Diabetes Blog – Happy-Medium.net
These fellas are known as Mr. Stripey tomatoes. Mr. Stripeys are an heirloom tomato, which is why they’re not perfectly round and they have a couple of blemishes on them. In addition to those factors, Mr. Stripeys are meaty, earthy representations of what real tomatoes taste like.
And if I’m lucky, I’ll get enough this year to freeze a few and use them in a pasta sauce. These babies are worth waiting until August for.
I was standing in a conference room at work the other day, waiting for a meeting to start. The room looks out over the Inner Harbor here, and off in the distance I could see a sailing class. Lots of little sailboats tacking back and forth, all with different brightly-colored sails being filled out by the harbor breeze.
Watching that scene made me think about this thing called diabetes. There are a lot of us out there faced with the daily, relentless onslaught of this chronic condition. Tens of millions of us just in the USA. According to the International Diabetes Foundation, there are over 300 million people affected by diabetes across the globe.
But we’re not all the same. Like the little boats in the harbor with green sails and blue sails and pink sails, there are people living with Type 1, Type 2, LADA (Latent Autoimmune Diabetes in Adults), and other forms of this disease. The therapies and drugs available to treat our conditions are even more different than the types themselves.
A Type 1 may be on MDI (multiple daily injections), or may be taking advantage of insulin pump therapy. A Type 2 may be taking a pill to help keep their glucose levels down, or they may ramp up their exercise regimen and change their diet significantly after diagnosis. A person with Type 1, 2, or LADA may consider making the decision to wear a continuous glucose monitor (CGM). Or not.
Some, unfortunately, do not have these decisions to make at all. For many in developing countries, a diabetes diagnosis is a death sentence, either due to lack of insulin, the ability to keep it cold or warm enough, or the lack of ability to pay for it at all, not to mention the absolute dearth of access to care and education. It hurts me to think of the fact that by pure luck, I wound up in a situation where I have access to care and drugs and technology that allow me to lead a good life, while others die for lack of basic necessities.
When it comes to research about diabetes and the search for a cure, there are many different courses charted too. Many doctors are furiously searching for the absolute source of the beginning of diabetes in a person’s beta cells, in the hope that they can stop whatever triggers the disease in the first place. Others are making progress in leaps and bounds by developing technology that, while not providing a cure, may change how we live with diabetes by helping us to stay safe and always keep our blood glucose in a stable range (I’m looking at you, Artificial Pancreas).
So just like those sailboats going east and going west, we’re all headed in different directions. We have our busy lives full of jobs and family and social media, etc. Some of us write about diabetes, some walk for a cure, some ride for a cure. Some have enough to do just fighting the demons within themselves… the ones that say “Give up” or “Why do you keep trying?”. The people who overcome that kind of challenge are champions just as much as those who make headlines and raise thousands and help others.
I’ve said it before: Diabetes comes in many flavors. No two of us are exactly alike. Except that we possess two very special qualities.
We are blessed with empathy. Living with D has made us acutely aware of what it’s like to deal with inexplicable highs and lows on a regular basis. What it’s like to deal with medical professionals who write off anything not great as entirely our fault. What it’s like to listen to people who spread misinformation, then think about it as an educational opportunity. I’m constantly amazed that I have not yet encountered anyone in the Diabetes community (online or not) who is mean or ego-driven. I think that comes from a place of empathy first. We know what it’s like… Your highs are our highs… Your lows are our lows… Your successes are our successes.
We’re also blessed with resilience. We all have the unique skill of being able to get up every day, tote our gear, and treat our condition. Every. Single. Day. How many of us think that before our diagnosis, we’d be able to keep this up for years? Diabetes teaches us resilience, and every day that we hang in there and do what we have to do is a victory.
The songwriter Jason Robert Brown wrote a lyric that goes “We have nothing much in common; but we are more or less the same”. In the song, he was talking about his brother. In my life, I’m talking about my brothers and sisters with Diabetes. We have many differences. But we are all the same.
To all of my friends everywhere: I want to wish you a great weekend.
To my friends Bob and Linda, thanks so much for welcoming us into your home for your seder every year. At this point, it really does feel like tradition. And it’s wonderful.
To my catholic friends and family, I wish a pleasant end to the lenten season. I hope the new pope brings stability and a newfound sense of faith. In God, not in the church. Churches are still led by people. Oh, sorry… forget that. Just have a happy Easter.
