It's Hot and I'm Ornery

This post may offend you. To be honest, it offends me. I have an incurable, fatal disease. It is called diabetes. No I don't have cancer. I know that cancerhas affected lots of people that I know. They have lost loved ones. Sisters, brothers, friends. I have felt their grief. But my disease is just as deadly, just as painful, just as slow. My body is being shut down, piece by piece, organ by organ, limb by limb. Yet I have heard my disease called the "fat people's" disease. That offends me. I became diabetic during the first week of April of 1986. I dislocated my left knee in spring football practice. My life changed when I hit the ground. It hasn't been the same since that moment. I have been slowly dying. I went 1 year before being diagnosed. They found out after I went blind. Since that time I have had 12 surgeries, spent months in the hospital at different times and have lost both legs. But I am not looking for sympathy or pity. I would just like people to take diabetes seriously. It is one of the top killers of people every year, yet it is not the current 'cause" disease. Diabetes has many causes, and some times it is inherited. Mine was. I have relatives on both sides of my family who were diabetic. It skips generations. My grandkids will have to be checked, but hopefully, by then they will be close to or have a cure for it., but for now there isn't any.  I fight it every day. I am lucky enough to have an insulin pump whick gives me insulin every hour/24 hours a day. When I eat I enter the amount of carbs that I eat, and it gives me a boost to cover it. I love it, because it means no shots. Usually I had to take 3 shots/day.Blood sugars are taken before every meal and at bedtime. The meter tells my pump the result and it adjusts accordingly. All of that side of it is going well, but my kidneys are running at 50%, and I will never get my legs back. So the next time you hear someone make a snide comment about diabetes, set them straight. Just look around and see how many people have been affected by cancer, then think about the even larger amount that are affected by diabetes. Then get yourself checked. Do it for me, better yet, do it for yourself.