The Corner Booth

  {Editor's Note: This post is not meant to make light of domestic violence , which is an issue that needs to be taken seriously. Rather, this post is just a guy relying on his sense of humor to help him cope with some of the worst effects of diabetes.} So, I beat my wife. Seriously. I've resorted to spousal abuse twice in the past few years and I can't guarantee it won't happen again. OK, hold on. Before I end up being the subject of police raids or adult protective services calls, maybe I should back up and explain. Don't worry: there've been good reasons. 1. I thought my wife was an alien trying to poison me with apple cider. If I didn't fight back, she might take over my body and clone me for nefarious alien invasion purposes. 2. She was a secret Communist spy trying to crush my patriotic views of the United States, evidenced by her trying to pin me down to confiscate my American-flag-skin-wearing insulin pump. Both situations led me...

In the spirit of Heart Day that came and went on Tuesday, I decided to highlight a moment that illustrates just how awesome my Loving and Supporting Spouse truly is. Some wrote odes to their pancreas (pancrei) or said it aloud , while others sent some wishes to fellow DOC members or special people in their lives. Many bought candy and chocolate or did dinners and special surprises that they reported about online. Not me. That’s not how I roll. Whether we shared in any of those traditional aspects really isn’t what I wanted to write about. Wanting to include my own online tribute or story about @TypeSuzi , I decided to focus on a little moment we had in our Life With Diabetes not too long ago. These happen from time to time, but this was a first on a couple different fronts. Being an insulin pumper and CGM-wearer, every few days presents the task of having to change out at least one of those sites or sensors and insert a new one on a different part of body real estat...

As a couple, we celebrate Christmas by not splurging much on each other but usually going for an array of fun, creative little gifts for each other. Maybe one or two we can enjoy together, like tickets to a play or an event, a movie or whatever. And then we might do a "real" gift that sticks around for a bit and means a little something. Now, I won't share all the little exchanges we shared this Christmas. But there are three that we thought would be fun to put into a blog post. 1.) Candy, Candy, Candy ( said in the Garfield Halloween special voice ). You know, in case of Low blood sugars.... (wink). Because, really. Why eat glucose tabs when you don't have to? 2.) D-Notepads: I'm a writer, you likely know. Well, in the last few years I've been mixing my time up with a lot of my real-job newspaper writing and also diabetes writing in the blogosphere and elsewhere. Sure, most of it's in the Diabetes Online Community, but that mean I don't writ...

We recently had a Twitter discussion during the weekly #dsma chat involving the Life Stages of Diabetes. Basically, the premise is this: Living with diabetes can be tough and we never get a break. It's ALWAYS on our mind, with everything we do.  It’s quite easy to feel burnt out from everything we have to do to stay healthy.  When that happens, it can help to focus on the things, and the people, who make all our hard work worth it. How did relationships with other people help inspire you to take care of yourself? For me, that answer depends on which particular life stage we're talking about. Diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes at age five, I've gone through a few and so each stage represents a different relationship that essentially motivated me in some way to better manage my diabetes. As a Child & Teenager, Young Adult: My friends Maybe it wasn't so much being "inspired" during these years as it was more a sense of my wanting to not be different. Want...

You never know when an unplanned D-Meetup may happen. Today, my D-Wife writes about a random encounter she just had with a Type 1. This all came about thanks to some of the "war wounds" my loving spouse endured thanks to one of my scary night-time Lows earlier this year. This wasn't an example of Aliens, Apple Cider & Honey , as has happened before, but some other weird nonsensical hypo scenario that appears to only happen in our crazy world... Not fun, but it is what it is. Anyhow, she's blogged about this latest encounter over at her online spot dubbed Laughter & Tears . While I often ramble about how these other Type 1s actually do exist out there in real life, she's had much less exposure to them and often thinks I may be imagining these people. Well, here's to bolstering my case! We Persons With Diabetes appear in the strangest places, as others have written about before. Always interesting when our paths cross... and you never know - we ...

A coworker of my wife recently approached her at the office. "So, Suzi, I have a question: Can Mike really EAT sugar and sweets, and those types of thing?" Her response: "Of course, why wouldn't he be able to?" "Well, he's diabetic..." Suzi: "Ah. Well, he can eat whatever he wants. He just has to dose insulin for it. But yes, he can eat whatever he wants..." My quick-witted wife added, "Unless it's laced with poison." Hearing this story at home, I beamed proudly. What. An. Awesome. Type 3. : )

Though I try to refrain from doing this, the need to recycle an old seldom-read post is too great to pass up. A hectic week of work deadlines and time passing too quickly have combined to bring me to this hour, without a suitable D-Topic to write about anew. So, I give you one that originally ran in early 2007 in my early days of blogging here. With that, hope you enjoy this Blast from the Past! - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - A fellow D-blogger Ryan Bruner recently noted how we are often inspired at the oddest moments in life, and how we can realize someone's incredible nature at the most inopportune times. He shared a story about his wife. So here, I thought I'd take a moment to share one of mine. This story illustrates some aspects of my wife's personality that I find the most inspiring, life-changing, and all around refreshing in comparison to my own. Her creativity, inspiring ability to take care of others ( well, me of course ), a...

We've lost one of our own. Thirteen-year-old Eilish died earlier this week as a result of Type 1 diabetes. Her family has been an active force in the Children With Diabetes forums, and the tragic news of young Eilish dying while she slept took everyone and all of us in the DOC by surprise. Apparently another example of what's called  "dead-in-bed" syndrome . I awoke to this shocking news Wednesday. Like many in the DOC, I lost sleep over this last night. My mind kept returning to this tragedy. Replaying it over and over, until it consumed my thoughts. I'd planned to finish some work from the office home, but couldn't find that focus. Too much tragedy was in my heart, for a girl and a family I've never met and probably never will. Last night, I cried. Then, I updated my Facebook status as so many others have done, honoring Eilish and her family and lighting a virtual candle in tribute. My heart hurts. I'm mad, sad, and scared...

