Ryan G. and Billy

This is absolutely perfect.  I named my blog theperfect102 and here it is…the perfect 102.  Right there.  It sure is beautiful isn’t it?  Pleasing to the eye.  The slender 1 perfectly counteracted by the wider 2…the 0 representing the never-ending circle of happiness that occurs with 102 blood sugar results.  I mean, if I ever, ever, achieve a 102, I’ll post it here.  I would be so proud.  I can’t say I don’t get close.  There are some 94s or some 110s, and the more unfortunate 57s and 276s.  But very rarely do I land on that beautiful 102.  One day though, one day.

I think what is even more exciting about this picture (from shutterstock.com by the way…sorry for the logo inside I just didn’t want to pay for the real version) is the fact that if you look close, and I mean really, really close, there is no blood on the strip.  There’s a drop of blood on the finger and a 102 on the meter, but no blood on the strip.  It’s quite a feat, even bordering on the miraculous.  I actually can’t even understand it.  Maybe when your blood sugar is 102, a certain unexplainable event occurs between finger and meter that allows all connection to be bypassed.  Wow.

So all joking aside, I actually have a serious piece to post :):

There was a boy in my second grade class known as Ryan G.  You know how in elementary school if you share a name with someone, you use the first initial of your last name to distinguish between the others with your name?  Well that’s what happened with Ryan G.  I don’t remember his last name, nor do I know if I ever learned it.  All I know is this second grade classmate of mine was known as Ryan G. and he represented my first encounter with a type 1 diabetic.

I didn’t have diabetes in second grade and truly had no idea what it actually was.  I knew that Ryan G. went to the office before lunch every day.  He was able to bring a friend with him, a privilege I was given a year later when I was diagnosed.  In fact, it made me pretty popular to be able to pull my third grade friends out of class early to come with me while I tested my blood sugar in the office (of course, thinking of it now and how often I test, it sounds strange that I had to go to the office every time I needed to.  DISCLAIMER: I don’t recommend leaving your blood sugar kit in the office!)  Something else I knew about Ryan G. was that sometimes he had to eat a snack at a different time than everyone else.  One time, the librarian gave him a hard time for it, which kinda upsets me now since sometimes we just don’t have a choice when we have to eat and it’s already awkward enough.

I always had a feeling that Ryan G. liked me.  That adorable second grade romance which consists of each party telling all of their friends about their crush and maybe, just maybe, having enough of that sheer courage to confront him or her and confess their feelings.  We never made it to that point.

When I found out that I had type one diabetes, I thought a lot about Ryan G. and to this day, I find it to be something like fate that we met.  Although T1D and what it entails was almost a complete mystery to me, knowing Ryan G. and the fact that he lived a “normal” life (what does normal even mean haha!), helped me cope.  I think we met for a reason.

Another person who had an effect on me was Billy.  Again, last names were not exchanged…all I know is his name was Billy and he was on an insulin pump.  For those of you who aren’t sure what a pump is: “An insulin pump is an insulin-delivering device that's used by some people with diabetes.  A small battery-operated device that can be worn on a belt or put in a pocket, it's connected to a narrow plastic tube that's inserted just under the skin and taped in place.”  Well said, Teens Health Dictionary.  Having a pump makes life so much more livable.  I have so much more freedom because of my pump.  But I didn’t know that at first.  I had been dragging my feet on the idea of an insulin pump for a few months before I finally decided to make the switch from four shots a day to one shot every three days.  It was Billy who changed my mind.  Only a year into T1D and finally adjusted to my new normal, I was hesitant about changing it all again.  But Billy, type 1 diabetic basically since birth, changed my perspective completely.  He was about my age and so nonchalant about T1D.  He didn’t know any different.  What he did know was that he loved his pump and thought I should get one, too.  It’s not like my doctors and nurses didn’t say the same thing.  The difference was that Billy was/is a primary source for me.  He lived with the pump, without the pump and with diabetes in general.  He, like Ryan G., truly changed my perspective on T1D and I am very lucky to have crossed paths with both of them.

If you are a type 1 diabetic yourself, or know someone who is, let me be the primary source!  Use an insulin pump!  It is a life-changer for people like us!  I have never regretted my decision to use one.

Also, if you ever have any questions about the terminology I use or anything else, ask in the comment section below!  I love answering questions and clarifying information about T1D...type 1 diabetes. :)

Tune in later in the week for more posts!