Days after I was born, May 1993. My nan and grandad reluctantly set off on their planned road-trip to America. During this trip, they tried to drive to the Grand Canyon... but they didn't make it. Last year my nan passed away and I promised my grandad I'd get him to the Grand Canyon. It wasn't an empty gesture... but I also didn't expect plane tickets to be booked in the same year. After a lot of pondering, I decided to use my Omnipod for this trip. My first holiday with a pump. I also wore a Freestyle Libre sensor. As we were doing a lot of driving and sight-seeing, I figured it would be for the best. With some brief planning and map in hand, 8 months later we set off.
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After receiving a message on Facebook, from a fellow T1 asking for my opinion on Omnipod, I realised I hadn't updated my 'MDI to Omnipod' category for quite some time.
So, a long overdue 'life on pump' update...
I was diagnosed with diabetes 21 years ago. The big 2-1.
And yet, this is the first time I will actually acknowledge my diaversary. It's not that I haven't thought about it, I've just never made it a 'celebration', per se. But this year is different. The more I thought about it, the more I realised this year has had a lot of 'firsts'. This year has changed me as a person, hopefully for the better. Yesterday, I had the pleasure of volunteering with JDRF Midlands at their latest event! The Onederland Festival at Drayton Manor.
I can only apologise for how long it has taken me to get this video edited. (And how long it's been since I did a blog post!)
Instead of boring you with the excuses, enter shameless plug to our new game here, I'll get straight to the good stuff...
Diabetic complications.
The Voldemort of the diabetes world. The, 'he who shall not be named'. Some conditions go hand in hand. A 'buy one get one free' deal. From nerve damage, to eye damage, cardiovascular disease, skin conditions... the list is endless. People with diabetes are thoroughly checked for any warning signs. (Well, at least they should be! It's important to attend regular check-ups.) Neuropathy, retinopathy and nephropathy being common words throughout the diabetic community. I'm here to talk about a somewhat hidden gem... Necrobiosis Lipoidica Diabeticorum. NLD, for short. I'm lying in bed, it's 03:32am. I woke up with that crappy taste in my mouth. I woke up with that bead of sweat on my neck.
I've woken up like this many times in the past. I have a sip to drink, go to the toilet and back to bed. Except now I have my best pals Omnipod and Libre. I scan myself, 18.1 still, it's been high for about 5 hours and is refusing to come down. I check my insulin on board, 0.00u, and pump some more insulin in to me. Let's hope this one works, can't be bothered with another pod change. That sounds ridiculous doesn't it? I "can't be bothered" to change this little box which keeps me alive. When you have to change this box every (give or take) 72 hours, life flies by. Every 3 days I say the same thing, "Bloody hell!? It's been 3 days again... ALREADY?!". I mean, life went fast before but now it's hypersonic. It has been nearly two weeks since I posted about my 'Paragliding Sucess!', so I thought it was about time I updated you all! As of this weekend, I should have a fancy ass new computer to work with. I've also been promised that I can have Luke, Dan and Jay's paragliding footage all ready in a folder on the desktop! (Ha! - we can only hope!)
And then it's editing time! I'm genuinely so excited to show you all the paragliding videos - they look EPIC. Including the videos of me "trying some paragliding tricks". I can promise you I'm fake screaming but I don't think you'll believe me... Friday 5th August, I set off from my hotel in Ölüdeniz knowing I was about to walk off a mountain. Babadağ mountain, to be precise. Blood glucose currently 10mmol.
I burst in to tears on my drive to work this morning.
Maybe all of my stress and sadness hit me in one moment. Or maybe it was actually this weird feeling of relief that got me. The last few months have been, in a nutshell, bat-shit crazy. |