UGH!! [[I need to rant. Caution: run-on sentences and grammatical errors ahead. You have been warned.]]
Life with diabetes can definitely be frustrating. Something that frustrates me even more is that people have no idea what the heck type 1 is vs. type 2. I'm sitting here reading a book... which I will not reveal... and it keeps mentioning how horrible diabetes is and how it can be preventable and how it is associated with obesity and not once in any of those above statements does it say that he is talking about type 2. Come on people, seriously. Maybe it only bothers me because I'm type 1... but still there is a difference. Type 1 is crappy and type 2 is sucks, too... older, set in your ways, blah blah poor fat you. Yes, it is preventable [for the most part]. Yes, it is associated with obesity. BUT HELLO! Type 1 is not, which is unfortunately labeled by the same nomenclature... diabetes. ::sigh:: I want to re-name type 1. I don't want to be grouped into the same category as type 2 anymore. Any suggestions? Yes, I was diagnosed at 16 and not at 6 but that does not make me type 2. But yet I still have diabetes. Great example of people's misguidedness of diabetes... I was sitting on a plane waiting for 30 minutes to take off when I decided to eat my lunch. I test my blood sugar and begin eating. When I finish eating I take my shot. The guy next to me turns to me and says "So, how long have you been type 2?" No lie. So I say to him, "actually... I'm type 1." He shuts up. I guess he actually knew the difference, which is rare. Just because I am in my 20s does not mean I no longer have type 1. I still have type 1. I will not magically rid myself of diabetes nor will I turn into a type 2 because I got older.
I feel like I've written this post before. Maybe I've just thought about it for so long it seems like I should have already.
Back to my point... Ok... I don't think people other than people with diabetes care that there are more than one kind or that one is associated with the haunting image of obesity running rampant through America and the other is genetic [according to popular belief] and unavoidable... for this I highly doubt anyone will care enough to change the name. I'm fine with being type 1. That's just dandy. Then type 2 should be type 2. Things need to be labeled properly. X's with X's and O's with O's. I'm an X, thank you. There is a difference. I don't want to be lumped into the same category as someone with type 2. I eat well, exercise daily and did not allow my pancreas the opportunity to stop functioning properly when I was 16 by stuffing my face full of fat... it just did it all by itself. I have even read articles posted by the ADA not mentioning which type they were talking about... and it was usually type 2. While I do understand where the confusion comes from... there is a difference. And the ADA of all things. Come on!!! Seriously!? This is why so many people are confused and cram them into the same disease. They are not the same disease, they work in different ways, they have different catalysts. I'm not going to go on and on and explain what the difference is, I just don't feel like doing that right now... maybe some other post. Go read Diabetes for Dummies if you're that curious. It bothers me. Maybe it shouldn't. Maybe I'm being trivial. But it bothers me nonetheless. There is a difference.
Not in the majority.
j
15 January 2008
03 January 2008
Resolve
This blog doesn't have much ado about diabetes... but anywho... here it is.
It is, yet again, another new year... and I have welcomed it appropriately. Time seems to have escaped me in 2007. Where did it all go? What did I do? Geez. Where am I? What am I doing in this crazy place? But more importantly... what have I learned?
What I have learned, or come to realize, in 2007:
* I am full of questions and few answers but that's the way uh- huh uh-huh I like it. I'd rather be more inquisitive than less than lackluster. I like learning generally. More specifically, I enjoy understanding. However, I've come to know that not everything is meant to be understood. Just take it for what it is and live with it. Somethings are incapable of change as are many people.
* No matter how much you beg the universe you cannot make someone love you. You can only hope he/she realizes your sheer awesomeness and then accept the decisions made by those involved.
* I am southern. I do not have an east coast mentality, personality... insert any other words that end in -ality.
* I enjoy living in new places.
*Somethings in life are free but still should not be given away freely.
* I don't want much but apparently it is still too much to ask for.
