Saturday, November 18, 2006

Diabetic Society

I walk down the hall, and alas, I see a clip on someone's pocket, and the familiar tubing sneaking up under her shirt. Another pumper. We stop, and talk. I've never met her before, but we chat for almost an hour. And not just about diabetes, either. We had something in common, and clicked.

Every time I meet someone with diabetes, it's like "insta-friend." Here at the OC we come from all different walks of life, all different ages, races, sexual orientations, geographic location, professions, etc. We're different. Yet, we all get along. Because that common bond unites us.

I just finished reading my third book about diabetes I have read this year. Every month, magazines from 2 different publishers reach my mailbox, both about diabetes. Any drug store has rows of product devoted to us. And there are now FIVE companies that sell pumps in the US. You can do a google image search for "diabetes" and find pictures about us. We have our own websites. We have our own camps. Some profit-savvy food manufacturers have even attempted lines of food devoted to us. We have our own language (bolus, basal, carb ratio, ISF, bg- these are not words most people use everyday).

Compliments of Wikipedia, the definition of society:

"A society is a group of human beings distinguishable from other groups by mutual interests, characteristic relationships, shared institutions and a common culture."

When I traveled across the globe, I met another American. He was from a different part of the US than I, and also older. But we talked. Because we were part of the same society.

And that's how it was when I met another pumper. And how it is at the OC. We are a society within a society, a culture unto ourselves.

Friday, November 17, 2006

Just When I Felt Like I Needed Something to Post

Another MeMe comes and saves the day:

Three Things I Do Every Day:Eat, Check e-mail (ok, everyday when I'm home), test my blood sugar (I know, how original, like, everyone posted this one, but it's true).


Three Things I Wish I Could Do Every Day:
Get 8+ hours of sleep, get all the homework I need to get done done, do something fun.

Three Hopes I Have for Today:
That the tacos for dinner turn out well, that I get to talk to someone I have been wanting to talk to for awhile, that my site that's rather sore makes it through one more day.

Three Things I Hear:
Computer fan (and keys clicking), dog barking somewhere done the street, a car passing by

Three Ways I Have Changed my Life:
Went on a pump, went to college, became a Christian

Three People I Wish I Could See Again:
my friend Jess (she's still around, just moved far away), my grandpa, my counselor from camp from years ago

Three Items I Wish I Owned:
an ipod, a snowboard, a smaller laptop

Three Wishes I Had When I Was Young:
to go to outer space, to be royalty, to be a doctor

Three Fears I Have:
Getting in a car (or any other vehicle for that matter) accident, losing health insurance, a bad low or a bad asthma attack

Three Things on My Desk:
Clock, pens, glucose meter

Three Thoughts in My Mind:
I'm hungry and thirsty, I have yet another paper due this week, I'm sick of the rain

Thursday, November 09, 2006

The OC Makes Me All Warm and Fuzzy Inside

Reading all these posts today has had my laughing, crying, and just smiling at the unity we all share. It leaves me feeling encouraged, and not alone. Bravo everyone.

Wednesday, November 08, 2006

Diabetes Blog Day

I'm getting a jump on this now, because I know later today I won't have the time nor memory to post, yet I very much want to be a part of this day.

It's hard for me to know what to post. I don't know what I am suppose to post. It's hard for me to say what diabetes means to me, because even though it is a condition I live with daily, it's not a static emotional state. I feel differently about diabetes everyday. Sometimes I feel like I hate it, and just want it gone. Other times I feel like it's so much ingrained in me I wouldn't exist without it. And sometimes I just feel like any other person.

When I think about what diabetes means to me, all the emotions that flooded me at diagnosis storm back to haunt me. Because really, I go through mini versions of these emotions daily.

I felt scared then. Scared for my future. Scared for what would come of me. Scared at all the information I had to learn. I feel scared daily when I go low, or realize I low will come due to a blood sugar of 80 and 4 units on board. I still feel scared for my future sometimes too.

I was mad then. And I feel anger at some point daily, though usually only momentarily.

I felt dread over the first injections and finger pokes, and still dread site changes, though less with each site change.

And yet I also felt excited at the opportunity to get better.

Diabetes hasn't been the end of my world. But I still get teary eyes and emotional when I see this, or read this, or this.

Diabetes is a day to day effort, and each day is a new day. And I continue to hope for all people with diabetes that some day will be a new day without insulin and finger pokes or the fear or reality of complications.

Tuesday, November 07, 2006

Cell Phone Case Pics


Empty case




Note the nice, smooth, slim, non-pokey clip. And it rotates 360 degrees.


It's a little snug with the cozmonitor, perfect without.


Magnetic closure thingy.


And still pretty slim.

I've become convinced medical companies should hire non-medical companies to design stuff for wearing medical things.

Monday, November 06, 2006

Apparently I've Been Tagged

So Ms. Noncompliant Diabetic Allison tagged me. So now I have to share 5 random facts.

1. I bought a cell phone case to fit my pump plus cozmonitor toady. I finally have a case I am satisfied with that holds the Cozmo with the Cozmonitor attached. And is non-pokey. And it was on sale for $4.99. I'm happy.

2. I stink at killing time. I can spend hours on a computer at home, but if I am in the school computer lab trying to kill time, I can't do it. I have to go drive around for kicks or something. And it wastes gas. And probably kills trees too. Or something like that.

3. I have two printers that I use on this computer. They are both all in one machines. One is a Dell brand, one a Lexmark. Each one will work for about 6 months to a year, then die. Then we use the other one. That works for awhile, then dies. And then the other one starts working. We have done this cycle something like three times. My dad says they need "paid vacation." Apparently the National Printer Union (NPU) was on holiday when that contract was signed.

4. I didn't sign up for November post a day month because I could never think of something profound, meaningful, or even silly or nonsensical to write everyday for thirty days. And because I didn't find out about it till yesterday, and by then it was too late. Mostly because I didn't find out till yesterday.

5. I love music. I have played 5 instruments at various points in my life. I also love listening to music. When I listen to music, I pick one song, listen to it ad nauseum, then pick a new favorite song, and can't stand my previous favorite song for awhile. Then when I hear a past favorite song on the radio sometime in the distant future, it brings back memories.

Bonus!
6. I had to try spelling distant 6 times in my previous point before I got it right. Yay Firefox 2.0's spell checker.

I have no clue who was tagged and who wasn't. Please post if you haven't been tagged yet! I don't be offended I didn't point you out personally, because it was merely due to the inability of my small brain to comprehend the mushroom effect of these tag games.