Growing up I always knew that I was going to become diabetic. My mother had Diabetes from a young age, and when she died of complications of her diabetes in 1991, my sister and I were constantly told that we would become diabetic. My fear of diabetes settled as I got older, by the time I was 18 I believed that the risk was over.
I was 19 years old, and still no thought or fear of diabetes in mind. After an argument I began to feel very ill, my sister insisted on checking my BS. To my surprise my blood sugar levels were very high and my sister called 9-1-1. I went to a small town emergency room. They did a blood tests, I will never forget when the nurse came into the room and asked me, “Did you know you have diabetes?” My response was, “I could have told you that.”
I had type 2 diabetes and could control it with diet and exercise. I was not given a glucose monitor, or even given a consultation with a dietitian. Three months go by, I become very ill, and I can’t eat without getting sick, and I could barely make it to the bathroom. In and out of consciousness, not sure what was going on, I wake up thinking it was a dream. I was in a diabetic coma for seven days, kept in the intensive care unit for another seven. Another fourteen days and I was discharged.
I have had diabetes for almost 12 years, I still battle with it. This was only my first battle with DKA and my diabetes the fight continues without understanding. Be thoughtful of those with diabetes, type one is not always type one. I have both type one and two, worst of both worlds, and yet I deal with it the best that I can. Stories are not always those of triumph, some are of constant battles, as long as we continue to fight eventually we will win.
Lewis, NY
