Raising Ryker: Type 1 Strong

04/15/2026

Today I had a visit from Kenwin Cummings, former Jets backup inside linebacker. Mama asked him if he would talk to me for a minute. He was so kind! He shared his story with Mama and gave us advice on things that worked for him over the years. He sent Mama a link and we started to read it together tonight and will finish it tomorrow. Wow, Mama was right - role models come our lives when we least expect it. This amazing gentleman has become a role model for me - from having something in common to the fact that we are both going to be tall 😊. I have someone to look up to for inspiration and remember that I can do anything in life and to not let diabetes define me, but instead, conquer it and live my dreams. Mr. Cummings, thank you so much for your support! We are one step closer to getting my diabetic alert dog and I am truly grateful to meet you this evening. I will update you on my journey and when we get my dog, I would love for you to meet him or her.

04/14/2026

Yesterday was a day to celebrate! I had great news from the endocrinologist - my A1C has come down and the doctor said that it is excellent for a kid with type 1 diabetes. Of course, we need to get my range down for when we get my diabetic alert dog, but I am sooo happy to have an A1C in the green zone.

04/12/2026

Hi friends! Here is my update -
On Monday, we launched rockets that we built. It was so cool to see them launch and then run to find them!

Friday to Saturday, I went camping at Camp James Ray. I had a blast! We got to shoot rifles, slingshots, archery, finger weave, make butter, play games, learn flag etiquette, play colonial games (jacks and pick up sticks), skits, and help with a Dutch oven desert. I had a few significant drops in my blood glucose and needed to sit down and wait for my blood sugar to come back into range. My favorite part of camping was the skits at the end! The campfire and stories are my favorite part because it is so funny.

I definitely had a blast and love Cub Scouts!!!

Oh, and for all of my followers, make sure you vote for me! I am in the Top 20 in my group and have a chance to win $20,000, appear in a Ranger Rick Magazine, and have an exclusive wildlife experience with Jeff Corwin. I hope I get this opportunity 😊 https://jr-ranger.org/2026/ryker-898f

04/10/2026

Last night I put on a new pump and soaked my new sensor. This morning, we had my sensor go live. Typically the first 24 hours are an unknown of accuracy to the sensor, so soaking it helps reduce that time down.

Today was a great day at school, Mama had the nurse pre-bolus for lunch. I had pancakes and syrup and somehow didn’t manage to go too high! Yay!! Recess came around and I went low, then came the roller coaster of highs and lows. Dinner was pre-bolused and apparently we learned about protein and not bolusing as much. I had 4 chicken fingers, crinkle fries, and bread from Canes. Mama bolused the correct amount, but saw me heading low. I was still hungry - I ate half of Mama’s fries and 2 of her chicken strips without out bolusing. Then I dropped further. I felt fine, but did a finger stick to realize I was REALLY REALLY low. I ate nerds gummies (22g) and came up just above 70 and then dropped back to the 60s again and was angled down. Mama finally gave in and I got REAL Dr Pepper! I look forward to Dr Pepper when nothing else is working - it has been a few months since I had my last sip. 4 sips Mama said… shhhh I did a HUGE gulp on the last sip to make it last! I finally went into range again. Phew 😅

04/06/2026

Easter weekend was so much fun! It started off with an Easter Egg hunt - we got some candy (I can have them when I am low), Mama got a raised flower bed in one of the eggs (I wonder what vegetables she will make me try to eat…yuck!), I played mini golf, and then I got to pet a lot of bunnies! Next was seeing the Super Mario movie. That was awesome! Guess what? A third one is coming!!! Then I helped Patrick change his oil in his car. I got to hunt for Easter eggs in my back yard and dye Easter eggs. I refused to eat a hard boiled egg - I don’t like them. My Easter eggs from Bubbie and Zadie and my Easter card from my Granny had money in them. I was asked what I want to do with it, but all I want is my diabetic alert dog! So, it went towards my dog. Yay!!! Mama and I sold a bunch of stuff today and are prepping more items to go online. We had a few people reach out that want to donate items to sell over the next few weeks.

Today, I ate lower carb than I normally do during the week. I was still hungry, but I was also burning off a lot of energy playing games. When I went to bed, I was 93% in range! Mama said that she hasn’t seen such good numbers in a while due to failed sensors and pumps (and me sneaking food, but shhhhh, I am working on this).

I hope everyone had a Happy Easter and a Happy Passover! I love y’all!

03/30/2026

Hi everyone! I am trying to be a Jr Ranger! Help me by voting - 1 vote per day is free per Facebook account.

If I am selected, I will appear in a Ranger Rick magazine, win $20k, and become the 2026 Jr. Ranger!

My Son Ryker Would Be A Great Jr. Ranger Because He Loves Nature, Respects Wildlife, And Is Eager To Explore.

03/29/2026

What a great surprise yesterday! Mama and Patrick told me I might get bored and want to go to sleep, that we were going to an Orchestra and it will be violin music. We actually ended up going to Y.O. Steakhouse for dinner and then drove to Winspear to see the Blue Man Group!

