One Last Story For November
Once upon a time there was a girl with diabetes who survived the whole month of November!
She ate some leftover Halloween candy but not too much.
She took an airplane trip to Florida where she celebrated her 16th birthday in the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. In Orlando she figured out how to bolus insulin to cover Butterbeer. She ate at restaurants and guessed the carbohydrate content of every meal, sometimes more successfully than others.
She had some long, busy days in November, including one when she ate dinner in the car on the way from a piano lesson to jazz band rehearsal. And another when she took two difficult and stressful tests.
She had a couple fun but out-of-the-ordinary evenings, like one which found her eating Nutella pancakes at a diner at 10 p.m. after working backstage for the school play. And another spent at the last Friday night football game of the marching band season, when she ate dinner on a school bus before spending 3 hours playing the clarinet in the freezing cold.
She thoroughly enjoyed Thanksgiving dinner, especially the stuffing, the cranberry bread, and the pumpkin pie. And the turkey sandwiches with cranberry sauce on white bread the next day. And Thanksgiving dinner round 2 (a.k.a. leftovers) on Saturday.
All through November, she checked her blood sugar, changed her pump sites, used her Dexcom, explained her diabetes needs to TSA agents and teachers, carried her supply bag wherever she went, counted her carbohydrates, corrected her highs and drank juice boxes for her lows. But those aren't the parts of November she'll remember.
Gringotts
One last story from our Universal Studios vacation:
We arrived at Gringotts, the goblin-operated bank frequented by the characters in Harry Potter. We stored our belongings in the lockers provided. No bags were permitted on the ride. Before a similar ride that morning we'd stuffed our pockets with airheads candy before stashing the rest of the supplies in the locker. This time we forgot.
Ten minutes into what was reported to be a 35 minute line to board the ride, the Dexcom alarmed.
"70 with a down arrow," my daughter reported. I had one airhead left in my pocket from the morning, which I handed over.
Three minutes later, the Dexcom alarmed again.
"It's double down now and says I'm 55."
"Do you feel low?"
"Yeah- I can't wait here."
There was a staff member nearby.
"My daughter is having a medical issue," my husband explained." What's the best way to exit?"
"Just walk up this ramp and you'll get out."
"Is there any way we can skip some of the line when we come back- it'll be about 10 minutes we think."
"Yes- absolutely- just tell the person at the entrance that Maya said you can come in through the express pass entrance. It shouldn't be a problem."
"Awesome- thank you so much."
So we went out and emptied our locker. We sat on the ground near a statue of a goblin holding a stack of gold while my daughter checked with her glucometer (55) and drank a juice.
We waited there a few minutes, people-watching.
"You feeling a little better?"
"Yeah- I'm definitely coming up."
A recheck showed 68. She ate another airhead for good measure, and we stuffed our pockets full of them before getting another locker.
The staff member at the entrance allowed our reentry through the express line, and with an elapsed time of under 15 minutes, we were soon standing next to the people who had been ahead of us in line before we exited.
The ride was great.
It's November...Diabetes Awareness Month! My plan for this month involves stories. Simple, everyday, real-life stories about living with diabetes. I plan to tell them here as narratives, like this one, just snippets of a day with diabetes, and I plan to tell them, or stories like them, more often in the 'real world' this month when friends ask, 'How's it going,' or relatives ask what I've been up to.
We arrived at Gringotts, the goblin-operated bank frequented by the characters in Harry Potter. We stored our belongings in the lockers provided. No bags were permitted on the ride. Before a similar ride that morning we'd stuffed our pockets with airheads candy before stashing the rest of the supplies in the locker. This time we forgot.
Ten minutes into what was reported to be a 35 minute line to board the ride, the Dexcom alarmed.
"70 with a down arrow," my daughter reported. I had one airhead left in my pocket from the morning, which I handed over.
Three minutes later, the Dexcom alarmed again.
"It's double down now and says I'm 55."
"Do you feel low?"
"Yeah- I can't wait here."
There was a staff member nearby.
"My daughter is having a medical issue," my husband explained." What's the best way to exit?"
"Just walk up this ramp and you'll get out."
"Is there any way we can skip some of the line when we come back- it'll be about 10 minutes we think."
"Yes- absolutely- just tell the person at the entrance that Maya said you can come in through the express pass entrance. It shouldn't be a problem."
"Awesome- thank you so much."
So we went out and emptied our locker. We sat on the ground near a statue of a goblin holding a stack of gold while my daughter checked with her glucometer (55) and drank a juice.
We waited there a few minutes, people-watching.
