Painting

College Art Class

Last night I had my first watercolor class.  The painting above is a watercolor I painted my junior year of college during an intro to art type class.  The assignment was kind of a past, present and future assignment with icons depicting the major events in our life.  I did not become serious about taking care of my diabetes until I started writing this blog, and yet this was done 3 - 4 years ago and most of my icons are diabetes related.  

Diabetes Icons

The river: diagnosed with diabetes

The green trees: Camp Carefree

The red cross: ketoacidosis in 2003

6.0: diabetes A1C 

I believe that the third island is "future."  This island includes Camp Carefree, 6.0 A1C, becoming a teacher and traveling.  The only thing I have done is traveled.  This is not bad, it's just another reminder that life doesn't always go in the direction you think it will.  I never did make it back to Camp Carefree, But I went to Gales Creek Camp, which is also part of traveling.  And I may not be a teacher, but I do teach every day and I love my job and feel as though I am making an impact.  And right now I'm working really hard on the A1C.  So hopefully I can get that part of my future island.  And maybe not 6.0.  But a 6._ would be incredible.  

Going Back

About a month ago, I got invited to go to Oktoberfest with my friends in Newport, RI for this weekend.  I am the type  of person that will always choose to do things with my family or friends. I've been looking forward to this weekend and these friends because I haven't seen them in quite a while.  As last Friday rolled around, I was getting a little nervous. 

In 2003, I was just like most of my other friends really excited to go off to college.  I was off to Salve Regina University with two other girls from my high school.  I can look back now and say that I was not ready to go to college; it is blatantly obvious.  Back then though, I was obviously ready.  My academics suffered, my social life suffered, but most importantly, my diabetes suffered.  Shortly before Thanksgiving, I got really sick, throwing up everywhere and the Resident Director decided that enough was enough and I needed to go to the hospital.  Off I went in the ambulance to the Newport Emergency Room where my blood sugar was recorded as 789.  We later learned that my insulin had expired, but if I had been more on top of it, I could have prevented such a high high.  From there I went to Hasbro Children's Hospital in Providence where I was in the ICU and surrounded by diabetes educators.    I had high school friends calling every day, my parents with me day & night, and I was determined to get better.  That was my diabetes rock bottom. I went back and "finished" my semester, only to return to pack up my things.  I can't really blame it on anything but me, but if a lot of things had been different, maybe it wouldn't have happened?  I can't be sure.

I've been back a time or two before, but always with people who knew my SRU history.  I am not proud of that time of my diabetes history, and I don't like to talk about it, so these friends had no idea.  My life since they have been in my life has been positive.  I'm not saying that my diabetes control has always been good, because I'd be lying if I said that.

 

It's good to have a good memory from Newport, but it's still the one place that I get nervous about every time I go.

A1C

From September 16, 2010

I just bought an at home, A1C now kit, and I’m pretty damn nervous about it.  It’s something that I need to know, and I’ve been slacking on the new doctor appointment, and my last A1C was...well...less than impressive.  That A1C was also taken while I was in the hospital with ketoacidosis on March 14, and my A1C was at its worst ever of 11.1%.  For those of you who don’t know diabetes speak, thats a 3 month average of over 270.  THAT’S BAD!  Today, my new A1C, and with my feet shaking wanting to run around...it’s 8.6!  Now this still isn’t ideal, but thats an average 3 month blood sugar of approximately 185.  There is still a lot of work to be done, but I’m going in the right direction and I couldn’t be happier!