Lost My Focus

Well dear friends, I seemed to have lost my focus on the diabetic side of life.  I realized I started writing more about my personal life rather than the ramifications of being a diabetic in it.  Perhaps it's because, I've always tried to make diabetes less of a issue and just let it be a small part of my life.  For me, and I repeat that, for ME, it is one of the first things I have to address when I open my eyes in the morning and then think about just prior to going to sleep.  Well, let me get back to marriage and diabetes.....

People today seem to be living together often as well as getting married.    Let me just say that in preparing to have a partner in your life, do let them know what some of the hardships might be.  

1.  Occasional low blood sugars where you must take care of it on the spot.  It can't "wait a minute".  

My husband was 22 and uneducated as to any of this and I at 18, was not one to have anyone tell me what to do about something I'd been dealing with all of my life.  Therefore, I told Ron,   

"I'll take care of my own health management" 

 But I apparently went too far.  One night I had a severe reaction while sleeping and Ron was so upset about it, he was ready to talk divorce. Now that  was my fault for not talking more about my challenges.  We worked it out for the next 25 years.  Ron changed dramatically. One time on a call to him at work, he didn't get the message for more than an hour.  (I hardly if ever called my husband at work).  He called after getting the message to find I was having a miscarriage.  The next day, he went into the boss and told him 

"If you ever hold a message back from my wife, I will leave this job and make charges against you for possibly causing a tragedy."

 Ron was valuable at this job, totally "got it' as far as my needs were concerned  and it never happened again. ANYWHERE, EVER.

Ron and I did have a good 25 years together.  We did divorce. Ron could not really deal with living in city climes where I needed to be for my care and work etc.  He needed the country life and more peace than marriage to me really afforded him.  We parted on sad, but loving terms.  We did keep in touch through the years until his death.  He was a very good man.  

Twenty eight years later, dating a man for the first few times, I explained if we were at a dance and I asked him to get me a coke or something sweet, he was to seat me and immediately go to get something for me.  It meant not to stop and talk to anyone but to immediately find something I could raise my blood sugar with right away.  Of course I always had some sort of food with me but occasionally there were moments when I might not be near my items since I was on the dance floor.  

This was important that I had this early lesson. When you are with someone who is in control of where you are or how you might get home etc, to make sure they are compatible with your needs.

2.  Talk with a partner about how important health insurance is.  In the beginning of my marriage to Ron, he didn't realize how important that was.  He considered jobs that didn't have insurance coverage because the money was better.   At the time I was not working since I was having our children.  It was late in the game to start explaining that but we did indeed always have insurance.  I went back to work once my son was 6 months old so we could keep all that in check.  

Once, when I was working and on my own 26 years later, I refused to take a job that was wanting me to come and work for them as they were getting off the ground floor.  I told them I had to have insurance and certain companies   didn't take over for 'pre-existing' disease as I had.  They were so anxious to get me that they changed the whole company's insurance to accommodate me.  There were 12 people in the place who fortunately received better insurance because they wanted me.  That's a big deal to me, even now all these years later.  Dr. Gilbertson, I thank you.

Well, time to go.  Will talk with you again dear friends........