I Love My Pump Buddies

If you find pump buddies, hold on to them with all your might!

The other morning I had a low reservoir - but sadly had been a total idiot and left my extra insulin in the car throughout a hot day (ok give me a break, I was sky diving and my mind was rather distracted!!). 

"No worries" my pump buddy said "There is a fresh bottle of Novorapid in the fridge, crack it open!" 

My response "Giggle...this is not even your home!!!"

Problem solved....even when I was not at home - at a house that was totally strange to me, many km away from where I call home....my pump buddy was able to reach out and help. Even tho I was alone, I felt the connection and I knew he was there for me! 

Thanks Clay :) HUGS!

The Beauty Of Greens

Yesterday was my most nerve racking day of the year. I hate going to the eye specialist, as do most persons with diabetes. I was not even this nervous when I jumped out of an airplane last weekend (Oh that was such a rush, I can not even explain the feeling of free falling from 10,000 ft!!!!!! I am still waiting for the pictures to tell about that day).

Either way, I woke early knowing I had to walk to the clinic.....as I could not drive afterwards! It was a nice morning and I had an enjoyable walk to the office. I waited 1.5 hours in the waiting room. I read every magazine, texted every friend I could think of, tried to have a nap -anything to occupy this nervous time.

I finally went in, and had those dreaded drops. You all know what I mean....your vision slowly disappears until you are left in a fog. Once that fog was secure, I was called into the room by the Dr.

My eye specialist is one of the nicest guys I have ever met. I see this man once a year, and he always knows who I am, and asks specific questions about my life - which shows me pays attention when I am talking with him. We laughed, we talked...and then he proceeed to look deep into my eyes. The blinding band of light passes slowly through all sections of my eye, deeply exposing what I hope are healthy blood vessels. 

That 30 seconds waiting was the longest 30 seconds of the whole year. Waiting for what he is going to say. Good? Bad? Oh the suspense was killing me, and had me nervous enough to barf.

Once he was done, he sat back....and gave me a smile. He knows this freaks me out, and now from that smile I knew everything was ok. He pats me on the shoulder and says everything is looking good for another year, and I can carry along my way. We discuss the CGMS technology and part ways. I booked in to see him 12 months later, and I know he will remember out conversation from today. Amazing.

I left, and of course was as blind as a bat. I had my sunglasses on, but I could not even stand to have my eyes open. I walked as best I could - but could not get over how intense the colors of what I could see. The green of the grass is what I noticed, mostly because I was staring at the ground. Amazing intensity and looked like velvet. I was able to glance briefly up at the trees to the most intense green leaves I have ever seen. 

A gentle reminder to enjoy the beauty around me.

 

Your favorite food?

Last weekend I was having dinner with friends, and one of them asked me what my favorite food was........speechless.......

I thought about it, and I was not able to come up with a food that blew my mind away.....I just do not have an extreme likeness for food. I eat, don't get me wrong, and I like what I eat - but I never get intense cravings or desires for anything specific.

I think this all stems back to being a child with diabetes. Food was not fun, food was medicine. 

This was back in the mid 1980's and there was no such thing as MDI's or pumps (where I was living). I took my Toronto and Lente insulin in the morning and headed off to school for the day. My mother has specific foods stashed to be eaten at specific times. No flexibility, end of story. (and no testing during the day, did not even take a meter to school! I freak if I leave home now without a meter!! Could not do it!!!) 

Food was not a choice for me, it was part of my medical day by day plan.

My opinion of food stayed this way for a long time, when I moved out of home I moved into residence at university. I ate and it was social. All of my friends would go up to the meal hall together and we would hang out, and eat. Other then that, I would eat when I was low.....when I moved out on my own, I had no interest in preparing meals and planning food. I was on MDI's and I became a grazer! I would eat here and there when I was hungry, and there was no structure. Because of the MDI's, I was able to pull this off with no issues - and of course my BGL's stayed fine with the smaller meals.

Now I sit, several years later, trying to fix my bad habits. Once I started using an insulin pump, I was amazed the freedom away from food. If I did not want to eat, I did not have to. This was a very freeing experience that I can not say enough good things about. Amazing.....but it allowed me to have busy days where I would go from morning to evening without eating! People say "You need to eat, you are diabetic" and I think to myself  "No I don't, my sugar level is fine and holding fine".....but I know for my BODY I need to eat!!

So this is my constant struggle with food. I could easily survive as I am, grazing throughout the day.....It is 10am, I have not had breakfast yet, but I am not hungry. There is nothing I want to eat, I would rather not eat, but I know I should, and I will - and then start my day. No structured meals today but I will grab things from time to time because I know my body needs fuel...

For the record, I am searching for a favorite food......maybe a 3-starch, 2-protein, 2 fruit, 2 milk and 1 fat based meal :)

Cherishing Life!

I can only hope for a life as long as my Great Aunt. She passed away two days ago, at the age of 104. Can you believe that, 104 years old! Her brother is still alive, at 94 and drives around with me in my Smart car.  

I have a great genetic basis, minus the whole diabetes thing. I figure the 104 year old life span factored against the diabetes, will leave me living to the average of most Canadians :) Do the math!!! 

Wonderful night for a bike ride!

After work the other night I felt like a bike ride! Hard to believe that after 12 hours of high stress work, following a 5am wake up, I wanted to hit the trails!

It was a beautiful evening for a bike ride, visible in the picture above! I started at 7.9 mmol/L. Seems anytime I am below 7 and embark on physical activity I will drop quickly. That extra 0.9 certainly helped and kept me stable the entire 15km bike ride! I was expecting a drop...every time I stopped for a drink of water I would peek at the sensor reading to watch for double down arrows.....but they did not happen! That fruit leather in my pocket did not see the light of day! Almost felt normal......

Not the smartest crayon in the box!

Wow, what a windy day today on the East Coast of Canada!! It is nice, blew the humid air right out the window! Today I am heading to the Lawrencetown beach to catch a national surf competition! I am not a surfer.....heck I am willing to give it a try, but there are MAJOR waves crashing on my beach so I can only imagine the waves for the surfers! I will be sure to take my camera.......and a sweater....and sharp elbows to get through the crowds (joke, it is a VERY large beach!!)

Now back to the crayon comment. I have been saving my Minimed gift certificates to buy glucose sensors. Being smart, I have been gathering these so that I can buy a 10 pack of sensors. The other day I looked closely....and actually read the fine print (hint, always read the fine print). Seems I can use only 1 per purchase. Not a shock, I really should have though of that. Ah well, no biggie, still a great value to get $100 off a box of 4 sensors and then later $150 off another box of 4 sensors.....not a bad deal, and saves me a few hours of OT at work!

Have a great labour day weekend, I am off to the beach! (Sandra, if you see Faith Hill or Tim McGraw in Moncton, tell them I say hello. Maybe they'll go to the waterpark too! HA!)