I’m going to be busy, and you may not hear from me as much over the next week. But I like writing, so it will be hard for me to be quiet for long.
Regardless of what you’re up to on Friday, Saturday, or Sunday, I hope that diabetes takes a back seat to your happiness. Do something fantastic. Make some special memories. Beginning… Now.
Enjoy.
I’ve read a lot of posts and comments on blogs, Facebook, etc. in the last week or so (you know, since the Diabetes Dad/DRI/BioHub dustup) from people who don’t believe there will ever be a cure for diabetes. Trust me… I totally get where you are all coming from. At times, it seems like the cure is so far out on the horizon that there really is no horizon at all, if you know what I mean.
But I can’t go that far.
This is my affirmation.
I’m not looking for it to happen any time soon. I have no idea what form a cure would take. I don’t know if any of the research currently under way will yield any results at all.
But I know that if we never try… we’ll never know for sure. I know that if we never stand up and say, “Hey, nearly 26 million people in this country have diabetes, and over 360 million people globally, and we deserve our chance to find a cure”, we’ll never know for sure.
I dig the new technology. I’m excited about new devices that will make us safer and healthier over the long haul. I love the extra education I’m getting every day. The helpful tips from the Diabetes Online Community, the unique perspective of my endocrinologist, the amazing drug therapies that have hit the marketplace in the past twenty plus years, the improvement in meter technology and CGMs and diet and nutrition.
Still… none of it amounts to a cure.
And you know what? I’m so grateful for the fact that I’m living today with diabetes, in this era, because I have a lot more in my arsenal to fight this chronic condition than anyone who’s ever lived with it before.
Still… none of it amounts to a cure.
In the past year and a half, I’ve learned, shared experiences, met people, asked questions, made mistakes, had successes, and expanded my horizons beyond even my own comprehension and despite my own fears. I’m not sure I can convey in this medium exactly what that feels like, but it feels really good.
Still… none of it amounts to a cure.
I have a healthy skepticism of government, and medical technology firms, and big pharma, and yet I believe that the absolute power of a cure for diabetes would not, could not allow it to be kept a secret for long.
Ever hear the phrase “Prepare for the worst, hope for the best”?
I am prepared to live with my disease for the rest of my natural-born life. I’m not counting on a cure. I don’t see it in this or any other 5 to 10 year time frame I’ve ever lived in. I too look at new presentations of so-called “solutions” with a wary eye. Even disdain.
But I refuse to give up on the idea altogether. Hoping for the best means hoping for a cure. I will keep hoping for a cure, if for no other reason than to keep hope alive for the next generation.
Because the next generation deserves hope too.
Because this generation deserves hope too.
Because… while I’m bombarded on all sides by glucose issues and possible complications and the next fundraising pitch disguised as The Greatest Thing Ever, I refuse to let any of it take my hope away.
This is my affirmation.
Okay, so Cherise at Diabetes Social Media Advocacy started this thing yesterday, and I was too busy to steal it for a post of my own. Others have done this, and I encourage you to read them and possibly post your own answers somewhere too, including here if you like. So better late than never… here are 48 things you may not know about me:
1. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE?
I was not.
2. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED?
When was the last time I watched “It’s a Wonderful Life”?
3. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING?
I have great penmanship… don’t try to decipher my note-taking, however.
4. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCH MEAT?
Is pit beef a lunch meat? Then YES. That’s my favorite.
5. DO YOU HAVE KIDS?
No kids. Always wanted kids.
6. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON, WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU?
Yes, of course! ‘Cause I need all the friends I can get.
7. DO YOU USE SARCASM A LOT?
Oh, you want to talk politics now?
8. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS?
No! Tonsils removed when I was four years old… in 1966. In those days, they had you stay in the hospital for like five days after the operation. I still remember it. Creepy.
9. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP?
I am sooo afraid of heights. But I would bungee jump. I like to confront my fears. And scream my head off through the whole process. The screaming releases the fear.
10. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL?
Raisin bran. Plain enough for you?
11. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF?
Almost always.
12. DO YOU THINK YOU ARE STRONG?
This requires a “body of evidence” answer. If you asked me if I feel strong right now, I would say no. If you asked me if I’ve been strong over the last 22 years with diabetes, the answer is definitely YES.
13. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM?
From the store: Edy’s rainbow sherbet (monster high carb effect, by the way). And Trader Joe’s pumpkin. So pumpkin-ey.