* I will always have diabetes - as long as there is a president in office who is opposed to the funding of and research of stem cells.
* Politics are important.
* I will always have diabetes.
* Only the strong survive, survival is an aquired knowledge.
* My mind will run rampant if I let it.
[there may be more but so far... that's all I can come up with]
As this time is a time to make resolutions and swear to the high heavens that we will in fact change that thing about ourselves that we've been meaning to change for the last 8 new years... I resolve to enjoy the journey and accept whatever comes to me. I am no stranger to change and take my days in the manner of which I am acustom to... I'm rather laid-back to say the least. Unless you harm someone/thing that I deeply care for. That's another topic though probably for another time.
I will not make any resolutions to lose weight, save more money, be nicer to... anyone, be more social or whatever other things people tell themselves. I will not because it is something that I constantly need to work on. Saying that now that it is the year 2008, will make no difference to my personal progress to wear a different size pant.
I have written before on change and it is a never ending cycle if you allow it. You should allow it. I have learned more about myself, relationships, friendships, cultures and life due to the changes that have either come willingly or were forced upon me. As they say... change is good. I'm ready for more.
Happy 2008. Enjoy the ride.
It is, yet again, another new year... and I have welcomed it appropriately. Time seems to have escaped me in 2007. Where did it all go? What did I do? Geez. Where am I? What am I doing in this crazy place? But more importantly... what have I learned?
What I have learned, or come to realize, in 2007:
* I am full of questions and few answers but that's the way uh- huh uh-huh I like it. I'd rather be more inquisitive than less than lackluster. I like learning generally. More specifically, I enjoy understanding. However, I've come to know that not everything is meant to be understood. Just take it for what it is and live with it. Somethings are incapable of change as are many people.
* No matter how much you beg the universe you cannot make someone love you. You can only hope he/she realizes your sheer awesomeness and then accept the decisions made by those involved.
* I am southern. I do not have an east coast mentality, personality... insert any other words that end in -ality.
* I enjoy living in new places.
*Somethings in life are free but still should not be given away freely.
* I don't want much but apparently it is still too much to ask for.
* I will always have diabetes - as long as there is a president in office who is opposed to the funding of and research of stem cells.
* Politics are important.
* I will always have diabetes.
* Only the strong survive, survival is an aquired knowledge.
* My mind will run rampant if I let it.
[there may be more but so far... that's all I can come up with]
As this time is a time to make resolutions and swear to the high heavens that we will in fact change that thing about ourselves that we've been meaning to change for the last 8 new years... I resolve to enjoy the journey and accept whatever comes to me. I am no stranger to change and take my days in the manner of which I am acustom to... I'm rather laid-back to say the least. Unless you harm someone/thing that I deeply care for. That's another topic though probably for another time.
I will not make any resolutions to lose weight, save more money, be nicer to... anyone, be more social or whatever other things people tell themselves. I will not because it is something that I constantly need to work on. Saying that now that it is the year 2008, will make no difference to my personal progress to wear a different size pant.
I have written before on change and it is a never ending cycle if you allow it. You should allow it. I have learned more about myself, relationships, friendships, cultures and life due to the changes that have either come willingly or were forced upon me. As they say... change is good. I'm ready for more.
Happy 2008. Enjoy the ride.
21 December 2007
From the Beginning
I started this post a few months ago but let it slip to the back of my mind... so here it is... my story... [of the condensed-milk variety]
There was a time when the word diabetes couldn't leave my mouth without tears streaming down my face. To say "I have diabetes" was the most difficult sentence to speak, to think, to acknowledge. So, I rarely did. The people who knew were the ones I didn't have to tell - they just knew because they're my family, friends or teachers that needed to know why I missed school for three days.