"You feeling a little better?"
"Yeah- I'm definitely coming up."
A recheck showed 68. She ate another airhead for good measure, and we stuffed our pockets full of them before getting another locker.
The staff member at the entrance allowed our reentry through the express line, and with an elapsed time of under 15 minutes, we were soon standing next to the people who had been ahead of us in line before we exited.
The ride was great.
It's November...Diabetes Awareness Month! My plan for this month involves stories. Simple, everyday, real-life stories about living with diabetes. I plan to tell them here as narratives, like this one, just snippets of a day with diabetes, and I plan to tell them, or stories like them, more often in the 'real world' this month when friends ask, 'How's it going,' or relatives ask what I've been up to.
A Security Story
As we arrived at the airport security gate on our way to Florida, my daughter disconnected her pump. "This needs to be visually inspected. It can't go through any of the scanners," she informed the TSA agent.
"That's what you'd like to do?" was the reply.
"Yes, please."
We walked through the body scanner and met the agent on the other side. We stood near him as he swabbed the pump to check for explosives and then returned it to my daughter.
Meanwhile I watched our toiletries and my carry-on bag slide into the 'to be inspected' holding area instead of continuing along the conveyor belt to be retrieved.
The first thing I was asked about was the Frio insulin cooling case.
He still had my large backpack. "Anything in here you can think of that would have caused this to be pulled aside?"
"Um- it's got lots of diabetes supplies...syringes, insulin pump infusion sets, glucometers...I'm not sure what might have caused the concern."
So the TSA agent, who was very nice, rummaged through the bag, pulling out every make-up case and Ziploc bag, methodically opening and examining them one at a time. When those were all on the metal table and the only things left in the bag were books and a few other obviously safe items, he sent the backpack through the x-ray machine again.
"Okay- you're good to go," he said upon his return.
I observed the collection of items spread around the metal table, all of which needed to be fit back into the backpack in a way that would enable us to access the important ones during our flight, and stifled a laugh.
"Easy for me to say," the TSA agent said with a friendly smile as we started to repack.
It's November...Diabetes Awareness Month! My plan for this month involves stories. Simple, everyday, real-life stories about living with diabetes. I plan to tell them here as narratives, like this one, just snippets of a day with diabetes, and I plan to tell them, or stories like them, more often in the 'real world' this month when friends ask, 'How's it going,' or relatives ask what I've been up to.
A Test Strip Story for World Diabetes Day
"Hey look- it's a test strip. It's not the kind I use."
This is a zoomed-in shot, and cropped. The test strip was virtually hidden in the sidewalk crack at the busy amusement park. Yet it caught my daughter's eye.
Finding a test strip "in the wild" meant that another person with diabetes had been there.
Whose was it? Was its user still around? Did the blood sugar it recorded require a $4 soda from the snack stand or a break from the rides? Was the person local or travelling? Type 1 or Type 2? Newly diagnosed or an old pro? Comfortable with diabetes care on the run or not?
We had a distinct curiosity about, and sense of kinship with, whoever dropped that strip.
Other people with diabetes, even complete strangers, hold a special place in our hearts.
Whose was it? Was its user still around? Did the blood sugar it recorded require a $4 soda from the snack stand or a break from the rides? Was the person local or travelling? Type 1 or Type 2? Newly diagnosed or an old pro? Comfortable with diabetes care on the run or not?
We had a distinct curiosity about, and sense of kinship with, whoever dropped that strip.
Other people with diabetes, even complete strangers, hold a special place in our hearts.
The same sense of connection fuels my interest in World Diabetes Day. There are millions of people around the globe living millions of very different kinds of diabetes lives. But they're all living them because Dr. Frederick Banting, born 126 years ago today, discovered and bottled insulin.
What, I wonder, are their struggles? Successes? Stories?
Do they think about being part of a global diabetes community, and if so does it give them the same sense of hope it gives us?
It's November...Diabetes Awareness Month! My plan for this month involves stories. Simple, everyday, real-life stories about living with diabetes. I plan to tell them here as narratives, like this one, just snippets of a day with diabetes, and I plan to tell them, or stories like them, more often in the 'real world' this month when friends ask, 'How's it going,' or relatives ask what I've been up to.
Vacation is For Fun
We accomplished all of our 'must-do's' on our visit to Universal Studios Orlando for my daughter's 16th birthday.
She used a wand to cast spells around Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade.
We took a wild ride through Gringotts bank.
After touring Hogwarts' interior, we experienced a high flying adventure over the castle and its environs.
We watched the Frog Choir and visited Olivander's Wand Shop.
