MARCH 13, 2013
"This is some serious jet lag" I thought as I sat, utterly exhausted, in my kitchen floor drinking a 2 liter of Diet Sprite straight from the bottle. I'd been home from Israel for 2 weeks, but the "jet lag" seemed to be getting worse, not better. Sometimes I was too tired to do ANYTHING after work. I would come home at 5pm and go straight to bed. And the THIRST was rediculous. I would drink an entire gallon of milk or a 2 liter Diet Sprite in one sitting. Then I had to tinkle...like, a LOT. The weight loss I attributed to the tinkling, because I probably walked 3 miles a day just on trips to the bathroom. The tinkling I attributed to the constant thirst, because I was drinking liquids all day and night.
With a trip to Germany coming up in just 3 days, I figured I should go see my doctor to make sure I wasn't coming down with the flu or something. I had a fear I'd get to Germany and get sick and end up in a hospital being treated by a 400 pound nurse named Olga.
After some blood work my doctor, Dr. Mayfield, came in and said the scariest word I'd ever heard, "Diabetes." The only diabetics I had ever known were my grandparents, who were both out of shape, overweight, unhealthy, and OLD Type 2 diabetics. I couldn't be diabetic! I was too young, too thin, too healthy!
As it turned out, not only was I Diabetic, but I was currently in Diabetic Ketoacidosis (DKA). Diabetic Ketoacidosis is just a fancy name for a diabetic whose body has no insulin (in my case because I didn't know I was diabetic) and so the body has started to burn fat instead of using glucose and insulin. Upside? I'd lost 16 pounds! Downside? If not treated really quickly, it kills you. Total bummer.
(Special shout out to Sarah Hurst and Dr. Stephanie Glenn...whose Match Day I attended while in DKA! True friendship.)
I got rushed to the ER to treat my DKA and, much to the chagrin of the ER doctors, I had several full-fledged, snot-slinging, sobbing to Jesus, panic attack-meltdowns. There they were trying to save my life, and there I was trying to convince them that I couldn't possibly have Type 1 Diabetes.
My mom stood in the hallway off and on the phone with my dad, trying not to let me see her cry. So my Aunt Janet held my hand in the ER as I lay sobbing. Over and over she repeated, "You CAN do this. This seems like the end of the world now, but this is just a speed bump. It is just a speed bump." I didn't believe her. I knew my life was over.
March 13, 2014
Fast forward one year. I am admitting it here folks, I WAS WRONG. As I was told that night in the ER, Diabetes did turn out to be just a "speed bump" on the road of life. After a brief adjustment period, having "The Beetus" became just another small part of my daily routine. I take a shower, I brush my teeth, I take some insulin. Bam, life moves on! In fact, the rest of 2013 turned out to be pretty great! I got my dream job working with kiddos. As it turned out, there are several kids in our children's ministry with Type 1 Diabetes. You know God is at work when you meet a first-time parent who is nervous about leaving their child with someone else because he or she is a T1D and there I am, bursting with knowledge and experience with The Beetus!
Most people would be like, "Uh, okay. Diabetic? What should we do for that?"
Whereas I'm like, "Oh! A T1? Me too! MDI's (multiple daily injections) or a pump? What kind of meter do you use? I've got glucose tabs in case you start to feel a little low. Now let's go play!"
It's such a joy to use The Beetus for something like making a kid feel less alone, or making a mom and dad feel relaxed leaving their child in my care.
So if you get diagnosed with Diabetes, or you know someone who does, allow me to share some wisdom and insight about Diabetes I have learned over the past year:
1. The worst day you'll have is Diagnosis Day. But I promise, it gets progressively better the further you get from the shock and trauma of "D Day."
2. You're life is NOT over. I know, I know, but it really isn't.
3. Get a Dexcom. Not having to poke my finger all day long to test my blood sugar makes having The Beetus a lot less annoying. Plus, your Dexcom will tell you if you get too high or too low BEFORE there is an actual issue, so you can fix it, and move on!
4. Taking shots is NOT as horrible as it sounds. The first few weeks I was timid and nervous about every shot. It would take me 5 minutes just to mentally prepare myself. Now I shoot up while driving, while applying chapstick, while in rush-hour traffic. It ain't no thang! Plus, the insulin comes in pens you just dial up, and the needles are TEENY.
Getting used to poking yourself is the worst part. Probably because God built people with a natural aversion to stabbing themselves...which was a really good call on his part. So it takes a few weeks before it feels "natural." You can do it! It gets easier and easier.
5. When you first get diagnosed the learning curve is STEEP. You'll get there. You will be a pro before you know it.
6. People are dumb. Non-Diabetics will try to offer "helpful" advice that will really just tick you off because, well, stupidity makes you mad. It's okay, love them anyway. They really are trying to help.
7. Most days your blood sugar will be very well behaved. But sometimes, it will be nuts for no reason! Know that these days are rare, and that they aren't your fault.
8. Don't listen to people who say stupid things like, "Oh Diabetes. You're gonna like, go blind and have to have your legs amputated right!?" Um, no. The people those horror stories are based on are people who don't take care of themselves or people who got Diabetes in the 1940's, 50's, and 60's when Diabetics had to boil and file their own needles before every shot, and they had no way to check their blood sugar, they just had to check for keytones in their tinkle and GUESS how high they were and how much insulin they needed. Want proof of progress?
Here is the first insulin pump. It was invented in 1978:
And here is what an insulin pump looks like now:
(Hint, it's that tiny white thing on his arm)
The long-term complications of well controlled Diabetes is...drumroll please...NOTHING.
9. While Diabetes stinks, it does have it's advantages.
You have an excuse to eat candy (when you're low of course!).
You're allowed to take snacks places where no one else can take food (Movie theaters, planes, school, you name it!).
They make all things Diabetes-related SUPER CUTE now! All my Beetus gear is pink...and sparkly.
10. Diabetes will never stop you from doing anything you want to do. I swim, I take Zumba, I spend hours at Altitude Trampoline Park with my friends, I play with kids all day, I eat birthday cake, and Diabetes never slows me down. Just a few weeks ago I watched Cross Country Skier, Kris Freeman, compete in four different events at the Sochi Olympics. All while rocking his insulin pump.
In summary, what I thought was the end of the world was just a really bad day. In future years when I talk about 2013, what I'll remember most is all of the good stuff. My life is great!...Beetus and all.
