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Chautona Havig

Chautona Havig

Using story to connect YOU to the Master Storyteller

Why Write about Diabetic Alert Dogs in a Christmas Novel?

by Chautona Havig · Leave a Comment

Today’s our final Wonderland Wednesday post in honor of the Wonderland Wishes Collection. I hope you’ve enjoyed getting to know more about these authors and/or their books.  Today’s “noella” spotlight… Mine!  The Second Noel.

Why Write about Diabetic Alert Dogs in a Christmas Novel?

Note: links in this post may be affiliate links that provide a small commission at no extra expense to you.

Why Write about Diabetic Alert Dogs in a Christmas Novel?

The message came from a reader who had slowly but surely become a friend.

You need to write a book about parents of a Type 1 Diabetic child and the frustrations that go with it.”

She went on to describe the fundraising efforts she and friends had made to purchase a (very expensive) diabetic alert dog.

These amazing animals are trained to catch when the blood sugar changes and alert the person so they can test.

Because her friend’s child kept crashing while asleep, the friend and her husband had to wake up every half hour or so to check on the child.  Sleep deprivation is not a safe state in which to make life-saving decisions.

How much insulin?  How little?  Here’s an internet image that shows just how little difference there is in the amount between life-saving and a potentially lethal dose:

Diabetes Type 1- insulin dosage-
This image was shared on Facebook, but I have not been able to find the actual “owner” online and it’s too late at night to contact that poster to see if she knows. If you know who that is, I’d love to credit them and get retroactive permission to use it. November is diabetic awareness month. Doing my part to become more aware!

So, the dog arrived, and the parents could sleep now, right?

Nope. They’d been scammed by unscrupulous people who promised everything and nothing in the same “breath.”

And so the family continued to live in a state of constant sleep deprivation.

Until speaking with my friend and doing a little research, I wasn’t aware how difficult Type 1 Diabetes really is. I knew “all about” type 2.  Ahem.  But so much information about Type 1 is written about adults managing their own care with insulin pumps and things like that.

Some kids can have them.  Other kids, not so much.  When kids are growing like the little weeds they resemble sometimes, they can be hard to stabilize.  And when those numbers aren’t stable, many doctors won’t even consider a pump.

That means lots of shots.  Lots of measuring.  A million decisions a day—or so it seemed to me, and I’m not even living it.  I almost cried reading about kids who have a “favorite stick spot.”  Seriously?  Kids should not have to have a favorite spot to be injected!  Ouch!

As one mom shared:

What it would be like to feel a moment of panic, whenever one of your other children wets the bed, is extra thirsty, or is starting to look a little skinny.

How challenging and life-threating sickness is now, with near constant checks for ketones, and high blood sugar, and making sure he gets enough to drink no matter how much he fights it.

Read the whole article (well worth the time) over at Carb-Counting Mama.

Can you imagine living that life? 

Can you imagine setting your alarm for every half hour at night so you can make sure your child will rouse?  How is that healthy for anyone?  But with a dog, they’re trained to notice the changes and alert someone.  Someone asleep.  Someone who can help without fear of over or under-dosing.

Now imagine thinking you’ve gotten that relief, only to wake up to your child unconscious because that dog wasn’t properly trained.

Not all diabetic alert dog companies are scams. 

Ones like Diabetic Alert Dogs of America are wonderful companies who train their animals well.  If you want sweet images and videos of dogs being trained to help diabetics recognize the change in their blood sugar levels, I strongly recommend following them on Instagram.  I hope one day to have earned enough to be able to provide an alert dog for a diabetic child—that’s just how much this service has impacted me.

a bird diedBut that’s not the only story I told. 

If you read A Bird Died, you might remember Breanne Homstad, the fireman, Mark Keating, and a date…?  Well, in The Second Noel, I put them back on the fundraising circuit, and you find out what happened on that date.  Not to mention why they haven’t spoken since!

Yes, this story is a romance, but it’s not just boy meets girl and a sappy interim until happily-ever-after.  It’s the love of a boy for his dog—and his new mom.  The love of parents for their children and all they’ll go through to keep those children safe.

I hope you enjoy our little “noella” collection.