It was the 14 March 2000. For a few weeks I just felt off balance. My weight had dropped drastically and I wasn't very much of anything to start with, I was incessantly thirsty, going to the bathroom, tired, moody. I finally told my mom how I felt and made an appointment to see my doctor the next day. On the Ides of March I walked into the doctor's office with my sister Kelly by my side. The symptoms were obvious to him, did a few quick tests and he came back in the room and said "you have diabetes". Simple. I had no idea what that meant but it didn't sound good. We called my mom and told her what the doctor said and that we need to go to Children's Hospital immediately and that I might be there for a few days. My sister and I left the office and went home to pack a few things for me and we waited for our parents. I don't remember speaking the whole way home or to the hospital. All I could do was sit there with this lump in my throat - the tears being pushed down inside.
When my parents got home we got in the car and headed out to New Orleans where I would spend the next 3 days in a drafty gown and hospital bed learning about diabetes and all the complications that could arise in the future and the basics of caring for myself. I don't remember speaking for those days, I just felt numb and scared and alone, but very well-hydrated for the first time in a long time. Laying in my hospital bed with an IV in my hand I was forced to see the world with new eyes. Why me? I thought. Why now? What did I do for this to happen to me? It wasn't for many years later that I learned the answers to those questions.
When I was allowed to go home I felt lost. Life turned upside down. I remember sitting at the computer chatting online with friends when suddenly I thought I was going to pass out. I was shaking and felt wobbly as I tried to walk to get my meter to test. I was low. I hated that feeling, I hated this, when will it stop? I got a juice and went back to the computer and sat in the chair and cried. As time passed, I got used to the routine of life with diabetes. The checking and re-checking, the injections, the carb counting, the crying... Years rolled on and I was in my final semester at Loyola when my mom called me and said I should stop by her office for lunch. It was almost my 'anniversary' and we always spend it together. She showed me an email she received from Children with Diabetes and a link to an organization called AYUDA. 'This organization does diabetes summer camps in South America' she told me. My ears instantly perked up at the words South America. I'd been studying Spanish as a minor and love to travel. My mom didn't mind because it was diabetes-related and she knew there would be people to watch over me [I suppose]. So I applied that day and was accepted as a volunteer a few days later. As soon as I got notice of my acceptance I started writing fundraising letters to everyone I knew. I vividly remember telling one of my pshyc professors after class about the journey I was going to take. She asked why I wanted to do something like this and that lump suddenly appeared out of nowhere and I began to cry. I couldn't hold the tears down. Sniffling I said, "I have diabetes".
When it finally came time for me to go to Ecuador I was ecstatic. More so for traveling than being around a bunch of other kids with diabetes. But that soon changed. I'd never met anyone with diabetes and to be surrounded by so many others was truly a life changing moment. I still like to look around the room [or wherever we are, bus, plane, office, fogata] and count how many of us there are. I learned so much about myself during my first time in Ecuador with AYUDA. I learned that I had not accepted my life with diabetes, I was suppressing my emotions and I had no reason to feel alone. I met so many people to share stories with and we all helped each other through difficult moments. But mostly I just sat back in awe in the manner in which they took care of themselves and were so free and ::gasp:: testing in public!
This was a whole new world I entered into. Where I could help as much as I could learn and I knew I had to continue being apart of this amazing group of people. Since I've come back from that beautiful country I have not once cried because "I have diabetes" I am now proud to say that I have gained strength and a new outlook on the world that I would have never otherwise seen or felt. I don't know where I would be right now if it weren't for AYUDA, the other volunteers and those glorious children in Ecuador but [I like to think as Ketut Liyer told Liz Gilbert] you were never not coming here, you were always coming here. It is destiny, set in my path to be a part of, I am here for this reason.
I have diabetes.
Always gracious.
There was a time when the word diabetes couldn't leave my mouth without tears streaming down my face. To say "I have diabetes" was the most difficult sentence to speak, to think, to acknowledge. So, I rarely did. The people who knew were the ones I didn't have to tell - they just knew because they're my family, friends or teachers that needed to know why I missed school for three days.
