"...it's like sugar to the beet, babe..."

You know that song by James Taylor--"How Sweet It Is?" "...to be loved by you." Great song, great artist--check him out some time.

Anyway, what brings on all of this talk of "sweet stuff"? Well, in early January, we learned that Brian has Type I Diabetes. Being a nurse, I happen to be privy to some of the signs and symptoms of diabetes. I started getting a little concerned about him in December. I mean, we had just celebrated Thanksgiving, went on a cruise to Hawaii, celebrated Christmas and New Year's, and he loses 10 lbs? How is that fair? I mean...I was trying--he wasn't trying! Who goes on a cruise for a week and loses weight? The real kicker, though, (after I came back to my senses from being green with envy about all the weight loss...not really he he) was that he was going to the bathroom way too frequently. I started teasing him about being pregnant because he'd wake a few times in the night to go to the loo. On a trip home from a relatively close city, we had to stop twice for him to go--and then he went four more times in the course of two hours when we returned home that same evening. Crazy! The next morning, I had a call into my dad, who suggested what I had thought all along--that we do a fasting blood sugar. My mom came up the next day with her glucometer. His sugar was 299. (Normal fasting BS is less than 100.) He started insulin that very day.

It was quite the shocker at first, but we have adapted surprisingly well. Fortunately, we didn't have a lot of lifestyle changes to make. We don't drink soda and we eat a pretty balanced diet. (Actually, one of the biggest challenges has been overcoming the misinformation out there about what diabetics can and can't eat. Yes--Brian can still eat sugar--he just has to adjust his insulin dose to account for it. So...just like everybody else should, we eat it in moderation...and maybe a little less than we would have otherwise. No more sugar on our beets--not that Brian ate beets, anyway.) We've never been more thankful for my education than we are now. I mean, it wasn't any coincidence that I worked at the capital diabetic hospital of the world--okay, I don't know that for sure, but what I do know is that my hospital services A LOT of diabetics. Seriously, it's been pretty amazing to consider the course of our lives--the seemingly small decisions we've made and how we ended up where we are at this time. Those weren't coincidences...they all prepared us for this very moment. I have no doubt that Heavenly Father gave us little nudges and encouragement along the way. I mean--I NEVER wanted to be a nurse, and well--here I am, and I like it too!

After the initial shock wore off, we buckled down and got to work. We read a lot, attended some diabetic education classes and met with some dietitians. Brian couldn't get into an endocrinologist for a really long time, so we are very thankful to have had my dad. He managed us very well. When we finally saw the endo (three months later), Brian had already had his labs repeated. The endo was shocked with how great they were and couldn't praise Brian enough. We were both happy to hear that and I was so proud of Brian and his diligence. We are still in what they call the "honeymoon phase". Brian still makes some insulin and there's no telling when those remaining insulin-producing cells will be gone. A month, maybe a year? We will have to adjust and adapt his insulin dosages as that occurs and basically will be starting from scratch again. But, we'll cross that bridge when we get there--and this time we'll be equipped with the knowledge of how to deal with it.

Some of you might be saying, "I thought Type I Diabetes happened to kids." And it's true--most people are diagnosed in their adolescence. But, apparently, the age of 30 is another big time for people to manifest Type I Diabetes. Type I is not as genetically linked as Type II and no one in Brian's family has it. In Brian's case, it is most likely an auto-immune disorder. He also has hypothyroidism--has since he was 17--and that was likely caused by an auto-immune disorder as well. So, the two of them appearing together like that, make a pretty strong case for auto-immune.

We've had to make some adjustments--like always having sugar on hand in case he gets low and trying to remember to pack his glucometer and insulin for any and all trips we take. It's kind of like having a baby and having all that extra stuff that you have to take with you on trips. The only difference is that with a baby, there's a live person there that kind of reminds you that you need to take that extra stuff. (Yeah...we've forgotten a few things from time to time, but we're getting better!) We've also had to consider what we store in our food storage and whether it will work for him--basically too many carbs are not a good thing since 100% of them break down into sugar. It's been a learning curve, but we've adapted and are doing well. And most of all--we are just so thankful! Thankful for good health, for education, for good jobs, and for modern medicine! We are so blessed.