Y.O. Steakhouse review: 10 stars out of 5! The steak was excellent and they brought me my soda in a wine glass. The kids steak was small with a huge helping of fries, so Mama gave me part of her steak because I wanted steak, not fries. 😝 We shared deserts and the molten chocolate lava cake and vanilla ice cream was delicious. 😋

When we left there, we saw a horse and carriage and then saw a Waymo car (a driverless car). They were so cool!

When we got to Winspear, we sat down and laughed nonstop! I loved Blue Man Group!!!!

On the diabetes side - I did great since I mainly ate steak. I did go high, but that was expected. On the way home, my blood glucose dropped pretty quickly, even though I was still high, so I got sick. 🤢 This has been an issue since I was a little kid, but we never understood why I got car sick. A quick drop causes me nauseousness, which gets me to the point of vomiting quickly. That’s ok though, I had a blast and hope I get to do it again!!!

03/28/2026

Living with type 1 diabetes is scary! Yesterday, my grandparents were watching me after school, just like normal. I went from around 350, which is way too high, had a correction to give me insulin at school, to coming home and dropping below 70. One starburst brought me back up - but it actually took me back out of range. One starburst!! It is amazing how much my numbers fluctuate and how hard diabetes is to control. Mom got home and she could smell the drop in blood sugar on my body. I asked her if this is what a diabetic alert dog will do, and she said yes. I was sooo excited because I understand how my dog will help save my life before having an extreme low!! I had a roller coaster all day, so Mama changed my pump and lo and behold, I had been steady since then.

Help me by sharing my page, share my GoFundMe, purchase an item off of my Mom’s Facebook Marketplace, and spread the word to help me bring home my diabetic alert dog. Thank you!!!! 😊

GoFundMe: https://gofund.me/3c9db4ab8

03/24/2026

Sorry I hadn’t posted over the past week. Last week was spring break! I had a busy week - from celebrating Patrick’s birthday to going to the movies to lunch with my friend Sydney to Urban Air to Nickelrama. I had such a great week being a kid! Of course, my numbers were awful and Mama fought with a sensor all week that apparently wasn’t working properly. In addition, we changed my pump the other day and for whatever reason, it kept giving us a Bluetooth error. The pump wouldn’t connect to my phone and we wasted insulin and a pump and had to put it on the freezer to get it to quit beeping! I might as well laugh about the pump and show off my sensor.

We hit 20% of our goal so far! We are working on new fundraising ideas - t-shirts, a puzzle, coloring page??? What ideas do you have? I’d love to do a BBQ fundraiser but we need help to do it!

Thank you for your support!!!!

03/16/2026

Last night, I was sleeping with my Zadie’s heart. I sleep with it every night! 💕 My numbers have been all over the place for no apparent reason. It’s always great when I drop for no reason (not a compression low) and then Dexcom gives us the warning of a brief sensor issue. Talk about nerve racking for Mama. At least I slept through the is and was snug in my bed.

03/14/2026

Last night was a rough night. Around midnight, the alarm went off - I was heading low. Mama came into my room and waited and sure enough, I didn’t need anything to treat the low. I was sweaty though. Mama gave me some water. My sensor was way off! Mama fell asleep on my floor for an hour and finally went back to bed. 3am, uh oh! I was downstairs wide awake. My sensor was showing 42 and double arrows down! I feel fine though. Mama had me test my BG, which showed 98. Phew! Well, then we had to wait another 15 minutes for the sensor to finally catch up and be a reasonable number. Back to bed again. 8:45am, alarm went off again. I was sitting around 80 and heading down. Again, didn’t need to treat, but was aware of the trend. Being diabetic means that I don’t get any time off of being a pancreas. Sleep is interrupted, constantly checking and being aware of what my number actually is. Being tied to electronics is hard. I told Mama yesterday that I wish there was a cure! I am not even one year in, but yet I am wore out already. 😢

03/12/2026

Guess what??? Wylie ISD Bus Barn, where my Daddy worked before he passed away with COVID, did a fundraiser for me! They raised $968!!!! Thank you so much to my Daddy’s former work family - y’all have made a HUGE impact in my life: you supported us before and you did it again!

This time, we hit our first milestone!!!!! We have put the deposit down on my diabetic alert dog with Bowen Elite Service Dogs!!! I am SOOOOO HAPPY!!!!

My dog will be coming from the breeder and going to Bowen Elite at 8 weeks old to start training in December. I have decided to get an Australian Labradoodle. The dog should be between 20-30lbs. Aren’t they adorable??? Training is going to take 14 months, which is a long time, but I will be able to see the progress and watch my dog grow. 💕

Thank you for everyone’s support so far! We have raised $6,167 in a month and a half. Our goal is $32,000, so we still have a long way to go, but this was a huge milestone and are so happy that y’all are here to follow along and share this journey with me.