It was the 14 March 2000. For a few weeks I just felt off balance. My weight had dropped drastically and I wasn't very much of anything to start with, I was incessantly thirsty, going to the bathroom, tired, moody. I finally told my mom how I felt and made an appointment to see my doctor the next day. On the Ides of March I walked into the doctor's office with my sister Kelly by my side. The symptoms were obvious to him, did a few quick tests and he came back in the room and said "you have diabetes". Simple. I had no idea what that meant but it didn't sound good. We called my mom and told her what the doctor said and that we need to go to Children's Hospital immediately and that I might be there for a few days. My sister and I left the office and went home to pack a few things for me and we waited for our parents. I don't remember speaking the whole way home or to the hospital. All I could do was sit there with this lump in my throat - the tears being pushed down inside.
When my parents got home we got in the car and headed out to New Orleans where I would spend the next 3 days in a drafty gown and hospital bed learning about diabetes and all the complications that could arise in the future and the basics of caring for myself. I don't remember speaking for those days, I just felt numb and scared and alone, but very well-hydrated for the first time in a long time. Laying in my hospital bed with an IV in my hand I was forced to see the world with new eyes. Why me? I thought. Why now? What did I do for this to happen to me? It wasn't for many years later that I learned the answers to those questions.
When I was allowed to go home I felt lost. Life turned upside down. I remember sitting at the computer chatting online with friends when suddenly I thought I was going to pass out. I was shaking and felt wobbly as I tried to walk to get my meter to test. I was low. I hated that feeling, I hated this, when will it stop? I got a juice and went back to the computer and sat in the chair and cried. As time passed, I got used to the routine of life with diabetes. The checking and re-checking, the injections, the carb counting, the crying... Years rolled on and I was in my final semester at Loyola when my mom called me and said I should stop by her office for lunch. It was almost my 'anniversary' and we always spend it together. She showed me an email she received from Children with Diabetes and a link to an organization called AYUDA. 'This organization does diabetes summer camps in South America' she told me. My ears instantly perked up at the words South America. I'd been studying Spanish as a minor and love to travel. My mom didn't mind because it was diabetes-related and she knew there would be people to watch over me [I suppose]. So I applied that day and was accepted as a volunteer a few days later. As soon as I got notice of my acceptance I started writing fundraising letters to everyone I knew. I vividly remember telling one of my pshyc professors after class about the journey I was going to take. She asked why I wanted to do something like this and that lump suddenly appeared out of nowhere and I began to cry. I couldn't hold the tears down. Sniffling I said, "I have diabetes".
When it finally came time for me to go to Ecuador I was ecstatic. More so for traveling than being around a bunch of other kids with diabetes. But that soon changed. I'd never met anyone with diabetes and to be surrounded by so many others was truly a life changing moment. I still like to look around the room [or wherever we are, bus, plane, office, fogata] and count how many of us there are. I learned so much about myself during my first time in Ecuador with AYUDA. I learned that I had not accepted my life with diabetes, I was suppressing my emotions and I had no reason to feel alone. I met so many people to share stories with and we all helped each other through difficult moments. But mostly I just sat back in awe in the manner in which they took care of themselves and were so free and ::gasp:: testing in public!
This was a whole new world I entered into. Where I could help as much as I could learn and I knew I had to continue being apart of this amazing group of people. Since I've come back from that beautiful country I have not once cried because "I have diabetes" I am now proud to say that I have gained strength and a new outlook on the world that I would have never otherwise seen or felt. I don't know where I would be right now if it weren't for AYUDA, the other volunteers and those glorious children in Ecuador but [I like to think as Ketut Liyer told Liz Gilbert] you were never not coming here, you were always coming here. It is destiny, set in my path to be a part of, I am here for this reason.
I have diabetes.
Always gracious.
16 December 2007
Land!!
The cruise is over and I'm finally back on dry land... although I still feel as though I'm on board swinging and swaying with the waves. This vacation has taught me a few things.... 1. don't go on a cruise for 5 days 2. cruises are way over-rated 3. Playa del Carmen, Mexico is one of the most beautiful beaches I've ever been to [Calica is not an actual town]. 4. anything is possible with diabetes... well I already knew that I just like to reiterate it... often. 5. bring your own alcohol. 6. internet costs 24$ an hour and room maintenance is not included.
