Stand Strong Together, Never Give Up

I haven't blogged in a while, but I figured I am not busy now so I should write a new post. First a quick update on what is going on in my life. As said in the last post, I have to have surgery. I was off of work for two weeks already due to my injury. One week was for recovery and the second week was for vacation. I spent the week at my campground spending time with family and my boyfriend. We took a day trip to Cleveland to visit the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in which Andrew pushed me in a wheelchair through the whole museum. Haha. I started my online summer classes this morning and today was my first day back to work after the injury.

Now for the real reason for my post. I have been doing a lot of thinking lately. Mostly about my life and my relationship with Andrew. I have had some jerk ex-boyfriends and have been through my fair share of drama, but I have finally found someone who treats me as I deserve to be treated and would do anything for me. Yes, we have our fights and our arguments just as any couple would, but we always make up. It seems like we cannot go an hour being mad at each other before one of us apologizes and initiates the talking things out. Our motto is "Never go to bed angry with each other". This has proven effective because then neither one of us has a sleepless night wondering what the other is thinking or wondering if the other is extremely upset with the other.

The moral of my post (and what has come out of my thinking) is that no matter what happens between Andrew and I, I plan to work it out as long as he wants to work it out, too. There is a short list of things that would make me leave him without even trying to make things work. We have had a few small rough patches in our relationship, and we have had many rough patches in our 8 years of friendship, but we always managed to get through them and go right back to normal. And the reason for this is because we did it TOGETHER. Anything is possible if you stand by the one you love. Stay strong together as one and don't separate in a time of turmoil. If you are truly in love with someone, no matter how upset that person makes you...you should still turn to them for comfort. Want to know who I go to when Andrew makes me mad or sad? Andrew. No matter how mad I get at him, he is always the one I go to when I need to talk or need a hug. It has always been that way. He has been my best friend for going on 8 years now and he still remains my best friend.

Well, now that I have gotten all emotional I am going to end this with one of my favorite phrases and tear-filled eyes. Forever My Superman babe. I love you.

Ash

Surgical Surprise

So, as said in my last post, I injured my knee. After visiting the orthopedic surgeon this past Friday, I found out that I will need surgery on my knee! :( The surgery will be July 18, early in the morning. They are going to sever the ligaments on the outside of my knee and tighten the ones in the inside to prevent my kneecap from dislocating again. They are also realigning my shinbone by moving my patellar tendon into the right spot and holding my bone in place with screws. I am super scared, but not even really for the surgery part. The part that freaks me out the most is that it will be the first time in the 3 years I have had diabetes that I will not be in control of my diabetes and blood sugar. I have to rely on the doctors to take good care of my sugar while under the anesthesia. The thought of that freaks me out like no other.

But as always Andrew has made me feel more confident. He has promised to be there before I go into surgery, waiting in the waiting room while it is going on, be there next to me as soon as I wake up, and be there all day after I go home with me. God love good boyfriends! :)  Anyways, if anyone out there has any advice or success stories about surgery and diabetes I would love for you to share!

Ash

Teeter-Totter Fallout

So, as some of you may know, last Saturday the 11th I was at my campground and I fell off of a teeter totter and injured my knee. I popped my knee cap out. My boyfriend carried me to my camper and fell himself in a hole in our deck! BUT he didn't even drop me or let my leg hit the ground or camper. That's a night in shining armor. He is okay, just a few scrapes that he says doesn't hurt. I spent a few hours in the hospital and they told me nothing was broken or fractured, but I cannot find out if anything is torn until I get an MRI. I have an appointment with my orthopedic surgeon on Friday, so we will see. I am in a big brace and on crutches as of right now. I am off work, too. All I can do is sit around. My lovely boyfriend has done his best to keep my company :) Thank God for him. Well, I am off to finish watching my movie. I will probably be writing a lot during the next couple weeks.

Ash

TEACH Me To Inform

As some of you know I want to be a teacher. I am currently in school studying Early Childhood Education. My goal is to teach second grade. Something I have thought a lot about is, how do I explain to my students about my diabetes? I will have an insulin pump on my hip every day and may have low blood sugars or other symptoms during class time in which I would have to pause class. What do I say? Once again this is a really short post, but I was just wondering if anyone out there had any suggestions? It is a hard subject to explain to young children and I want to do it efficiently when I have my own classroom.

