My Diabetic Friend
Published November 01, 2003
Now, I'll be the first to admit it - I'm totally a wimp when it comes to shots. I hate shots. More than once, I've fainted dead away after getting a shot - I'm not exaggerating. I have to ask to lay down when I get a shot at the doctor's office. Go ahead and laugh at me - I can take it. I'm not a wimp about that, and I've learned over the years that embarrassment and humiliation are just emotions, and they go away after a while. I've seen surveys that have said that people's number one greatest fear is public speaking. Well, I'd much rather get up and speak in front of 10,000 people than get a shot. I'm not at all kidding.
When I found out about the shots, I couldn't believe it: "You have to have shots twice a day, every day, for your whole life!"
Yes, from the time he was five years old, my friend needed insulin injections twice a day, every day at regular times, without fail, or he'd die.
The shots would have killed me, I think.
So, it's for my friend that I'm blogging for a cure for diabetes. After high school, we went our separate ways, off to college, then jobs and family. I haven't seen him in years. Last I'd heard, he'd moved away from the Northwest, where we grew up. We've lost contact. But when I see anything about diabetes, I think of him, and I think of all the thousands of shots. To me, that's a good enough reason (although there are many, many more) to find a cure.
I'll be posting more on this during the month of November, which is American Diabetes month. Posts won't be every day, since I don't have time to write that often, but at least once a week. Thanks to John Mudd for bringing this to my attention.
Visit the American Diabetes Association's web site to find out more about diabetes and what you can do to help find a cure.
- My Diabetic Friend
- Published: November 01, 2003
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- Section: Culture
- Writer: Pete Nelson
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Comments on this articleComments
A very nice post. I also have Type I diabetes, and I give himself an insulin shot twice a day. For quite some time, as I wrestled with this disease, I dreaded the day when I might have to start injecting myself. But when the time came, learning how to do it (and do it comfortably) was relatively simple.
The first shot was really really difficult, but once I steeled myself to push the needle into my stomach and push the plunger, I found it was not nearly as bad, or as painful, as I had feared. Sometime, when I am careless or rush myself too much, I can give myself a very entertaining bruise, but the vast majority of the shots I take are simple, painless, and quick.
Not only that, but the technology for administering insulin makes it easy and comfortable too. I use insulin pens with screw-on caplike needles, which make it very easy to measure the dosage and deliver it with no pain, provided you it right.
Thanks for this post. Very nice.
Its worth remembering that Steve Redgrave - 5 times Olympic Gold Medal winner in rowing - is diabetic.
Diabetes is a problem, but it doesn't need to prevent you leading a full and athletic life.
diabetic:
Thanks for the comment. I didn't expect one after so long.
You are absolutely right, of course. What I didn't mention in my post is that my friend was also a quite good athlete while we were in high school. Given the medical technology of the time, it may have been difficult for him to compete in intense, long-duration sporting events (like long distance running), but he was a pole-vaulter, swam and did lots of different sports. So if my post implied that diabetics couldn't live active lives, I gave the wrong impression. Diabetics - the ones I've known, anyway - certainly can and do live very active lives when they choose to, just like anyone else. Your example points out that diabetics are able to compete at an extremely high level in any sport that they choose, provided they have the talent and desire. There is no difference between diabetics and non-diabetics in that regard.
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thanks Pete, excellent and moving - it's an insidious disease