Diabetes it is not a death sentence to enjoying life!

Reasons for telling you about my battle.

The written word is powerful and I truly hope that there is enough power in these written words of mine, to you the reader, to be able to encourage calm in you – while striving through a similar time of trauma. I am not writing my story of coming to terms with diabetes, as a way of self-help therapy for me. I am hoping that by exposing, and telling you of my traumatic experience as it happened, or better said how I interpreted my trauma to me. Lived and grappled with this occasion, so that maybe you can find similarities in your experience and be able to let go of fear, anxiety, and the feeling of hopelessness. I hope by reading this I will save you the years of searching that I went through, to find that you can still fully enjoy life. Sure our environment, nurturing and circumstances may have carved our inner building blocks of coping in some ways differently to others, we can probably say that we are all different. Are we really that different, in the quest to find the need to accept living with diabetes, I doubt it.

I invite you to come on a journey with me and experience a psychological mental atmosphere, which was at times mind blowing, earth shattering, life changing and also included of a lot of attitude fine-tuning. I am not speaking of my honeymoon or even a naughty weekend (with someone else’s partner). This ongoing journey partner is more permanent than marriage, from that you can get a divorce, although when finally found out can be just as dangerous as that naughty weekend. Wouldn’t you agree that finding out that you or someone you care for has been diagnosed with diabetes, would probably have a greater impact on you than man walking on the moon? I was flat out walking anywhere the day I found out that I am a diabetic, but over the past seven years have found that it is not a death sentence to enjoying life.

Ignorance is it bliss?

I am on the wrong side of fifty and for the past seven years have lived with being diagnosed with diabetes. When I was younger (so much younger than today) I had heard about diabetes but as no one in our family has ever had diabetes, I found it of no interest to find out exactly what this problem was really about, all I knew is that a diabetic suffers from having too much sugar in their system and this caused a variety of problems. What, how and why these problems came about and the following consequences, I felt I did not need to know. I suppose you would know someone in this same position and with a similar attitude that I had before I was diagnosed with having diabetes.

Being found out diagnosed with diabetes.

Thinking back to the day I found out that I had become diagnosed as a diabetic, was when I had been admitted to hospital for excruciating, severe and horrible stomach pains, they seemed worse than giving birth to both my sons, (who have a gap of two years) at once. I was put on painkillers and underwent all sorts of tests, which included blood tests. After two nights and two days in hospital the result was that fortunately there were no internal problems. The pain had subsided, I would need no medications and I was told I could get ready to go home, but another doctor would like to talk to me before I go. I sat on the bed pain free waiting for this doctor, happy to be OK and looking forward to phoning my sons to pick me up to go home.

I had never seen nor did I know this doctor, I can remember he was wearing black trousers a white shirt with tie and a black jacket, suited more to a real-estate salesman or undertaker than doctor. He pulled the curtain shut around my bed, I thought what now? He did not examine me nor had he any intention to examine me, he was accompanied by another nurse from outside the hospital, who he introduced telling me from where she was. All this introduction I really took no notice of, as I knew it would not be long and I will be out of there. This small, thin, unassuming, expressionless individual with a chord held tag around his neck that I imagine read, Doctor, stood at a distance from me and said "I suppose you realize that you have diabetes!" Shock, horror no I did not know I have diabetes, I don't even really know what "diabetes" really is, I had only come to hospital because of a bellyache. My pains, he said had nothing to do with diabetes and that part is over and I am clear to go home, but, this nurse was from the Diabetic Clinic in this city and I should see her for follow up, also my doctor would be informed and he would give me follow up treatment, handing me a card for the Clinic he and she left. After they left I sat on the bed unable to move, in shock, disbelief, and totally knowing what a stunned mullet felt like. I knew I was still alive because I went to find a phone to call my sons to pick me up telling them "I have diabetes".