A little advocating goes a long way.

I hear it all the time. "I wish people were more educated about diabetes." "I wish there was more advocacy for Type 1 Diabetes." "I wish our voices were heard." It might not seem like it, but at this moment a small wave of advocacy has formed off the coast of California.  A group of bloggers and advocates from the DOC are meeting with the Bigs at Medtronic and they are making your voices heard.  They are telling them your hopes and dreams...and Medtronic, I am sure, is echoing it all back to them. You see, it may not be obvious now...but there is a small army on the move to change the world and their perception of diabetes.  You...

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They bleed.

As a young girl, I was hardwired to believe that the sight of blood was a bad thing. Bright red meant danger.Blood meant Band-Aids, Neosporin and warm washcloths to cleanse the wound.Blood meant that someone was injured. It meant pain. It meant tears.It meant that the protective armor of a scab would come to protect the wound while it heals.Blood was never a good thing.And now here I am, a mother of three boys with Type 1 Diabetes. My fearful perspective of blood has been diluted. So much so, blood doesn't evoke the feelings of danger that it once did. Blood is now a symbol of the boys testing their blood sugar, and as such...it doesn't...

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It's Type 2 Diabetes Alert Day? Really?

I don't keep track of all the designated days for things... and in fact, often, various organizations just randomly make up a day, out of the blue, whenever they want to promote something... (Not necessarily a bad thing, really.)So, apparently, today is Type 2 Diabetes Alert Day. The American Diabetes Association wants to create awareness of the risks a person might have for developing Type 2 Diabetes... by having them answer some basic, simplistic questions. Yeah, pretty basic and simplistic:Are you old?Are you a man or a woman (because apparently men are more screwed than women)?Do you have high blood pressure?Did you have gestational...

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Normaling.

Ryan slipped off to bed early the other night, so I grabbed a blanket and spent a couple hours watching 30 Rock episodes OnDemand. I'm not an avid watcher, but the sitcom provided me with a host of mindless giggles, which totally served its purpose of keeping my thoughts on lighter things.In one particular episode, Jenna was uber excited that her boyfriend was coming back into town. Apparently these two had a pretty hot and heavy/crazy-like relationship, and as such she was expecting a long adventurous night with her man. Turns out though, they were both so tired from their long day they ended up falling asleep before anything crazy could happen....

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Diabetic Joke Fail?

I'm a little conflicted, lately.I have a pretty good sense of humor, if I do say so myself. (You have to have a sense of humor to call yourself "The Angry Type 2 Diabetic" and still be able to handle every preachy a-hole out there thinking you're just bitter about your diabetes, and needing to get some anger management classes...) But... what exactly is OKAY as a diabetes joke? I find myself... somewhat at odds.Let's see... at the "feather weight" level of jokes are references to the things we do every day, and that's awesome. I think it definitely HELPS heaps when people can sort of join in with us on how we see the world... Whether...

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You Are Enough...

It's a long, and lonely walk... The air is cool, and heavy with the various smells of earth and sulfur; and night crawlers have begun to pepper the sidewalks with their icky slithering. Only the one or two headlights are seen, and the occasional paperboy might go by...  Sometimes, you might even see a cop car. It's 4:05 AM, and very few are the souls who share my 45 minute journey, once or twice or thrice a week, as I make my way to work down our town's main avenue.I don't like the journey; yet I do.For a single, lonely woman... It's a dark, and scary journey. Imagination gets the best of you and you think anything and everything...

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Choosing hope...again.

I'm standing still with my arms stretched out on either side of me. I am holding two ropes. One in either hand. Each rope being pulled so my arms are taut.On one side I have the pull of an army of friends and family. I have my faith and my hope.On the other side I have despair. Fear. Pulled by a couple tiny thoughts. They are embarrassingly strong.And as such. I stand here still.Looking side to side it is a no brainer. Hope will win. I see the good on the hope side. The smiling faces full of love and prayer. Thousands of faces. And on the other are pathetic thoughts that I let seep into my unconscious. Why do I allow it? Hope cannot win...

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An ocean of emotion.

When your emotions are an ocean and you are damming the flow with Kleenex, one has to tread lightly at all times. But when monthly hormones get thrown into the mix? Forget about it. The ocean's tempest cannot be contained.I'm a wreck.All the feelings that I have been able to keep in check have risen to the surface. Where is the peace?All I can do today is pray.  Oh how I wish I could look into His eyes and hear him tell me, "All is well."Despite my substantial support group, today...I felt alone. I confided in the Lord that I felt guilty that I wished our relationship was more tangible. I recognize that faith is hope for things...

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Not trying is not allowed.

I haven't been getting a lot of sleep, and understandably I've been under a little bit of stress. I want to keep everything as close to normal around here for as long as possible, but we all know, things aren't normal...so I've allowed myself a couple small shortcuts.  I was so exhausted at night I came up with the brilliant idea of letting the kids go to bed a little higher than I usually do...just to curb the 2am lows. I thought, "Who would fault me? Just a smidge higher. No biggie."But diabetes doesn't allow shortcuts. Diabetes does not allow you NOT to try your best. Low 200's mean me doing a ton more laundry, and boys waking up not...

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Choosing Hope

We are very aware that we should be angry, confused and screaming at the fates. We know we should be withering in a corner shaking with fear and confusion.But that isn't how it is around the Schuhmacher house these days. There is something bigger at work in our hearts. That something is faith.We are cognizant of the fact that faith can seem like a fantastic thing. The Lord knowing of our family personally and in turn blessing us with those things we stand in need of can seem practically impossible. But although it may seem so, at this moment in time we are sure as the day is long that we are being carried by His love.Ryan and I sat in bed last...

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The 'Betes Preachers...

Art by: Ankhammentu Pinups Girls and Vectors There are two things that often make me feel uncomfortable; no, three: discussing religion, the current state of politics... and discussing my diabetes regimen with another diabetic. "Wow, you have to get out of this business if that makes you uncomfortable, Liz!"You'd think.  :-) I still do all three.Some of you might get where I'm going with this, before I even get there. You meet some diabetic folks, you share the management lessons (individual lessons) life with diabetes has taught you, and then you're told you're wrong; very wrong. You might even get accosted for it.It's not surprising,...

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You Never Want to Feel That Kind of Panic When You Have No Insurance

This isn't exactly what I wanted to write about, tonight. I'm not exactly an "on-schedule" blogger, but I know this is definitely not what I was expecting to write about, tonight.[Before I proceed, though... I just want to say that I don't want ANY pity. No pity... No feeling sorry for me... No hurting for my circumstances. No advice on what I could have done better (I will rip you a new one, if you do, just be forewarned). Life is what it is, and we are all dealt... what we are dealt, sometimes. Whatever that is. There are people, right now, going through a LOT more difficult circumstances. They deserve our support... so don't you worry about...

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