June 11, 1999 was a warm and sunny Friday. I took the afternoon off from work and had lunch with my sister and my mom. I had a Subway Club and a medium Mt. Dew. I had a doctor's appointment at 2 o'clock and then I planned to go home and pack to leave for the weekend.
By 3 o'clock, my life had changed forever. Joel had been at his new job less than a month when I called him from the doctor's office. My voice was shaky and through my tears, I said "Joel, I have diabetes. Can you come help me?" I don't remember what he said, but he was there within the hour.
By 5 o'clock, my entire family was there. (Even my sister who was only 2 days away from having a baby :) I left the clinic with a blood glucose monitor, several bottles of insulin, syringes, and an appointment with a Diabetic Educator for the following Tuesday.
They had me test my blood sugar on my own and do my first injection before they let me leave. Ever given yourself a shot in your stomach? It was a scary thing and took me several tries before I was brave enough to do it.
Joel and I were supposed to go up to his Grandparents' cabin in Lansing to spend Saturday & Sunday water skiing, playing cards, and spending time with family. We stayed home in our ISU Married Student Housing apartment instead. I woke up on Saturday morning with a blood sugar of 300 and more energy than I'd had in a month.
Fast forward to 2009. I haven't used a syringe in eight years -- I use an insulin pump. I even have a Continuous Glucose Monitoring System that tests my blood sugar every 5 minutes and shows me a graph on my pump screen. My Blood Glucose Meter "talks" to my pump and my pump is programmed to suggest doses of insulin (taking into account my carbohydrate intake and my current blood sugar reading).
Having diabetes isn't easy. There are no vacation days -- I always have to pay attention and I will never go another day without insulin. Its not as scary as it was to me ten years ago, though. Being a diabetic has turned into an annoying background noise - like someone who left a fuzzy TV on too loud. Its always there but many times I just tune it out.
10 years ago I wasn't sure what my future would look like. Would I die? Would I still be able to have kids? When would my feet be amputated and how long before I needed dialysis and lost my eyesight?
It was a scary day 10 years ago. June 11th. As it turns out, all my worrying was for nothing. What God had planned for me in these 10 years was better than anything I could have asked for or imagined -- I'm alive and healthy, I have a husband who loves me, and three healthy kids. There are many non-diabetics who are not nearly as blessed as I am... :)
5 comments:
Oh Sally you made me teary! I can't believe its been 10 years ago. I remember the day cause we were all at the cabin and sad that you couldn't come! Thank God for all the advances and beautiful blessings in your life!
Jenny
I forgot to tell you how great your stomach looks in that picture with the monitor, especially after just having a baby:)
Jenny
ha ha :) I wish that was a picture of my stomach! :)
So I clicked to comment so I could make a smart remark about your stomach, but it looks like I was beat to the punch(line)...
So thankful for your health and your healthy kiddos. And Joel's health too. :)
I remember that day. My doctor appointment was right before we went to Subway and I found out that I was in early labor. It went from a really exciting day to a really sad day in a matter of hours. Do you remember us all donating our insane amount of detergent containers for you to put your needles in because we wanted to help and didn't know what else to do? :)
I'm so thankful that you've been so blessed and provided for these past ten years. Micah won't ever have a birthday without me remembering that day for you as well!
See you tomorrow night!
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