Wednesday, March 20, 2013

Dear Diabetes


Dear Juvenile On-set Diabetes (aka Type I),

We've lived together for 20+ years. I've hated every single second of it, roughly, but since I can't get rid of you - despite my best efforts with that pancreas transplant in '05 - I'm doing my very best to take care of you. I'm checking my blood sugars 3-4 times a day (at least), watching my carbs & programming the amount I do eat into my insulin pump then having the proper amount of insulin, and giving myself a bolus when my sugar is higher than it should be. I'm doing everything I should and am supposed to do to take good care of you.

So WHY are you being so petulant??

I know it isn't entirely your fault. My transplant meds have the tendency to make you fluctuate for no apparent reason and that is something that is beyond either your or my control. I also know that neither of us asked to be in this position. I was genetically predisposed to inherit you from my British side, but that doesn't mean we need to be so hard on each other.

Perhaps you're still angry at me for ignoring you all those years when I was young. You were so uncool and weird in middle school I felt like I couldn't help it. It was incredibly stupid of me and I take full responsibility for it. And you got your revenge on my retinas, and I know you're generally not too nice to kidneys either.

I was stupid when I was young, as most people are. But I get it now. I've been trying to do right by you for many years. I got you that shiny new insulin pump, and even if I hate it and it greatly limits the type of bras I can buy, it's for your benefit. I've got to keep my seeing eye seeing, since it's seeing really well right now, my shiny new kidney - that one was for me, not you - needs to stay shiny and new, and I also need to keep my feet in the tip-top (tip-toe(p)?) shape they've been enjoying. So please, work with a kid.

Just because our last HGA1C was 6.2 does not give you an excuse to act unruly. (audible sigh) Maybe my blood is just sweeter than other peoples'.

xoxo

-Sarah  

2 comments:

  1. Ah. Didn't know you had diabetes. Hang in there.

    ReplyDelete
  2. When I was little, I would get jealous of your diabetes because you got to get out of church if your blood sugar was low and you got those really good sugar-free fudge pops at Grandma's house (the ones that she would save for only you and Uncle Dave). And everyone was always really concerned about your well-being above everyone else-- like that time we both slept in a room and there was only one bed and everyone wanted you to have it because you have diabetes and so I slept on the floor (in your defense, I probably offered to sleep on the floor because I really enjoyed doing that when I was a kid).

    Kids are weird... and dumb. :)

    ReplyDelete