I had a good time with my friends. We get along well until, apparently, we're stuck with each other with nowhere to go. At times I think one of us would have thrown another overboard but we all managed to get off the boat in the proper manner without too many claw marks. But lesson learned I suppose. No more cruises for us. Next time we'll fly to a beach.
In diabetes news though, he behaved quiet surprisingly well. I had a few lows but there is enough sugar on that boat to save an entire village of people with diabetes, simultaneously having a hypoglycemic episode, at any given moment. That is to say, the food was delicious... well dinner was anyway. Such succulence! Such culinary delight! I had steak just about every night. My pre-cruise body needless to say lasted about a day. C'est la vie.... it was worth it. I tried to stay away from dessert as much as possible... not for diabetes sake but for the sake of my stomach showing in a bikini the next day. Carbs were a little difficult to calculate but that was easy enough to fix and I was back to my daily jaunts.
Great dancing. Great destinations. Great food. But I'd rather be on land. Glorious land.
I had a good time with my friends. We get along well until, apparently, we're stuck with each other with nowhere to go. At times I think one of us would have thrown another overboard but we all managed to get off the boat in the proper manner without too many claw marks. But lesson learned I suppose. No more cruises for us. Next time we'll fly to a beach.
In diabetes news though, he behaved quiet surprisingly well. I had a few lows but there is enough sugar on that boat to save an entire village of people with diabetes, simultaneously having a hypoglycemic episode, at any given moment. That is to say, the food was delicious... well dinner was anyway. Such succulence! Such culinary delight! I had steak just about every night. My pre-cruise body needless to say lasted about a day. C'est la vie.... it was worth it. I tried to stay away from dessert as much as possible... not for diabetes sake but for the sake of my stomach showing in a bikini the next day. Carbs were a little difficult to calculate but that was easy enough to fix and I was back to my daily jaunts.
Great dancing. Great destinations. Great food. But I'd rather be on land. Glorious land.
06 December 2007
Say it aint snow
I can't believe I live here. It snows here... a lot. It's cold and wet and my Southern blood is not yet ready to do battle with the icy winds of the DC Metropolitan Region. However! There is light at the end of the tunnel... well... for a week at least. I'm packing up and heading out to Tampa tomorrow where I will then board the Carnival Cruise Fun Ship on Saturday to go to such glorious [and warm] sounding locales as the Grand Caymans and Calica, Mexico. This is my first cruising experience and I have some worries... Titanic-esque and diabetes-esque.
This will not be your average, everyday, run-of-the-mill cruise though - because I can do nothing average [unless it's the GRE]. This cruise will be a salsa cruise. That's right people... salsa, mambo, chacha, bachata... all week... with some of my favorite people coming along for the ride. But all this excitement poses another problem... lows... That is a lot of exercise going on. I feel like I'll need to stock up on glucotabs and juice boxes for my salsa extravaganza so I won't have to miss a beat on the dance floor. Oh the joys of packing, I swear if I didn't have diabetes I would be able to pack sooo much lighter... that's my story and I'm sticking to it! Although I also have the feeling that some really high highs will sneak in because I hear that there is no shortage of food aboard these floating dance floors. So maybe I'll need an extra bottle of Novolog... I wonder if it's possible to use and entire bottle in one week...
I like to make packing lists, it helps me remember things. It also makes me wonder what 'normal' peoples packing lists look like... what do you mean you don't pack extra syringes in your carry on?! hmmm...
To pack:
extra bottle of Novolog and Lantus [in case of breakage and/or abundance of food]
swimsuits
shorts
extra test strips
tank tops
extra needles
dresses
tennis shoes
flip flops
dance shoes
glucagon
hat
sunglasses
toiletries
glucotabs
cash money
skirt
fancier dress for Captains Dinner..................
