are also the emotional pieces of diabetes that you don't hear about. The "why do I have this disease", "why am I running high when I haven't eaten anything", "are they ever going to find a cure", "am I going to die because of this disease?"
So no only do you have to deal with treating the lows or highs, you have to help pull them out of this thinking. It can be very tough and depressing. Brad had so much anger this weekend and we talked about it. He was upset because of the highs. I cannot blame him. As we talked through it all, I told him that he is not going to die because of one weekend where his blood sugars were high. He just looked at me and said "You don't understand how I am feeling. You don't know what it is like for me on my side. I am the one who has this." I can understand how he feels. I can even sympathise, but he is right, I don't have diabetes and I don't know how he is feeling.
Kai will not only be helping with tighter glycemic control, he is going to be helping combat those feelings of hopelessness, that there is never going to be a cure. This is how amazing these dogs are. This is why I am willing to raise $20,000 for Kai. This is why Kai is so important to us and we haven't even met him yet. He is going to help us fight back against this silent disability.
I have started calling Kai our super hero with paws. He is going to be a super hero for Brad. Always looking out for him, loving him and supporting him through it all. I want this for Brad so much and I am just so happy it is happening.
Tiffany
Monday, July 2, 2012
Meet Kai!
Cheri Campbell posted pics of our new little man last night! We cannot wait to welcome him in August/September. He is 8 weeks in these pictures.
Isn't he adorable!! Cannot wait to squeeze this little guy! He will be a little bigger once we get him, but he will still be just a baby dog.
Here are pics of Kai's Parents - These pictures are the property of Warren Retrievers. Photographer is Dwight Dike. All rights reserved.
Isn't he adorable!! Cannot wait to squeeze this little guy! He will be a little bigger once we get him, but he will still be just a baby dog.
Here are pics of Kai's Parents - These pictures are the property of Warren Retrievers. Photographer is Dwight Dike. All rights reserved.
Jackie - Kai's mom
Tonic - Kai's Dad
We cannot wait to welcome him home. I am sure Sabrina will love him too.
Stay tuned for more updates. We are hoping to get a couple of fundraisers scheduled as well!
Tiffany
Tuesday, June 26, 2012
Wishin, and Hoping and Prayin - IT'S A BOY!
What a day this has been. It actually all started last night. I got home from chorus and Brad and I were talking. We went into the den to look up something on the computer. Brad comes in holding his cell phone. He looks at me and says "Dan Warren called and left a message saying that he had good news and to call him back tomorrow." I laughed and said "are you joking?". He was dead serious. I listened to the message myself. I heard Dan's happy voice on the message and knew Brad wasn't teasing. If you have ever talked to Dan Warren you know that he is an amazing guy who's voice always has so much hope. It makes me smile when I think about how I have never met him, but feel like he is family.
I looked at Brad and said, "holy crap!" I knew then that it HAD to be about Kai. I was thinking what else would he call about at 10:30 at night. We D.A.D. families take phone calls from Dan seriously! It was one of two things. We got a huge donation that he decided he just had to call us about (not likely) OR we were going to be getting Kai. Brad and I went upstairs and talked about Kai for another good hour and a half. Both of us grinning from ear to ear. We thought about what Kai might look like, if he or she was going to be black, yellow or chocolate. Then we thought about if it was going to be a boy or a girl. We both had no clue.
So of course I dreamt about Kai all night. In my dream Kai came to us only it was a Pomeranian dog and Dan was telling us this is what we had been assigned. I had to say that we wanted a Lab, not a Pomeranian. Don't ask. I'm not sure where this dream came from. LOL
I woke up about 10 minutes late because we had been up talking about what we needed to do and all that good stuff. I woke Brad up before I left and told him to call me as soon as Dan called him back.
Lunch ticks around. I'm am sitting on pins and needles. So is Brad. We cannot wait to find out WHY Dan had called. Lunch comes and goes. All of the sudden my pocket starts ringing. It is Brad. I can HEAR the smile in his voice. It was an audible smile. He tells me that Dan called and it is a BOY!!!! We have a male black lab! He also gave a few other details. I found pics of his parents on Facebook on the Warren Retrievers page. Beautiful dogs. My goodness they are pretty dogs. You have to check them out. I added them on my Facebook Timeline. I will also add them here, but I want to ask Dan first if that is OK.