Goodnight,  Ash
Ps. Today is 8 months for my wonderful boyfriend and I...and many more to come :) Love you babe.

Fear of the Unknown

This is going to be a short post because I am not exactly feeling up to par. Hence the reason I am writing this blog. I am having an issue right now that I have only experienced once before, and that was during the honeymoon stage of my diabetes. I have had three low blood sugars today. I went out to dinner with my boyfriend's family (which was really good!) and I took the appropriate insulin for my food. I even calculated a bit under because I was unsure and didn't want to go low again. Then Andrew and I went and got ice cream before returning to his house. I checked my sugar at his house...112. Not bad! When I got home I started feeling funny so I checked again...98. Still okay, then I realized I FORGOT TO TAKE INSULIN FOR MY ICE CREAM! How the heck is my sugar so low. It should be nearly 400. The only other time I have experienced a reaction like this is on my honeymoon period. Can you have two honeymoon periods? I have never heard of that before. Anyways, I am freaked out. I have no idea what is going on with my body. I am actually scared to sleep because I don't want to go low in the middle of the night. What do I do? I know I am usually the one packing my blogs with information for you guys, but if any of you know anything about what could possibly be happening or if you have experienced this before...please let me know in some way!

Ash

Lauren's Hope

I know I already blogged today, but I just wanted to touch on another important subject to diabetics (along with other medical conditions). MEDICAL ID JEWELRY. It is very important to have some sort of identification on you if you have a serious medical condition. My medical bracelet broke a little while ago and I need to get another one, so I went on this AWESOME website Lauren's Hope. They have medical jewelry, cards, even pet jewelry for medical reasons. Please check it out! Lauren's Hope :) You won't regret it.

Baby Fever

Has anyone ever noticed that couples want kids so much, but don't realize the amount of work that goes into having children until they actually do? That really has nothing to do with the point of this blog...just throwing that out there. As said in my previous post, I want to marry my sweetie Andrew and we will be getting married when I complete my schooling. To go along with this, I do want to have children with him (after marriage, duh!). We, in fact, want numerous children. However, something worries me about that scenario and no it is not parenting. I have no doubt in my mind that Andrew will be an amazing father. It is diabetes. Diabetes can cause many complications with pregnancy, for both the mother and the child.


Before getting pregnant, a diabetic must complete multiple medical tests to make sure their health is prepared for the extra weight (no pun intended) of a pregnancy. Some of these needed tests include a urinalysis to check kidney function, cholesterol and triglyceride tests, and eye exams. A good, healthy blood sugar level must be maintained, as well.

As mentioned before, preexisting diabetes can take affect on the baby. A common problem is Macrosomia, which is enlarged body. This means high birth weight and larger size at birth. This happens when the child receives too much sugar through the placenta. The extra sugar is converted to fat, resulting in a larger baby. Another complication can occur when the mother has too much sugar in her blood throughout pregnancy. The child can be born with dangerously low blood sugar. This happens because when the child is receiving extra sugar through the placenta, it's pancreas makes increased amounts of insulin. When delivered, the child is no longer receiving that extra sugar and the insulin levels drop their blood sugar. Another issue is mineral imbalances such as calcium and magnesium. This can be replaced by medication.

As for the mother during diabetes, there are changes, as well. You will most generally require more insulin, especially during the last three months of pregnancy. This can be due to many things, such as eating more food, stress on the body, as well as hormone imbalances. You must change your diet to meet both the needs of your diabetic self and your unborn child. Another difference between non-diabetic pregnancies and diabetic pregnancies is that healthcare providers plan for early delivery. Most diabetic mothers can carry to term, but there is an increased chance of early delivery.

The one thing that worries me that I haven't found much information on during my research is blood sugar control during delivery. I have found that you may be taken off your pump (if you are on one) and given shots during delivery, but I have not found if insulin levels go up or down during delivery. That worries me that I will be working so hard to deliver the baby that my blood sugar will drop without me (or anyone) knowing and I will pass out or something. However, doctors have dealt with diabetic mothers before, so they will know what to do. I just have to let go, and let God I guess.

Ash