I wrote this for something else, but realized that I haven't posted a blog since like...MARCH. So, I thought I'd put it up here for you all to read and enjoy. :)
This afternoon I spent several hours down at The Riverfront in downtown Omaha. I also spent that time with my besties Scarlett and Rhett.
I’ve read Gone With the Wind more times than I can count. It’s my favorite book ever. Sometimes I wonder what would happen if the South would’ve won. I mean, not in real life. I like how that turned out. I mean in Scarlett’s life. I’m sure she would’ve had quite the different life. I’m sure she would’ve married Rhett, though. Those two were meant to be together.
I also like to imagine what it would be like to live in Gone With the Wind. To be a southern belle and go to parties and barbeques and not have a care in the world. The thought of living through the Civil War doesn’t quite appeal to me, but I do wonder what it would be like to live in that time period.
But then I get sensible. And realize that I wouldn’t have lived past the age of four. I was diagnosed with diabetes when I was three years old. Three year olds who were quickly losing weight, constantly thirsty, wetting the bed, unusally fatigued and extremely crabby were not ushered off to a hospital. They were not diagnosed with diabetes. Their parents never spoke to an endocrinologist. They were not started on insulin. They were not given a meter to check their blood sugars.
Instead they died. And died quickly. Before death they were in a constant state of diabetes ketoacidosis (DKA). Nowadays DKA is avoided and any trace of ketones, no matter how small, is a huge alarm that something is wrong. In these modern times DKA warrants a trip and usually an extended stay in a hospital.
I’ve been in DKA before. And let me tell you, it’s not fun. I was thirstier than I’d ever been. I was peeing every 20 minutes. My breathing was shallow. I couldn’t walk up a flight of stairs. I couldn’t have a long conversation. I had a massive headache. I was crabby. My breath smelled like acetone. I was throwing up several times a day. My nerves were on fire.
And that was only for a short while. Then I injected insulin and within an hour I felt much better. If I had been one of Scarlett’s cohorts I wouldn’t have been able to inject myself with insulin. I just would’ve continued to slowly waste away until I died.
So, yes, while I love to imagine living in the South and helping The Cause I realize that I wouldn’t have made it. I would’ve been rotting away in grave trampled by Yankees.
I’m so thankful that I was diagnosed with this disease in 1991 and not 1850. Yes, it sucks. And yes, there are days when I hate it so much I want to scream. But at least I’m alive to hate it. At least I’m alive to use fast-acting insulin. At least I have a meter that counts down in less five seconds. At least I can check my blood sugar 10-12 times a day. At least I’m alive to wear an insulin pump. At least I’m alive to know the word OmniPod. At least I made it past four.
And my dear, I do give a damn about that.
Oh my gosh, Kay, best blog post EVER!! I love this so so much I know I'll be reading this about as many times as you have read Gone With the Wind.
I will also make a point to read that after reading this blog post. :D
But thank you for posting this. I love when Juvenators have really incredible things to post, it just makes everyone stronger and it just gets better and better :D
You made some incribley strong points in there. Nicely done!
I apologize. Seriously. I meant incredibely on that last sentance there. Sorry :(
Thank you, Alyssa! :)
Haha, I didn't even see 'incribley' when I read it. It looked good enough to me! :)
Haha, I didn't realize what a poor spelling attempt it had been until it caught my eye. I crossed my fingers: please don't have spelled that wrong....
But alas. :D
Your writing is exceptional. It's great to see your positive outlook. Things may not always seem too wonderful, but we do have so much to be grateful. We don't have a lot of the problems that people had before insulin was discovered. I am so grateful that I have a way to handle my diabetes, and I am also grateful that I have my Omnipod. I was almost six when they started trying to figure out what was wrong with me.