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Georgia's Story Georgia was like any other 5 year old girl, active, curious and full of energy but… …in January of 1999, my Mom and Dad started noticing things about me that were out of the ordinary. I was sick to my stomach often. I was constantly thirsty. Because of all of the liquids I was drinking, I was visiting the restroom throughout the day. I had no energy at all. I just felt generally crummy. After a sleepover, when my mom was dropping off my friend at her house, my mom looked at me in the back seat a just knew something serious was wrong. I was pale and sweaty. We went in to see the doctor right away. They drew blood to run tests and sent us home. The doctor left a message on our machine before I even made it back to the house. “Get to the hospital right away,” was the message they left on our machine, “Georgia has type I diabetes.” The Hospital My family shed a lot of tears for about five minutes, then we packed up my stuff and marched off to the hospital for a week’s stay. Even though some in my extended family had diabetes, we knew very little about the disease and its complications. One thing we did know, there was no cure. I would be dependent on finger pokes, syringes and insulin for the rest of my life. There are lots of books and web sites that talk about the mechanics behind diabetes, so I won’t try to sum them up here. I have listed a few sites to visit if you want to find out more, which I encourage you to do. But, back to my story. My first job while in the hospital was to drink lots of fluids to flush my body of ketones otherwise they were going to hook me up to an IV. I drank like I never have before. Second, I had to toughen up for all of the pokes. They tested my blood every couple of hours. Finally, I had to get used to the shots. I must have had five in the first day alone. The good news, my body adjusted well and I felt better than I had in weeks. Change of Lifestyle Meanwhile, my Mom and Dad were learning how to take care of me. We had to learn how to draw and give shots, how to test my blood, how to treat me when I have the flu, how to treat highs and lows, how to measure food portions and count carbs. I’m so glad the hospital had such a good team to teach us, my life was depending on it. The team at the hospital said that things would never be the same, although we would soon get used to a new normal. You know what? They were right. I am very lucky that I have a lot of support from friends and family that were very concerned about me and my condition. They wanted to know what I could and couldn’t do. Whether they could catch it, whether I could play and all that stuff. Their curiosity and caring helped me get through those first few months. Instead of treating me like an oddball, I was the center of attention. I certainly didn’t ask for the limelight, but I loved telling people about my condition. My parents were very concerned that I would not be able to play sports, sit all day in a classroom, go on a sleepover with friends, really, they were concerned I wouldn’t be able to do anything. That didn’t last long. I let them know that diabetes was NOT going to slow me down. It is inconvenient and painful at times, but I have been getting along well. In the 6 and ½ years since I was diagnosed, I estimate that I have poked my fingers for a blood glucose reading over 10,000 times and I have received about 8,000 injections. It’s a wonder I don’t leak when I drink water. Limitations Did it slow me down? Not on your life. I play club soccer all year long, basketball, dance and many other sports. I play piano and sing. My schoolwork has never been better. Diabetes has forced me to eat well and take better care of myself. Fast forward to June 2005. One of my friends and others that I know have been using a pump to get their insulin. I finally joined them. Instead of receiving injections at various times of the day, I have a machine about the size of a cell phone that gives me small amounts of insulin throughout the day. It works kind of like my body would if I didn’t have diabetes. It required a lot of re-learning but so far I really like it. Every two days I change the connecting site, which requires an injection, but once every two days is a lot better than eight to ten injections in that same time frame. More importantly, I have much better control of my blood sugars. I have the freedom to eat how much and whenever I want. I simply test my blood sugar, punch in a few numbers, and the machine doses for me. That’s called a bolus. Even though I have more freedom when it comes to food, I pretty much stick to the same meal plan in order to stay healthy. Georgia’s Gang When I was first diagnosed, my parents and I joined other parents to find out how others cope with diabetes and to learn from their experiences. It was through those groups that we learned of the JDRF’s annual walk. The first year or two, just my immediate family walked. Over the years our numbers have grown to over 85 people! My mom gets tears in her eyes ever time she sees all those awesome family and friends there for ME! We hope you can join us this year! Our goal is $4,500 and we need your help. Please send a check made out to JDRF to 6509 S.159th Ave., Omaha, NE 68135 by July 29th. Remember, it’s tax deductible and JDRF consistently ranks at or near the top in terms of the highest percentage of dollars actually going to the research they fund. All my love and gratitude, Georgia |
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