On Sept. 24, 2005, we put rings on our fingers, made some serious promises, and began our life together as a married couple that was the happiest moments in my life. That also happened to be the time we dripped wax on our hands, nearly tripped walking up the stairs at church, and laughed at each others' total unpreparedness in actually getting married. Funny and serious, there we were. And here we are. These past five years have complimented the five we'd been together before marriage, and we've endured so much during our first decade together. Every day has been an adventure and I'm so incredibly honored to be sharing these days with you. We've been through so much. But you've put up with my stubbornness, my legal-argument articulating mind, and endured all the Highs and Lows. And that's before we even get into the whole diabetes aspect of our life. Ten years ago, life was so much different. Those where the days Before Pizza Had Carbs - or more specif...

This is the second of a two-part post, the first you may have noticed earlier in the week about Dennys and Diabetes at 1a.m . We now move into the second half of the adventure...   As you might have guessed, winding up in a Denny’s parking lot in the middle of the night usually signals what can only be assumed to be an interesting time. Especially when there are needles, flashes of skin, “magic drugs” and a sniffing dog involved. But that wasn’t the most eventful part of the night. What truly sparked the “adventure” came in the hours after that late-night Denny’s parking lot scene, where I’d gone to help a fellow Adult Type 1 who was without insulin syringes and battling a cranky insulin pump and High blood sugars. You might remember this detail from Part I: that prior to leaving my house just after midnight, my pre-driving blood test rang in at 57. Well, crap. That’s not going to work, I thought. So, I crammed a handful of orange glucose tabs into my mouth and went all vacuu...

Here we are on Friday. TGIF? Not this time. At least, not completely. A quote comes to mind as we hit the last day of this week, and I reflect on the progress made, strived for and not achieved. "Only Robinson Crusoe had everything done by Friday."   ~Author Unknown Hmm. Sadly, it doesn't appear that I'm Robinson Crusoe. So, this doesn't apply to me. For two reasons: A.) I'm not a castaway on a tropical island. B.) While making it this far through the week feels like a tremendous victory, my To Do List lingers on and continues haunting me. Stealing sleep and stressing me out like a man who dropped his bacon on the floor. So, as I scramble to end the week on a more productive note, I offer a light, randomly-assembled recap of the week's Highs & Lows plus a preview of what's down the road in the week(s) ahead. ( Warning: Link heavy, but all are worth the mentions! ) Rain, please. Seriously. Why the Fuzzle Navel doesn't it rain anymore in...

The most recent annual camping adventure took me up to Interlochen, Michigan for a week and allows me to trade in the real life stresses and online universe for much-needed relaxation outdoors. Here's a Friday Lite post with some snippets of My D-Life Around The Campfire and nearby places. Moonlight, Campfire, & The Darkness Outdoors: This was my 5th year in the past decade on a summer camping adventure, and the the third straight in late July heading up to the northern part of Lower Michigan with friends. But it was my first where I wasn't pumping, but rather endured Multiple Daily Injections. My sugars were pretty steady or even slightly Low a majority of the time, and only a few times did they rise Higher when overeating and not compensating with enough insulin. Daytime was easy enough. But after dark presented some challenges. Being at a Michigan state park helped, as there were lighted restrooms, showers, running water and electricity. Washing the hands was easy eno...

I've never been a fan of the term "pre-diabetes." Of course, I'm no medical professional. I'm not able to dispute the scientific validity of this term and how it's utilized. Online research tells me that the CDC has reported that one in four people (roughly 57 million people) have pre-diabetes and therefore have a higher risk of developing Type 2 within 10 years. But as a jaded and skeptical Type 1 for now more than a quarter century, I have reservations with this "diagnosis" and how the existing medical establishment throws this around in what I'd describe as a reckless manner. For example, take my wife who was recently told at an employer-offered health screening that she has "pre-diabetes" because of a single fasting blood glucose reading of 113 mg/dL. Yes, that's right. 113. One one three. (Waiting, allowing that number to process...) This is where I let Suzi jump in and tell the story, as it happened to her... The h...

Attending the second Roche Diabetes Social Media Summit in Orlando , I bring you a guest-blog from my loving wife Susanne, who's been a life-changing force in how I've changed my overall life and D-Management for the better during the past decade. Nothing written can do justice to how wonderful she is, and I'll let her say what she wants here without interfering much - only to say that I wouldn't be where I am and have what I consider to be a blessed existence without her special love, support, and partnership. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Some might find it’s exciting to have in their lives occasional encounters with apple-cider loving aliens, frosting-laced wrestling matches, and recognition of the local paramedics by name and face. But those are just some of the infrequent happenings in the life of a wife of a Type 1 diabetic, a Type 3, and it’s not part of a daily routine that I don’t consider all that adventurous. Rather, it's what I k...

We People With Diabetes often voice our frustrations with Diabetes Police, who are those typically well-meaning and nice people who think they're the resident experts on everything related to diabetes. As with all D-Police Force members, dealing with these individuals one-on-one or in mass can be frustrating and require diplomacy, usually in the form of biting your tongue and instead responding with education or information about whatever the topic might be. Hopefully, it sinks in. But sometimes that isn't the case. That response can be even more tricky when those people are family members or close friends, and it requires a bit more delicacy than strangers or even more casual acquaintances. In my own D-Life during the past decade, the person who I've come to label as my Chief of D-Police is none other than my mother-in-law. A pleasant woman, she is herself a Type 2 diabetic - which means that her view of the D-World is gospel. I do my best to maintain composure, balanci...