Good Friends

Last week I got together with one of my old friends.  We met in elementary school and started to lose touch in high school, but we were both still there for each other no matter what, we just had a different group of friends.  We lost touch in college, but it's easy for that to happen when you go to school thousands of miles apart.  (Keep in mind this was before facebook even existed.)  And while I still don't get to see her a lot, having her back in my life this year is something I'm very grateful for.

Back in seventh grade, I was still scared going home all by myself after school.  Her parents moved within a couple miles of my house the year before, so I went home with her & her sister every day after school that year. The summer between sixth and seventh grade, she was over my house, going to my neighbor's pool, and I took out my poke bag to test before leaving.  She started asking my mom questions (and I guess me too.)  "What is her reading supposed to be?"  "What is a good snack?"  "What do I do if she goes low?"  I'm not sure if those are the exact questions, but you get the idea.  Keep in mind, also, that this was in 1997.  I didn't carry a meter to/from school with me, I had a strict eating schedule and what to eat (starch, fruit, protein, etc.), and I only tested at breakfast, lunch, dinner & bedtime.  That day, her asking all those questions, it's a day that stands out in my mind.  It's the day that a friend without diabetes tried to understand, and know how to help her friend with diabetes.

As I took out my pump to bolus for the delicious pizza that sat before us, she had more questions.  Who can blame her; the knowledge I gave her is 13 years old.  It's nice to have a friend that I can still count on to make me feel better about having diabetes.  We talked about how the insulin pump works, what the basal is, and what a bolus is and why you need it.  I tested my blood sugar and then we went back to talking about other things, like jobs, apartments and everything else that goes on in our lives.  She's been there for me through thick and thin, and it's nice to know that with everything else, she still takes the time to ask & learn about diabetes.