I heard the word Die....

When the doctor told me I had diabetes, I heard "die."  

Elias Antaya was 9 years old at the time.

Today he is a remarkable 17 year old.

Elias was our guest speaker at last night's regular meeting.  We had heard about Elias from Michelle Cassano at conference in November and finally got him on our agenda.  I don't know why we waited so long.

Elias told us his story.... how he noticed that he was all of a sudden thirsty and peeing more.  Most 9 year olds may not notice that this was not normal.  Tests showed he did, indeed, have Type 1 Diabetes.  What he learned was that he wasn't going to die.... he just wasn't going to grow up to be a professional ice cream tester!

He learned early on that he had to be his own advocate.  His life depended on it.  After all, you can't take a vacation from diabetes.  He carried candy with him at all times and a cell phone, which wasn't so common for a second grader to do.

Diabetes didn't change Elias.  He continued to play, to ski, hike, play the violin.  Just to name a few of his activities....

Family, friends and friends' parents learned to care for him when he was in their presence.  School nurses became part of his family.

Elias has attended Camp K twice now, when he was 11 and 12 years old.  He told of the remarkable experience he had being at a camp filled with other kids just like him.  He told how they sat around the camp fire eating "low carb smores" that tasted like cardboard, but he was with other kids just like him, experiencing the same things.  It was "different" being around others just like him.

Elias is an extremely healthy, well-adjusted, normal teenager.  I might add that he's at the top of that scale if not over it.  He carries a 3.75 GPA, is a violinist, is an entrepreneur (plays violin at events); he continues to ski, mountain bike, hike; he's a lifeguard for the City; he's a future college student. I wish I had a complete list of all of his accomplishments.

"Having diabetes does not stop me."  And we're glad of that, Elias.

We Serve!
Lion Nancy

Helping Hands

Our guest speaker earlier this month was a lady and her daughter who started a food bank for locals many many many years ago.  Helping Hands.  It's a completely volunteer non-profit organization. Yet they do incredible good for our hungry.

We were honored to present them with a check for $500 to help feed the hungry.

We Serve!
Lion Nancy

Vietnam Veterans Welcome Home

The Juneau Lions Club, Juneau Mendenhall Flying Lions Club, and Boy Scout Troop 247 had the privilege of serving our Vietnam Veterans today.

We were greeters, handed out programs, and escorted Vietnam Veterans and VIPs to their seats. 

We also had an opportunity to talk to them, and thank them for their service.  

I don't think they've been thanked nearly enough in the last 40 years.  

Lion Tommy brought his Navy year book to share with us.  Proud to have served. 

At the end of the ceremony, all Vietnam Veterans were asked to stand while they received their "thank you."

 Each one, personally thanked and given their "coin."  

I'm not certain what the coin said or signified, but I'm sure each man and women who received one will cherish it.  

   

 It was an emotional day, watching our heroes humbly accept the handshake and know that the "thank you for your service" was sincere.    

"...Vietnam Veterans Day is established on March 29 of each year to acknowledge and commemorate the military service of American men and women in Vietnam...."  (CSHB 67 (MLV))  

I hope we have the opportunity to serve them again next year.

Thank you for your service, each and every one of you.  

We Serve!

Lion Nancy

Vision Screening in Southeast

The Mendenhall Flying Lions has been traveling around this month offering free vision screening to children in Angoon, Petersburg, and Juneau.

We screened 152 children with 13 referrals at Mendenhall Elementary.  A huge thanks to Lions Neil, Hari Dev, Tommy, and Mike N. for taking time out of their busy days to do this!

We also had our second "first Saturday of the month" screening at the Nugget Mall where we screened 5 with 1 referral.

Lion Soapy braved high winds to get to Angoon where he screened 21 elementary children with 2 referrals.  We're already working with the public health nurse to do all the children next Fall.

Lions Allen and Soapy visited Petersburg.  For us to visit some of these communities in Southeast prove to be a little more than a day or two.  We have to plan one day going and one day coming back and then days in between for screening.  So a one or two day event turns into four days.  But it was very productive and they were able to screen pre-school, elementary, middle school, and home school children for a total of 327 children screened and 41 referrals.  Way to go Lions Soapy and Allen!

Petersburg is one of our biggest fans and the school district bends over backwards to get us there. They generally pay our airfare and lodging.

We also participated in the Alaska Health Fair which turned out pretty much as we expected.  Most participants of the health fair go to get their blood work done and the rest of the exhibitors visit among themselves.  But thanks to Lions Hari Dev and Mike N., we did screen 6 more children with 1 referral.

All in all, it was a good month of screening!

We Serve!
Lion Nancy

Free Vision Screening Helps Detect Eye Problems Early

By Mary Koppes

Petersburg Pilot Writer

Kids will be able to receive a free vision screening when the Mendenhall Flying Lions come through town March 24-25. The Juneau-based organization will be at the Petersburg Public Schools screening elementary and middle school students, and appointments can be made for children who are home schooled or for those who are not school-aged (down to 6 months old).

The screenings measure kid’s refraction, pupil sizes and corneal reflexes and compare them to age-based criteria.

“It identifies quite a few problems, and it’ll tell us, those kids within (age) parameter, they pass; or if they’re outside of the parameters for their age they need to go see a professional,” said Allen Butner, a member of the Mendenhall Flying Lions.

A machine called a PlusOptix takes a photo of the eyes and delivers results immediately. The whole process takes just seconds.

Screenings are performed by volunteers, not eye care professionals. Butner said they do not deliver diagnoses but can flag abnormalities that parents and caretakers can follow up on with a professional. 

Bringing vision screening to rural communities is important, Butner said, because such services are often not available. However, identifying potential problems early makes them easier to address.

“A lot of these things, the sooner you find it, the easier it is to correct,” he said.

“We have a family member who was screened by the Lions and the tests showed he had a ‘lazy eye’ and was almost blind in that eye. Without that screening early on, his problem might have gone undetected longer, making it harder to correct. We are grateful that the Lions are working to screen children of all ages,” commented Anne Loesch.

The Mendenhall Flying Lions are a service organization associated with the Lions Club International. In addition to the free vision screenings, they perform other service projects including litter clean up, food drives, and an eye glass recycling program.

For more information on the screening, contact Butner at 907-723-7829.

Aubrey's Big Adventure Continues

Aubrey and her parents leave for Seattle on Monday for the next part of her adventure.  She is scheduled to see a specialist  on Tuesday with her surgery scheduled for the 23rd.

Click HERE for Aubrey's adventure.

We wish Aubrey and her parents safe travels and a successful procedure.  Please keep Aubrey and her family in your thoughts and prayers during this time.  

We Serve!
Lion Nancy

Rotary and Lions Getting the Job Done

Saturday was Rotary's annual food drive for our local food bank.  They took post at three different stores in town and had a school bus waiting at each site to load with canned goods and other items that were donated.

Lions showed up at the Food Bank on Sunday to help unload the school buses, sort, and put donations on the shelves.

When we arrived the shelves were pretty bare.  Darren distributes a huge amount of food every week and this was much needed.

It's a crazy hour!  Boy Scout Troop 247 (that we sponsor) showed up in full force to tackle the job and help get it done!  Lion Mike N. helped sort donations.

Lion Allen brought his daughter, Tara.... a Lion in the making.... ?

Our newest members, Lions Mukhya and Hari Dev brought a prospect to help, Louie, who was a huge help as well.

When you have so many people helping, the work gets done quickly.

We Serve!
Lion Nancy