Hey sweet thangs...
Last September, I wrote the below entry, but never posted it. It was written after someone I care about was diagnosed with type II diabetes and (at the time)I was unsure how he would take the entry. Yesterday, I found out that someone else quite dear to me just received the same diagnosis, so I figured that it was high time to dig this out to be posted.
Please feel free to link. I don’t mind at all.
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(Originally written 9/20/07)
Call this a public service message...call it me being a nag...call it whatever you want, but I just hope you all hear me out.
As pretty much everyone who knows me knows, I’m a type II diabetic. As a result of my diagnosis a few months ago, I’ve suddenly had to pay a lot more attention to my health. A LOT more attention. No more Pop-Tart and venti almond mocha breakfasts. Since I’m paying a lot more attention to my own health, I have to admit that I’ve noticed the health of those around me. Like an ex-smoker or an addict in recovery, I’ve become the tiniest bit of a pain in the ass about my lifestyle change *laughs*. If I’ve watched you suck down a two liter of Mountain Dew in one sitting ("sitting" may be stretching it, because you’ve also gotten up to pee 4 times in the same span)...I’m probably going to mention that something might be a tad awry.
Getting this diagnosis sucks. What sucks more is that I know that I should have paid attention to the signs that my sugar was out of control. At the time, denial was a lot easier, though. I’m glad that I eventually mustered up the courage to get this checked out and that I’m now being very diligent about managing my disease, but the fact remains that I have years of damage that will never be erased. I should have known better. After all, I have enough diabetics in my life (flavors I and II) that the subject was not foreign to me. It took a lot to get me to hear what my body was telling me. This is why I’m going to keep talking about my disease to anyone who will listen. I talk about it to friends, family, and coworkers and obviously, I blog about it. Maybe this will get heard by someone who needs to hear it.
This brings me to the point of my post: In the last few months, I’ve had several conversations with people who have suspected/feared that they might be diabetic. As a result, a couple of folks have followed through and gotten checked out, so now they have a better idea of what they’re dealing with. I’m not vain enough to think that I have all of the answers, but I am bold enough to urge you to ask questions of someone much more knowledgeable than I. I’m asking that anyone reading this please take a few minutes to read the following link:
http://www.diabetes.org/diabetes-symptoms.jsp
Do these signs sound familiar? If so, please...get checked. If you see these signs in people you care about, tell them to get tested. Testing is a simple blood draw and nothing to fear. What IS to fear are the ravages of uncontrolled blood sugar. Ignoring the disease does not make it go away. Eventually, what DOES go away is your vision...your mobility (Personally, I rather like having feet)...and in time, your life.
Almost a year ago, my friend C passed away. What I didn’t say at his memorials, I’m going to share now, because I think that it’s important that some manner of legacy continues. The last time I saw him was in July of 2006 and we were at another friend’s wake. We sat off in a corner on the pub and I shared with him my deep concerns over another friend’s health. Both men were diabetic and quite frankly, the disease had really taken a toll on C. Because he was a decade older than my other friend, the damage was more evident, but there was no denying that the second man was well on the same path. In the course of our conversation, C made a sincere offer to have a very frank discussion with the other man on my behalf. I was incredibly grateful...but unfortunately, this was not to be. C passed away before delivering the intervention. Since then, since I was the only witness to the message, I’ve been caregiver for his words (And yes...even after having heard them spoken...I believed that they did not apply to me, so I went untested for months). Right now...I just don’t want C’s message to have died with him.
Please feel free to link. I don’t mind at all.
--------------------------------------------------------------
(Originally written 9/20/07)
Call this a public service message...call it me being a nag...call it whatever you want, but I just hope you all hear me out.
As pretty much everyone who knows me knows, I’m a type II diabetic. As a result of my diagnosis a few months ago, I’ve suddenly had to pay a lot more attention to my health. A LOT more attention. No more Pop-Tart and venti almond mocha breakfasts. Since I’m paying a lot more attention to my own health, I have to admit that I’ve noticed the health of those around me. Like an ex-smoker or an addict in recovery, I’ve become the tiniest bit of a pain in the ass about my lifestyle change *laughs*. If I’ve watched you suck down a two liter of Mountain Dew in one sitting ("sitting" may be stretching it, because you’ve also gotten up to pee 4 times in the same span)...I’m probably going to mention that something might be a tad awry.
Getting this diagnosis sucks. What sucks more is that I know that I should have paid attention to the signs that my sugar was out of control. At the time, denial was a lot easier, though. I’m glad that I eventually mustered up the courage to get this checked out and that I’m now being very diligent about managing my disease, but the fact remains that I have years of damage that will never be erased. I should have known better. After all, I have enough diabetics in my life (flavors I and II) that the subject was not foreign to me. It took a lot to get me to hear what my body was telling me. This is why I’m going to keep talking about my disease to anyone who will listen. I talk about it to friends, family, and coworkers and obviously, I blog about it. Maybe this will get heard by someone who needs to hear it.
This brings me to the point of my post: In the last few months, I’ve had several conversations with people who have suspected/feared that they might be diabetic. As a result, a couple of folks have followed through and gotten checked out, so now they have a better idea of what they’re dealing with. I’m not vain enough to think that I have all of the answers, but I am bold enough to urge you to ask questions of someone much more knowledgeable than I. I’m asking that anyone reading this please take a few minutes to read the following link:
http://www.diabetes.org/diabetes-symptoms.jsp
Do these signs sound familiar? If so, please...get checked. If you see these signs in people you care about, tell them to get tested. Testing is a simple blood draw and nothing to fear. What IS to fear are the ravages of uncontrolled blood sugar. Ignoring the disease does not make it go away. Eventually, what DOES go away is your vision...your mobility (Personally, I rather like having feet)...and in time, your life.
Almost a year ago, my friend C passed away. What I didn’t say at his memorials, I’m going to share now, because I think that it’s important that some manner of legacy continues. The last time I saw him was in July of 2006 and we were at another friend’s wake. We sat off in a corner on the pub and I shared with him my deep concerns over another friend’s health. Both men were diabetic and quite frankly, the disease had really taken a toll on C. Because he was a decade older than my other friend, the damage was more evident, but there was no denying that the second man was well on the same path. In the course of our conversation, C made a sincere offer to have a very frank discussion with the other man on my behalf. I was incredibly grateful...but unfortunately, this was not to be. C passed away before delivering the intervention. Since then, since I was the only witness to the message, I’ve been caregiver for his words (And yes...even after having heard them spoken...I believed that they did not apply to me, so I went untested for months). Right now...I just don’t want C’s message to have died with him.