Ay, ay mate. Over and Out.
Captain Jules.
This will not be your average, everyday, run-of-the-mill cruise though - because I can do nothing average [unless it's the GRE]. This cruise will be a salsa cruise. That's right people... salsa, mambo, chacha, bachata... all week... with some of my favorite people coming along for the ride. But all this excitement poses another problem... lows... That is a lot of exercise going on. I feel like I'll need to stock up on glucotabs and juice boxes for my salsa extravaganza so I won't have to miss a beat on the dance floor. Oh the joys of packing, I swear if I didn't have diabetes I would be able to pack sooo much lighter... that's my story and I'm sticking to it! Although I also have the feeling that some really high highs will sneak in because I hear that there is no shortage of food aboard these floating dance floors. So maybe I'll need an extra bottle of Novolog... I wonder if it's possible to use and entire bottle in one week...
I like to make packing lists, it helps me remember things. It also makes me wonder what 'normal' peoples packing lists look like... what do you mean you don't pack extra syringes in your carry on?! hmmm...
To pack:
extra bottle of Novolog and Lantus [in case of breakage and/or abundance of food]
swimsuits
shorts
extra test strips
tank tops
extra needles
dresses
tennis shoes
flip flops
dance shoes
glucagon
hat
sunglasses
toiletries
glucotabs
cash money
skirt
fancier dress for Captains Dinner..................
Ay, ay mate. Over and Out.
Captain Jules.
30 November 2007
Sickly
Starting a day or so ago I haven't been feeling 100%. Got a cold. I haven't been sick for maybe two years... yeah... amazing... I know. I take my vitamins daily and eat well and exercise about 6 days a week but sometimes it's just unavoidable. I'm linking it to taking the Metro. It has to be the most germ-infested place in the world. 
All those people crammed into a tiny space, coughing, sneezing, wheezing and the like then grabbing onto the bars and hand rails so they don't fall over when it suddenly jerks around. Gross!! Think of all that bacteria just festering on those poles... ::shiver:: Do they even disinfect them at night?
Hmm I wonder what Dr. Oz would say about this... Did anyone else see the show he did on Oprah with the lady who never threw anything away and had the same pillow for about 40 years?! naaaaasty. Needless to say there were more bacteria in her kitchen sink than in her toilet. That's somewhere I won't be visiting anytime soon.
Anyway. Back to my point. What was my point? Oh yeah, so my numbers have been amazing! Better than amazing... hmm what's better than amazing?? Well that's what they've been. From what I remember though getting sick has made my numbers go all over the map but luckily this time [minus one rebellious checking] I have been perfectly "in range". Ah-mazing. This just goes to show how ridiculously unpredicatable diabetes can be.
I just hope this cold goes away stat! [and my numbers stay the same!] My cruise is in 7 days!! :D
And yes, I am going to the gym even though I'm sick... no rest for the wicked.
Peace. Love. Insulin.
PS. Anyone have diabetes/cruise stories to share??
All those people crammed into a tiny space, coughing, sneezing, wheezing and the like then grabbing onto the bars and hand rails so they don't fall over when it suddenly jerks around. Gross!! Think of all that bacteria just festering on those poles... ::shiver:: Do they even disinfect them at night?
Hmm I wonder what Dr. Oz would say about this... Did anyone else see the show he did on Oprah with the lady who never threw anything away and had the same pillow for about 40 years?! naaaaasty. Needless to say there were more bacteria in her kitchen sink than in her toilet. That's somewhere I won't be visiting anytime soon.
Anyway. Back to my point. What was my point? Oh yeah, so my numbers have been amazing! Better than amazing... hmm what's better than amazing?? Well that's what they've been. From what I remember though getting sick has made my numbers go all over the map but luckily this time [minus one rebellious checking] I have been perfectly "in range". Ah-mazing. This just goes to show how ridiculously unpredicatable diabetes can be.