We met the Knight Bus driver and the conductor of the Hogwarts Express.
She drank Butterbeer in Diagon Alley. Twice. She bought a bag of candy from Honeydukes in Hogsmeade Village.
She carried that bag with her and sampled Sherbet Lemons, Fizzing Whizzbees and Gummy Frogs throughout the day.
Her birthday dinner at Margaritaville included a virgin strawberry daiquiri and a complimentary red velvet cake dessert.
Did we count the carbohydrates in everything perfectly? No.
Did the walking make her blood sugar drop so that Fizzing Whizzbees became not only fun but medicinal? Absolutely.
Did she enjoy every moment, sip and morsel and live to tell the tale? Yup.
It's November...Diabetes Awareness Month! My plan for this month involves stories. Simple, everyday, real-life stories about living with diabetes. I plan to tell them here as narratives, like this one, just snippets of a day with diabetes, and I plan to tell them, or stories like them, more often in the 'real world' this month when friends ask, 'How's it going,' or relatives ask what I've been up to.
It's November...Diabetes Awareness Month! My plan for this month involves stories. Simple, everyday, real-life stories about living with diabetes. I plan to tell them here as narratives, like this one, just snippets of a day with diabetes, and I plan to tell them, or stories like them, more often in the 'real world' this month when friends ask, 'How's it going,' or relatives ask what I've been up to.
A Letter
We received a letter in the mail the other day about a health insurance claim.
"The claim is on hold. It's important that we hear back from you within 45 days or we may not be able to process the claim," the letter read. Before this particular claim could be processed, our insurance company needed to know if my daughter was covered by any other health insurance plans.
I assumed that this claim was for insulin pump supplies or Dexcom sensors; for some very expensive diabetes-related claim. Those seemed like the types of things which would suddenly flag her file requiring a double-check that nobody else might be in the position to foot the bill.
Nope. The big bill flagged for possible nonpayment? My daughter's flu shot.
I had a surprisingly quick phone "conversation" with an automated computer lady during which I was able confirm with her (it?) that my daughter has no other health insurance coverage. Now her five minute visit for a basic flu shot will be covered.
Presumably so will the next round of very expensive diabetes supplies.
It's November...Diabetes Awareness Month! My plan for this month involves stories. Simple, everyday, real-life stories about living with diabetes. I plan to tell them here as narratives, like this one, just snippets of a day with diabetes, and I plan to tell them, or stories like them, more often in the 'real world' this month when friends ask, 'How's it going,' or relatives ask what I've been up to.
The Unconcerned Hostage
'I'm high and won't come down in the nurse going to change the site,' the text read, belying the fact that she's takes Honors English.
My daughter changed her pump site on her own, no problem, and we texted a bit about dosing insulin afterwards to bring the high blood sugar down.
As it turned out the nurse was at lunch and a favorite teacher was covering the nurse's office until her return.
Then this text: 'She wants me to stay until I come down more what should I do??'
After a little more (still unpunctuated) communication, we clarified that the nurse would be back in about 15 minutes and wanted to see my daughter before she returned to class.
We chose not to negotiate an early release. We might have argued if she'd been missing Chemistry instead of Driver's Ed, or if there hadn't been a favorite teacher to chat with.
It's November...Diabetes Awareness Month! My plan for this month involves stories. Simple, everyday, real-life stories about living with diabetes. I plan to tell them here as narratives, like this one, just snippets of a day with diabetes, and I plan to tell them, or stories like them, more often in the 'real world' this month when friends ask, 'How's it going,' or relatives ask what I've been up to.
#November
It's November...Diabetes Awareness Month! My plan for this month involves stories...simple, everyday, real-life stories about living with diabetes. I plan to tell them here as narratives, just snippets of a day with diabetes, with as little context or editorializing as possible. And I plan to tell them, or stories like them, more often in the 'real world' this month when friends ask, 'How's it going,' or relatives ask what I've been up to.
I think everyday stories have an incredible power to educate, break down stereotypes and stigma, and create energy for change in ways that straight facts do not.
Great minds think alike, I guess, since I learned this morning that JDRF and ADA are both encouraging storytelling this month as well. We're encouraged to make this invisible illness a bit more visible; using hashtags, of course.
The American Diabetes Association has introduced the hashtags #DearDiabetes and #thisisdiabetes.
JDRF encourages continued use of their current go-to, #T1DLooksLikeMe and has added #T1DYouDon'tSee for this month's festivities.
So stay tuned for some stories this month. I hope they encourage you to tell your own.
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