I’m confident that there’s sure to be a book for everyone’s preference.  Some are sappier than others.  Others are twists on familiar themes, and still others are about real issues we see or read about in everyday life—and how Jesus can impact them at Christmas.

Merry Christmas, and happy reading!

Oh, and if you wouldn’t mind sharing this image below somewhere online… well, I wouldn’t complain!  🙂

The Second Noel- Wonderland Wishes

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The Because Fiction Podcast

The Because Fiction Podcast
The Because Fiction Podcast

Taking the pulse of Christian fiction

Episode 162: A Chat with Author, Nancy Naigle
byChautona Havig

Hey, we’re back after a couple of weeks of vacation, and boy did I need it. And, have I got a fabulous interview for you. Nancy Naigle and I talked about her books, her most recent release, What Remains True as well as her Christmas books and the one I’m most anxious to read, The Shell Collector. Listen in and learn about what Nancy says about this bet she has going on in What Remains True. Great stuff!

Note: links may be affiliate links that provide me with a small commission at no extra expense to you.

Need a Great Romantic Read to Wind Up Your Summer Reads?

As I said in the podcast, a while back, someone told me I’d LOVE The Shell Collector–one of those people who recommends books you HAVE to read if they say you do.  So I bought it and it’s been sitting on my shelf ever since. Well, now it’s on my GoodReads shelf, and I’m about to start it (and I optimistically thought I’d be done with it by the time this episode released. Oh, me of too much faith in myself and my time management!)

Author of over thirty books, not to mention a bestselling author who also has movies made of her novels (And The Shell Collector has been optioned! EEEP!), Nancy loves to write Christmas books and small-town stories. Seriously, as we talked, I felt like she was talking about me half the time. We’re so very alike in so many ways. It was fun.

Nancy also pointed out that her first books (if you go WAY back) are not Christian fiction and are a bit spicier than she prefers to write and definitely more than she writes today. So be warned there, but she did assure us that they are all closed-door books.

What Remains True by Nancy Naigle

One woman wants to win a bet. One man wants to become a rodeo champion. One little girl may give them both something even better—from USA Today bestselling author Nancy Naigle.

“A commitment-phobic rodeo star and a divorcée with secrets find love in this wholesome romance. . . . As uplifting as it is sweet.”—Publishers Weekly

Working at a little shop on Main Street in a small town is exactly the break that executive Merry Anna Foster needs following her divorce. She’s made a bet with her ex-husband that she can live on the amount of money she’s giving him in alimony. If she can do it, then Kevin will have to stop complaining and leave her alone. But after three months of this new life, will she even want to leave Antler Creek?

Adam Locklear, bull rider and owner of the local feedstore, is having the best year of his rodeo career. He’s also a bit distracted by the pretty new neighbor living in his old bunkhouse. But Adam has no time for matters of the heart. He’s got his future all mapped out, and that future doesn’t involve a woman just yet. It doesn’t involve parenting a little girl either. However, Carly Fowler still suddenly leaves five-year-old Zan—the daughter Adam didn’t know he had—in his care.

Is it possible that the future holds a life even better than what Merry Anna and Adam had each dreamed of? One that includes both tenderness and even love—not just for each other but for Zan too?

You can learn more about Nancy’s books and movies on her WEBSITE.

Oh, and PSST… I’m loving the audiobook of this one!

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Episode 162: A Chat with Author, Nancy Naigle
Episode 162: A Chat with Author, Nancy Naigle
August 9, 2022
Chautona Havig
Episode 161: A Chat with Christian Women's Fiction Robin W. Pearson
July 26, 2022
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Episode 160: A Chat with Liz Johnson about The Last Way Home
July 22, 2022
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Episode 159: A Chat with Biblical Fiction Author, Mesu Andrews
July 19, 2022
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A Chat with Historical Christian Fiction Author, Stephanie Landsem
July 12, 2022
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Episode 157: A Chat with Historical Christian Fiction Author, Lynn Austin
July 8, 2022
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Episode 156: The Fragrance of Violets by Susan K. Beatty
July 5, 2022
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Episode 155: Chatting with Heather Day Gilbert & Jen Cudmore
July 1, 2022
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Episode 154: A Chat with Romantic Suspense Author, Sami A. Abrams
June 28, 2022
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Episode 153: A Chat with Historical Author, Tracie Peterson
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