I just hope this cold goes away stat! [and my numbers stay the same!] My cruise is in 7 days!! :D
And yes, I am going to the gym even though I'm sick... no rest for the wicked.
Peace. Love. Insulin.
PS. Anyone have diabetes/cruise stories to share??
22 November 2007
Thanks and Giving
Muchas gracias. Merci beaucoup. Danke. Grazie. Muito obrigado.
There are endless ways to say thanks, thank you. But today is the day we're supposed to mean it. Today is the day we gather with friends and family and celebrate how grateful we are to have each other in our lives. It is a word that gets tossed around so freely that at times it seems to have lost its meaning. What does it mean to be thankful... to be full of thanks, to be happy someone did something for you? According to Mr. Webster it means to be grateful, to express gratitude, to have kindly or grateful thoughts. Think about it. How many times during the day do you say it and mean it? Well, today I'm saying it as often as possible and to everyone I love. Thank you. I mean it with all my heart. I'm thankful for everything I have in my life. I'm thankful for my family and friends, my intellect, my body, my ability to love, laugh and grow, I'm even thankful for being pancreatically challenged. It has taught me many lessons... how to accept change, how to be strong, how to lose gracefully and keep on trying... and trying.
My family and friends have also been great in supporting me and keeping me going, especially when I feel it's getting harder and harder. For that I am thankful. Without them I would not be standing, I would have fallen years ago. What are you thankful for? To whom do you give thanks? How do you show thanks?
Enough thanks, now to giving.
I have talked about AYUDA probably more than anything in this blog of mine because as I say every time, they have changed my life. Yet another thing to add to the list o' thanks. I am thankful for their kindness, passion, courage and love. I am thankful for the children, camp and seemingly endless nights of blood sugar checks. I am thankful AYUDA exists. [Ok, now I'm done with thanks, for now...]
To keep AYUDA going and bringing these experiences to others, I am asking for you to keep AYUDA in your thoughts this holiday season and throughout the rest of the year. Donating to AYUDA in someone's name is a great gift to give. What could be better than giving health and happiness to a child? No amount is too small... or too large and you're helping change someone's life. Be thankful for all that you have and pass on your gifts to someone truly in need. AYUDA is starting a new program in Bolivia in January and to continuing creating new programs and camps we need support. So please, do what you can, even telling a friend about AYUDA is helpful.
Thank you from the bottom of my pancreas.
Much love.
Ways to donate:
Online:
www.ayudainc.net
http://apps.facebook.com/causes/view_cause/5912?h=plw&recruiter_id=2047798
or click the Global Giving widget on the left side of this blog.
Mail:
AYUDA, Inc.
P.O. Box 12206
Arlington,VA 22219
Feel free to mention how you learned about AYUDA...
Thank you! Have I said that enough yet? One more time... Muchas gracias, con todo mi corazon. Juntos somos mas fuertes!!
There are endless ways to say thanks, thank you. But today is the day we're supposed to mean it. Today is the day we gather with friends and family and celebrate how grateful we are to have each other in our lives. It is a word that gets tossed around so freely that at times it seems to have lost its meaning. What does it mean to be thankful... to be full of thanks, to be happy someone did something for you? According to Mr. Webster it means to be grateful, to express gratitude, to have kindly or grateful thoughts. Think about it. How many times during the day do you say it and mean it? Well, today I'm saying it as often as possible and to everyone I love. Thank you. I mean it with all my heart. I'm thankful for everything I have in my life. I'm thankful for my family and friends, my intellect, my body, my ability to love, laugh and grow, I'm even thankful for being pancreatically challenged. It has taught me many lessons... how to accept change, how to be strong, how to lose gracefully and keep on trying... and trying.
My family and friends have also been great in supporting me and keeping me going, especially when I feel it's getting harder and harder. For that I am thankful. Without them I would not be standing, I would have fallen years ago. What are you thankful for? To whom do you give thanks? How do you show thanks?