Specialty brand: Black Cherry from Graeter’s in Cincinnati.
14. WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE?
Whether they’re open or closed. Will you talk and be nice even if we seem to be different on the surface? I can usually tell within ten seconds.
15. RED OR PINK?
Red, Red, Red.
16. WHAT IS THE LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOURSELF?
That I’m getting older. Can’t do anything about it, so I don’t think about it much.
17. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST?
All of my nieces, nephews, great nieces, and great nephews. Kids are still our future and worth every effort we can make for them. Even if some of them aren’t kids anymore.
18. WHAT IS THE TECHNIQUE THAT YOU NEED TO WORK ON THE MOST?
Remembering. Everything. Everything.
19. WHAT COLOR SHOES ARE YOU WEARING?
Simple black dress shoes. Honed to a bright sheen.
20. WHAT WAS THE LAST THING YOU ATE?
Grits and turkey sausage for breakfast this morning.
21. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW?
Buckwheat Zydeco Radio on Pandora. Didn’t see that one coming, did you?
22. IF YOU WERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE?
Burnt Orange. Or Indigo.
23. FAVORITE SMELLS?
Bacon, bacon, bacon!
24. HOW IMPORTANT ARE YOUR POLITICAL VIEWS TO YOU?
Important enough that I care deeply, not important enough to hurt someone over… figuratively or literally.
25. MOUNTAIN HIDEAWAY OR BEACH HOUSE?
Both please.
26. FAVORITE SPORTS TO WATCH?
Baseball on a summer day or night. Horse racing on a spring day or night. Both offer long periods of inaction punctuated by amazing moments of thrillage. I read something like that somewhere.
27. HAIR COLOR?
Brown.
28. EYE COLOR?
Blue.
29. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS?
Nope. Glasses. When I can find them.
30. FAVORITE FOOD?
Steak please.
31. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS?
Happy endings.
32. LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED?
Men in Black 3. First straight-to-video movie I’ve ever watched. Same story… different characters.
33. WHAT COLOR SHIRT ARE YOU WEARING?
Your average plain white dress shirt. With a sensible green tie. Sounds worse than it is.
34. SUMMER OR WINTER?
Unquestionably summer.
35. FAVORITE DESSERT?
Key Lime Pie. Or Cherry Pie. Or just Pie. Or Baklava.
36. STRENGTH TRAINING OR CARDIO?
Cardio, with just enough strength training now and then to keep me honest.
37. COMPUTER OR TELEVISION?
Slowly but surely moving from the television side over to computer.
38. WHAT BOOK ARE YOU READING NOW?
One Shot at Forever: A Small Town, an Unlikely Coach, and a Magical Baseball Season by Chris Ballard. I need a “no-thinking” book now and then.
39. WHAT IS ON YOUR MOUSE PAD?
That question is so 90’s. I don’t need no stinkin’ mouse pad.
40. FAVORITE SOUND?
Anything involving a baseball.
41. FAVORITE GENRE OF MUSIC?
I love all music. When it’s played by actual instruments. And not lip-synched.
42. WHAT IS THE FARTHEST YOU HAVE BEEN FROM HOME?
Kilkenny, Ireland, 2004. Such wonderful, friendly people.
43. DO YOU HAVE A SPECIAL TALENT?
Ahem… Yes. Yes I do.
44. WHERE WERE YOU BORN?
Cincinnati, Ohio USA on April 9, 1962. Reds Opening Day, and my father had to give up his ticket. They lost anyway, Dad.
45. WHERE ARE YOU LIVING NOW?
Baltimore, Maryland USA since September, 1994.
46. WHAT COLOR IS YOUR HOUSE?
Just your average brick Cape Cod.
47. WHAT COLOR IS YOUR CAR?
I have a bright red truck.
48. DO YOU LIKE ANSWERING 48 QUESTIONS?
These 48 questions are fun. I’m not sure I’d like 48 questions about my job.
Thanks Cherise. And Happy Belated Birthday! It’s been a good exercise to help clear my mind. Now I can start working on where I left that #@**%!! meter this time.
Athletes With Diabetes: Want a medal like this? Click to find out how to get yours!
 | Bebygirl on My week with Celiac… Day… |
 | Patricia Harper on Review: The Accu-Chek Gui… |
 | Gráinne on The Long Goodbye |
 | kelly2k on The Long Goodbye |
 | Karen on The Long Goodbye |
Diabetes Blog - Happy-Medium.net 