35 years - now what?
I was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes on September 10, 1972. 35 years ago today.I went to the hospital after a doctor diagnosed me during a phone call with my Mum. I had many of the usual Type 1 diabetes symptoms:
- Extreme thirst. I was drinking non-stop. Unfortunately a lot of it was sodas of various sorts.
- Non stop peeing. See previous item. Some of this would have been my body flushing excess sugar from my system.
- Weight loss. In the week or so before going into hospital I lost almost 12 pounds.
- Leg cramps. I'd wake up in the night and pound my calf muscles trying to get them to relax. This was one of the worst symptoms for me.
- Fatigue. I thought this was because of waking up to pee or fix the leg cramps.
- Ketones. At the time I had no clue what this was. I just had a fruity smelling breath, especially if I belched. And I seemed to be doing that a lot.
- Infections that won't heal. I had a small cut on my foot that had been there for over 2 weeks and wasn't getting any better.
Now it's 35 years later and what's to look forward to? Plenty I think.
Yesterday at my bike ride, I spoke to someone from Dr. Faustman's research lab in Boston. They're continuing to make progress on a possible cure for Type 1 diabetes. Personally (this is just me talking) I'm expecting that I won't be taking insulin by the time my 50th d-anniversary rolls around. Maybe because of Dr. Faustman's work, or because of other research that's happening around the world as I write.
And what happens if I'm wrong? Well that's OK. It won't be the first time.
God has some plan for me. He's a good guy and he's taken great care of me and my family so far. So I'll just continue to place my trust in Him, because I'm fearfully and wonderfully made.
Labels: anniversary, bikeride, diabetes, research
posted by Bernard @ 8:19 PM
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