My Diaversary!

Diabetics call the anniversary of their diagnosis date their "Diaversary". For me, I don't count my original diagnosis date, summer of 1999 when I was told I was Type 2, as my Diaversary. Rather, mine is when I was almost a month away from my 36th birthday, woke up in the ICU at Lehigh Valley Hospital-Muhlenberg, found out I was actually Type 1, not Type 2, and would be on insulin for the rest of my life, and had to make a serious decision to start taking care of myself in order to live. Sunday, Jan 20th, 2008, I was taken by ambulance to the ER, suffering from diabetic ketoacidosis and the complications that went along with uncontrolled diabetes. Admittedly, I had not been taking care of myself for about eight years prior to that date. But either way I was going to get sick at some point. I was not aware that I was actually Type 1, not Type 2 as I had been diagnosed in 1999. Anyway, after four days in ICU, I was transferred to the fifth floor -- "5T". I was so lucky to get great care and meet wonderful people at Muhlenberg Hospital. Now, 13 years later, I am fortunate to work for the same health network that SAVED MY LIFE. I have so much support from my dad, Mike and his family, friends and colleagues in fighting the good fight every day. I have kept my diabetes pretty much under control and feel darn good despite my left foot deformity (a result of four surgeries for a diabetic wound, also in 2008 when things were bad) and the problems with my vision (which is currently stable, luckily). Diabetes is a daily part of my life, but I try to handle it as best as I can and live a "normal" life. THANK YOU TO ALL FOR YOUR SUPPORT -- I LOVE YOU!!!

 

Endocrinologists

So, getting back to the beginning of my Type 1 diabetes journey in 2008 . . . one of the first things I had to do was schedule follow-up appointments. I had seen two endocrinologists in the hospital. My initial follow-up appointment had to be rescheduled, so I saw Dr. Ya-Yu Lee. He was not the original doctor I was scheduled with, but it ended up being one of the best things that happened. Dr. Lee was kind, understanding, and encouraging. He made me feel reassured that I could turn my health around. Yes, I would have to take responsibility and do work. But I knew Dr. Lee would support me and guide me as long as I did my part. Fast forward to present day -- not to "toot my own horn", but I am now one of Dr. Lee's "favorite" patients. I also see nurse practitioner Kathleen Post. They are both awesome, we have a great relationship, and we are a true TEAM in my diabetes management. I have an insulin pump/continuous glucose monitor combo, which allows me a lot of freedom to self-manage. However, there are definitely times when I have to be brought back to Earth and remember that I really do need my endos to oversee everything and sometimes "tweak" things.

WRITING

I am a writer. I am a writer. I am a writer. 

I. AM. A. WRITER 

I keep telling myself that. I tell other people. I was a journalist major. I basically wrote my high school newspaper's entire sports section, and pretty much did the same thing in college, though I did have some help from my friend Bill. My original career goal was to be a sports writer, but instead I ended up going into the college sports information profession. It was a good career while it lasted, and I did get to use my writing skills a lot.

A few years ago I decided to start a blog. Originally it was going to be mostly about my journey navigating the path of adult Tyoe 1 diabetes since 2008. I wrote a couple entries. And that was it. A couple years ago my counselor at the time encouraged me to start writing again. Not necessarily about the diabetes if I wasn't feeling it, but about ANYTHING. So I wrote about our cat. That was fun!

I actually do know what my problem is and why I don't write more and post blog entries more.  I am a perfectionist.  Very hard on myself, especially when it comes to my writing.  I am overwhelmed by spelling, grammar, punctuation -- that's the Journalism major in me.  Also, I always think that I need to write things in a certain way so that they are "in order" and "make sense".

But Hell, it's MY blog, right? Who am I trying to prove something to? I can do what I want with it. If I want to write an entry all in one paragraph or jump around to random topics in one entry, that's my right. If people want to read it, awesome. If not, that is fine. It's MY blog. It's for ME to write what's important to me.

Lately I have made quite a few friends through a Facebook group of fans of my favorite band, Breaking Benjamin. This band's music is wonderful, amazing, powerful, inspiring. And, it turns out, the friends I have made in the group -- though we have never met and may never meet in person -- are some of the best people I know. Many of them are creative souls like me -- musicians, writers, artists. They are inspiring me to use my talent and do what makes me happy. In turn, I am trying to encourage them to do the same.

I have added a few blog entries lately. A couple were actually just copied and pasted from some things I posted on Facebook. My most recent post, about mental and emotional health and counseling, was written specifically for the blog. This post you are reading is a combination of a message I recently sent to a friend and fellow writer explaining why I don't write more, and original thoughts I have added to that.

THANK YOU to anyone who takes the time to read this! I really appreciated it. XOXOXO