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You can call me Ash. I have been diabetic for 2 years, 7 months, and 3 days (as of this moment). I have been on an insulin pump for almost years now. Wow I cannot believe it has been that long. Life with diabetes is rough. I am not going to sugar coat it. It is a physical and emotional roller coaster, but it is manageable and that is what is most important. There are SO many worse diseases out there that I could have, so in a way I am grateful for my diabetes. Truly, it has made me the person I am today. Being diagnosed 24 days before my SWEET sixteen (ironic that I was full of SUGAR at this time; a reading of 717 blood glucose) sucked. I panicked, thinking I wouldn't even be able to have a piece of cake on my 16th birthday. I was hospitalized (in intensive care) for about three days. For those of you who do not know what type 1 diabetes is or anything about it...I will do my best to explain the gist of things.
Type 1 Diabetes (also known as Juvenile diabetes; hence my choice of blog name) is a chronic illness that comes about when the beta cells of your pancreas are killed. This can happen during an infection (such as bronchitis, as mine was), in which your body fights so hard against the intruders that it attacks (accidentally I am guessing) your own beta cells. If you do not remember anything else from this blog, remember this. I CAN HAVE A PIECE OF FREAKIN' CAKE! And if you tell me I can't...well I would like to see you try and stop me. The most annoying (and most common misconception) is when people think I can't eat because of my illness. Well, I can eat...just not the portion sizes that most of America would prefer. Anyways, living with type 1 diabetes is a life of control, management, hard work and effort, and realistically never getting it completely right or under control. I will post another blog at some point further describing the perils of juvenile diabetes, but for now...back to the main point. My life with the disease.
Okay, so over the past (nearly) three years I have had ups and downs. I have gone through everything from my "honeymoon stage" (something I will describe in a later blog as well) to barely taking care of myself. I have come a long way throughout this process and I would say I am pretty proud of myself, as would my family and friends. Taking care of my diabetes is hard and constant work and it can get very tiring. This is where the most important part of diabetic care comes in...your support system. To effectively live with diabetes you must have the support of family and friends who love you and want to help. I have an amazing support system filled with peoples who do everything from hold me when my sugar is low to walking in the annual Walk to Cure Diabetes with my fundraising team...TEAM ASHLEY (another blog topic).
First, there are my parents. They are there with kind words, suggestions, and a hug now and then, but honestly...they haven't done much in my diabetic care physically. From day one I have taken care of myself and I did this by starting to give myself my own shots when I was in the hospital. They are always there if I need something and are on top of things when it comes to getting supplies and reminding me of things though, so thank you both for that.
Second, there are my friends. A few shout outs to some special people who have greatly affected my diabetes care. Jessica Balcerzak...wow, I have never seen someone jump so quickly at the opportunity to stab their best friend with a needle. You thoroughly enjoyed giving me my shots, and it was a nice break when I didn't feel like doing it anymore. You have been a big help from day one when you visited in the hospital (even if you did eat my emergency food in Chemistry). Katie Johnson...I have never been jumped on so quickly. As you walked in the hospital room, you pounced on top of me in the hospital bed, began crying, and screaming I THOUGHT YOU WERE DEAD! You always knew how to make me smile (especially with your diabetic friendly goodie bag). Harley Rohrbacher...you are the most recent friend to join the diabetic care team. Best roommate ever right here. You have done so much for me...from turning in papers for me when I can't seem to make it to class due to high sugars to checking on me before you go to bed to make sure I'm not passed out in a coma or something. Thank you very much. There are wayyyyy too many friends to name that have helped me out in some way, but thank you to everyone no matter how big or small your act of kindness may have been.
Lastly, I would like to mention my wonderful boyfriend, Andrew Boes. You, my love, are a lifesaver. You have been the greatest help of all. When I am feeling down because my pump site gets in the way of your hug, or it just won't seem to quit hurting...you remind me of how much you love me, diabetes included. When I am tired of having to constantly take care of myself, but have to change my site or insulin, you are there (more than willing I might add) to do it for me. When I feel like something is wrong with my sugar, but feel too lazy to get up and do it, you make me and won't let me lie back down until you hear the number come out of my mouth and make sure I treat the reading how it needs to be treated. You motivate me to be better and take care of myself the best I can. I cannot even explain how much you mean to me or how much you have done for me since day one. For those of you who do not know our story (I will give you the shortened version and maybe you will be lucky enough to get the full version in another blog), Andrew and I have been best friends for like seven years. We always attempted to date but someone *cough cough* would always end it. Anyways, here we are many years later, together and in love. (Ps. Andrew I am never letting you go this time...so don't even try). We have only been dating for 5 months (as of tomorrow), but it feels like a lifetime and we have a lifetime ahead of us.
Well, this blog is getting lengthy so I am going to end it there. That is my diabetic life in a nutshell. There are MANY more things I could write about, but I am going to do so in separate blogs on other days. Please comment and subscribe! Oh and take the three polls that are at the bottom of my homepage. http://iamjuvenated.blogspot.com/ just in case you can't get back to that page or don't know which one I was talking about. Spread the word about my blog also! :)
Goodnight all.
-Ash <3
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