I Got This

      My name is Yvonne.  I have diabetes.  I also have an amazing husband in the military, and three sweet boys who can take me to the brink of insanity and back again.

      I've never let the fact that I have diabetes define my life.  That doesn't mean I always took care of myself though.  I was thirteen when I got diagnosed with type 1 diabetes.  My teen years and early twenties were by far my worst years.  I didn't live with the disease... I barely tolerated it.  This was obvious by my frequent trips to the ER and general unhealthiness.  All I can say is that God had his hand on me and kept me alive and safe throughout all those years.

      Fast forward a few years and meet my first son.  Maybe that's when I first began to change my thinking.  It was when I realized that maybe this thing I had could be reigned in and controlled.  I spent years believing that this was something I had no power over.  That it was something I could ignore and hope that it didn't kill me, but if it did, it did.  It really didn't matter to me either way.  So here I was with a perfect, healthy baby in my arms and finally... finally it mattered.  I won't lie and say things changed over night because they didn't.  I became more aware of my diabetes, and made better choices, but it wasn't until a few years later that I walked into the living room and asked my husband what he was reading.  He said it was a book about diabetes.

Wait... What?

Why in the world would you want to read about that?  His response, "because I love you and want to know everything about you.  If I understand diabetes, I can understand you better and help you more."

Again... wait... what? 

I can understand this thing I deal with everyday?  Why had I never thought of this myself?  It was like a light bulb turned on in my head and I saw how I could take responsibility for myself and get educated.  Thank God for the Internet.... And my husband for pointing this out to me.

      A few years and two more beautiful sons later, I've learned more about myself and my diabetes than I ever did in the fifteen years prior to my epiphany.  I've learned that there is so much more than what my doctor can tell me in the twenty minutes that I see him every year.  I also realized, I don't always agree with what he thinks is the best way to manage diabetes, and that I know myself better than any doctor.  I am smart enough to ask questions, to learn what is true and what is not true on the web, and to truly know what is best for me.

      So after all those years of ignoring it and wishing it would go away, this is what I have to say to diabetes...

      I no longer tolerate you, and I no longer just live with you.  I take responsibility of you and will never let you dictate my life.

      Your mine now...

      I own you.

      I say all these things for several reasons.  I wanted to give a bit of background that leads up to this new adventure I'm starting in my life.  I am working towards getting a Diabetes Alert Dog, which I will explain more in upcoming posts.  The story of how this has come to be is kinda cool, so I hope you will take the time to read about it.  The thing is, these dogs are expensive!  I am raising money to help alleviate the financial burden that this will put on myself and my family.  I'm stepping out in faith, knowing that God will provide for this extraordinary opportunity.  Please visit diabeticalertdogsofamerica.com for more information about these service dogs.  More importantly, I write this in hope that I can help and inspire someone, just like reading other people's stories has helped and inspired me.  Sometimes all it takes is to know that you are not alone in your struggles to gain some strength to improve your life.  We could all use some improvement, right?