Here are the Stats:
Name: Kai (for the Kaibab Trail in the Grand Canyon, see the FAQ's)
Born: 04/29/2012 (4 days after Sabrina's 2nd birthday)
Father: Tonic
Mother: Jackie
Color: Black
Arrival: Late Aug/Early September (I will share the delivery date once I find out)
So this is going to be a big doggy. They always are. Lab males usually range in between 60- 75 lbs. But some males can grow to be about 100lbs. My old lab Goldie was 70 lbs. BIG DOGGY.
We are so happy to be welcoming this new family member. Seriously. This is like having a kid. Kai is going to be loved just like Sabrina. He won't just work for Brad. He will be apart of this family and already is.
Lets CELEBRATE!
Love,
Tiff
I looked at Brad and said, "holy crap!" I knew then that it HAD to be about Kai. I was thinking what else would he call about at 10:30 at night. We D.A.D. families take phone calls from Dan seriously! It was one of two things. We got a huge donation that he decided he just had to call us about (not likely) OR we were going to be getting Kai. Brad and I went upstairs and talked about Kai for another good hour and a half. Both of us grinning from ear to ear. We thought about what Kai might look like, if he or she was going to be black, yellow or chocolate. Then we thought about if it was going to be a boy or a girl. We both had no clue.
So of course I dreamt about Kai all night. In my dream Kai came to us only it was a Pomeranian dog and Dan was telling us this is what we had been assigned. I had to say that we wanted a Lab, not a Pomeranian. Don't ask. I'm not sure where this dream came from. LOL
I woke up about 10 minutes late because we had been up talking about what we needed to do and all that good stuff. I woke Brad up before I left and told him to call me as soon as Dan called him back.
Lunch ticks around. I'm am sitting on pins and needles. So is Brad. We cannot wait to find out WHY Dan had called. Lunch comes and goes. All of the sudden my pocket starts ringing. It is Brad. I can HEAR the smile in his voice. It was an audible smile. He tells me that Dan called and it is a BOY!!!! We have a male black lab! He also gave a few other details. I found pics of his parents on Facebook on the Warren Retrievers page. Beautiful dogs. My goodness they are pretty dogs. You have to check them out. I added them on my Facebook Timeline. I will also add them here, but I want to ask Dan first if that is OK.
Here are the Stats:
Name: Kai (for the Kaibab Trail in the Grand Canyon, see the FAQ's)
Born: 04/29/2012 (4 days after Sabrina's 2nd birthday)
Father: Tonic
Mother: Jackie
Color: Black
Arrival: Late Aug/Early September (I will share the delivery date once I find out)
So this is going to be a big doggy. They always are. Lab males usually range in between 60- 75 lbs. But some males can grow to be about 100lbs. My old lab Goldie was 70 lbs. BIG DOGGY.
We are so happy to be welcoming this new family member. Seriously. This is like having a kid. Kai is going to be loved just like Sabrina. He won't just work for Brad. He will be apart of this family and already is.
Lets CELEBRATE!
Love,
Tiff
Wednesday, June 6, 2012
So happy for D.A.D. Families
Yesterday Dan Warren made the call to families who will be receiving their D.A.D. I am so excited for them. The families posted how excited they were to get the call and how they are going to begin puppy proofing and getting ready for their new family members arrival.
We are now one step closer to our August/September projected arrival of Kai. I cannot believe this lifesaver pup is almost here. To say in the next three to four months we will have a new family member, is amazing. It is like expecting a child and not knowing the arrival. This pup will be a huge part of our family. It won't be just a working dog, it will be a family member who's place in our hearts can never be erased! Stay tuned in the next few months. You can totally expect to get lots of pictures and news about this wonderful arrival!
Hugs to all the Warren Retriever Families who got their call yesterday!
Tiffany
We are now one step closer to our August/September projected arrival of Kai. I cannot believe this lifesaver pup is almost here. To say in the next three to four months we will have a new family member, is amazing. It is like expecting a child and not knowing the arrival. This pup will be a huge part of our family. It won't be just a working dog, it will be a family member who's place in our hearts can never be erased! Stay tuned in the next few months. You can totally expect to get lots of pictures and news about this wonderful arrival!
Hugs to all the Warren Retriever Families who got their call yesterday!
Tiffany
Wednesday, May 23, 2012
Spelling fixed..lol
You would think after all this time I would know how to spell diabetes....Sometimes my typing gets carried away. I am hoping that all changes going forward will be right.
Carry on!
Carry on!
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