our life with the big D
When Kevin was 16 he was diagnosed with diabetes. It wasn't because he didn't exercise or eat right, it wasn't because of anything he did or didn't do. He was just like every other kid and then for reasons scientist still don't totally understand, his body freaked out and his pancreas stopped working properly. From that day until now, his life is dependent upon a precious life sustaining liquid - insulin.
Most people who come in contact with Kevin never even know that he is diabetic. He does well managing his symptoms and tries to live as normal a life as possible. I didn't even know he was insulin dependent until we had been hanging out for about six months. We had been out for the afternoon spending time together and I mentioned that we should grab a bite to eat. His response shocked me,
"I don't have my drugs, so I can't eat, but I can take you somewhere to get something."
For some crazy reason instead of it turning me away, it captured me even more. He doesn't allow his illness to define who he is and believes that it has been a tool to produce humility and compassion in his life. Still it is no fun to live this way.
As long as Kevin eats right, exercises, eliminates stress, and pays attention to his body, he does really well to keep his blood levels regulated. But life isn't always perfect and sometimes thing get out of balance. Being diabetic is like being a tightrope walker carrying a long pole with a bucket of water on each side. One bucket is your food and the other bucket is the insulin, it is a constant dance of keeping them balanced so that you can continue on your journey across the wire. If his blood glucose is low, he needs sugar fast to bring it up and if it is high, then the insulin is needed to bring it down. The goal is to keep it regulated where your blood glucose is always in a normal range, never going high or low. So while he needs food to survive, it is also his worst enemy.
I am thankful that Kevin takes such great care of himself and is working hard to keep his body healthy so he can be a part of our family for a long time. As his wife, I hate diabetes. I hate that he has to constantly be thinking about it, I hate that he has to stick needles into his body all day long, I hate that he can't be free from his medication, I hate that he has to deal with the effects it has on his emotions. Long term there are risks to being diabetic - heart attack, stroke, pain/numbness in your extremities or even losing them, impotence, blindness, brain changes causing personality or mood disorders, and the list goes on. And then there is just the worry factor. Whenever he is late or unreachable, I start to wonder if he could be passed out somewhere with no one to help him. It definitely keeps you on your knees and trusting in God to care for what you have no control over.
Living with type 1 diabetes puts limits on how you live your life, where you travel, where you live and as we have discovered, who you can adopt. Even though he has amazing control of his diabetes and lab reports better than most non-diabetics, there are still many countries that will not let us apply to adopt children. The countries and agencies that do work with diabetics requiring extra screening and it is always a waiting game to see if in the end they will accept us. The medication requires refrigeration to work at optimal levels. So the longer it is out and the more exposure it has to heat, the less it works. You can imagine the added stress to travel, especially travel to impoverished countries overseas.
Kevin is my hero. He lives with diabetes everyday and never complains. He has accepted the life he has and strives to do the best he can with what God has provided. He fearlessly traveled to Ethiopia to adopt our daughter even with all the risks. So tomorrow the kids and I will walk beside our hero to raise money to find a cure for his kryptonite at the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation Walk for a Cure. If you would like to donate financially in honor of Kevin you can go here or if you would like to walk with us please come join us.
Most people who come in contact with Kevin never even know that he is diabetic. He does well managing his symptoms and tries to live as normal a life as possible. I didn't even know he was insulin dependent until we had been hanging out for about six months. We had been out for the afternoon spending time together and I mentioned that we should grab a bite to eat. His response shocked me,
"I don't have my drugs, so I can't eat, but I can take you somewhere to get something."
For some crazy reason instead of it turning me away, it captured me even more. He doesn't allow his illness to define who he is and believes that it has been a tool to produce humility and compassion in his life. Still it is no fun to live this way.
As long as Kevin eats right, exercises, eliminates stress, and pays attention to his body, he does really well to keep his blood levels regulated. But life isn't always perfect and sometimes thing get out of balance. Being diabetic is like being a tightrope walker carrying a long pole with a bucket of water on each side. One bucket is your food and the other bucket is the insulin, it is a constant dance of keeping them balanced so that you can continue on your journey across the wire. If his blood glucose is low, he needs sugar fast to bring it up and if it is high, then the insulin is needed to bring it down. The goal is to keep it regulated where your blood glucose is always in a normal range, never going high or low. So while he needs food to survive, it is also his worst enemy.
I am thankful that Kevin takes such great care of himself and is working hard to keep his body healthy so he can be a part of our family for a long time. As his wife, I hate diabetes. I hate that he has to constantly be thinking about it, I hate that he has to stick needles into his body all day long, I hate that he can't be free from his medication, I hate that he has to deal with the effects it has on his emotions. Long term there are risks to being diabetic - heart attack, stroke, pain/numbness in your extremities or even losing them, impotence, blindness, brain changes causing personality or mood disorders, and the list goes on. And then there is just the worry factor. Whenever he is late or unreachable, I start to wonder if he could be passed out somewhere with no one to help him. It definitely keeps you on your knees and trusting in God to care for what you have no control over.
Living with type 1 diabetes puts limits on how you live your life, where you travel, where you live and as we have discovered, who you can adopt. Even though he has amazing control of his diabetes and lab reports better than most non-diabetics, there are still many countries that will not let us apply to adopt children. The countries and agencies that do work with diabetics requiring extra screening and it is always a waiting game to see if in the end they will accept us. The medication requires refrigeration to work at optimal levels. So the longer it is out and the more exposure it has to heat, the less it works. You can imagine the added stress to travel, especially travel to impoverished countries overseas.
Kevin is my hero. He lives with diabetes everyday and never complains. He has accepted the life he has and strives to do the best he can with what God has provided. He fearlessly traveled to Ethiopia to adopt our daughter even with all the risks. So tomorrow the kids and I will walk beside our hero to raise money to find a cure for his kryptonite at the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation Walk for a Cure. If you would like to donate financially in honor of Kevin you can go here or if you would like to walk with us please come join us.
Thanks for sharing this, Sonya.
ReplyDeleteThis is a great post, Sonya! Thank you for posting about this. Growing up with my dad being a Type 1 diabetic this really hits home. You hit the nail on the head describing it as a tightrope walk.
ReplyDeletethanks for the encouragement!
ReplyDelete