Enough thanks, now to giving.
I have talked about AYUDA probably more than anything in this blog of mine because as I say every time, they have changed my life. Yet another thing to add to the list o' thanks. I am thankful for their kindness, passion, courage and love. I am thankful for the children, camp and seemingly endless nights of blood sugar checks. I am thankful AYUDA exists. [Ok, now I'm done with thanks, for now...]
To keep AYUDA going and bringing these experiences to others, I am asking for you to keep AYUDA in your thoughts this holiday season and throughout the rest of the year. Donating to AYUDA in someone's name is a great gift to give. What could be better than giving health and happiness to a child? No amount is too small... or too large and you're helping change someone's life. Be thankful for all that you have and pass on your gifts to someone truly in need. AYUDA is starting a new program in Bolivia in January and to continuing creating new programs and camps we need support. So please, do what you can, even telling a friend about AYUDA is helpful.
Thank you from the bottom of my pancreas.
Much love.
Ways to donate:
Online:
www.ayudainc.net
http://apps.facebook.com/causes/view_cause/5912?h=plw&recruiter_id=2047798
or click the Global Giving widget on the left side of this blog.
Mail:
AYUDA, Inc.
P.O. Box 12206
Arlington,VA 22219
Feel free to mention how you learned about AYUDA...
Thank you! Have I said that enough yet? One more time... Muchas gracias, con todo mi corazon. Juntos somos mas fuertes!!
09 November 2007
Stress
So if you know me even the slightest you know I don't stress easily. I'm a very laid back, easy going kinda gal, I just take what life gives me and I deal with it. I think diabetes has had a lot to do with this attitude of mine [as well as growing up in Louisiana]. But there are a few things that are able to make me want to pull my hair out or sleep for two days straight, out of sheer avoidance. One of those things is coming up on the 16th of this month... the GRE. I know, I know. I should have taken it right after college then I wouldn't have to be dealing with it now but I also tend to procrastinate things like this because of the stress factor. I keep telling myself that I'm going to study but I keep looking over at that packet and returning to whatever it was that I was doing before. Like now for instance... instead of reading that stupid packet I'm blogging...
This test holds my future hostage. For four hours I will be in a room sitting in front of a computer answering questions I probably haven't even thought of since freshman year or before. That makes me anxious. Answering questions that hold the key to the rest of my life stresses me out. Without it though, I am unable to get into the graduate program I want so I can stop doing temp work and actually have a career and accomplish my goals and dreams. When all is said and done and I've graduated [hopefully within the next 2.5 years] I will hold [again, hopefully] a Masters in Public Health and going to work in the diabetes realm. I want to also become a Certified Diabetes Educator so I can continue educating myself and others with diabetes, specifically in under served populations in the states and abroad. I'd also like to continue volunteering with AYUDA and going back to camp with a larger role, even though I absolutely love being a counselor, I can't do it forever. But I can always be involved some how.
If only it weren't so scary and stressful... maybe I'm just making it a bigger deal than it should be... maybe not....
Peace, love and insulin.
This test holds my future hostage. For four hours I will be in a room sitting in front of a computer answering questions I probably haven't even thought of since freshman year or before. That makes me anxious. Answering questions that hold the key to the rest of my life stresses me out. Without it though, I am unable to get into the graduate program I want so I can stop doing temp work and actually have a career and accomplish my goals and dreams. When all is said and done and I've graduated [hopefully within the next 2.5 years] I will hold [again, hopefully] a Masters in Public Health and going to work in the diabetes realm. I want to also become a Certified Diabetes Educator so I can continue educating myself and others with diabetes, specifically in under served populations in the states and abroad. I'd also like to continue volunteering with AYUDA and going back to camp with a larger role, even though I absolutely love being a counselor, I can't do it forever. But I can always be involved some how.
If only it weren't so scary and stressful... maybe I'm just making it a bigger deal than it should be... maybe not....
Peace, love and insulin.
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