10:25 pm Arizona Time: I was getting caught up on some of my email that I don’t check often enough and came across your postings. One thing in particular caught my attention, Mike, and that was your comments about your recent diagnosis of type II diabetes. My mom was diabetic and was diagnosed with it when I was 15. That was so long ago. About 4 or 5 months later she found out she was going to have another baby. Bill is 35 now. I guess my comment is just do what the doctors tell you, pay attention to the medications and your body. Your body can tell you a lot of things. My mom never really took care of herself like she should have. She never got any exercise and that is one of the most important things you can do, even if it is a brisk walk 30 minutes a day, or some mild weight lifting. Her blood sugar was always up to 200 and past it. One time she was up in the 500 range. Another time my dad was on a Nutrisystem diet and my mom asked the doctor if it was OK that she do it too. The doctor told her no because he couldn’t monitor it. So she decided to follow it the best she could without actually using the Nutrisystem food. Her blood sugar went down to 120. The nurses thought they had the wrong patient and checked it again. Diet is important. Mom was 40 years old when she was diagnosed and she passed away when she was 70. I think she could have lived a little longer if she had taken better care of herself. When they found out that she was going to have a baby, she had to stop taking the pills and go on insulin. Back then once you were on insulin, you couldn’t go off of it. It could be different now. By the time she was 65, she became so accustomed to it that she would play with it. If she was planning on eating something she knew she wasn’t suppose to she would adjust the insulin. I said something to her about it once and she politely told me not to worry about it that she knew what she was doing and the doctor told her it was OK. I really don’t think so. By the time she passed away in 2000, she was on dialysis, she had three toes amputated, was taking blood thinners as well as the insulin (which by the way, she was getting two shots a day). There was some other medications too. Oh yes, heart medication and high blood pressure medication. Get the picture Mike. Take care of yourself. Exercise and a good diet is essential. The exercise will keep your blood circulating and that will help prevent amputations. Sorry this is so long, but diabetes concerns me a lot and I hate to see my friends and family having to deal with it. I watched my mom deal with it for 30 years and knew that she could have done it better than she did.
On a lighter note, this is a pretty cool idea to get people chatting. The date for the next reunion seems pretty good and I think I will be in a much better financial state to be able to make it no matter where it is. I must say that I do like my warmer climate here in Arizona, but I will admit that I miss the green. We have green here and vegetation even if we are in the middle of the desert, but we have been in the middle of a drought for the past 8-10 years and it’s getting tiresome. It is not quite as green as the Midwest and I do miss that. I don’t miss the snow. One thing I do miss is seeing Old Friends. I hope that I will be able to make the reunion next year.
Until the next time.
Barb Barrett Impens
Barbara Barrett Impens 14 Aug 2006, 5:50 a.m.
It is really good to hear from you Barb! I had a bit of a modern world conundrum this morning deciding which day to put your comments on. It was the 13th when you sent it and the 14th when I received it (due to the time zones). As you can see I made a decision to put it here. Just because.
I appreciate your thoughts and advice about my diabetes. I am very fortunate to live in these times. Modern medicine, even with all the problems, has a lot more to help me than what your mother had back when she was diagnosed. Something that hasn’t changed for sure and that is the fact that I am ultimately responsible for my own health. That is why I am fussing with the doctor so much to get the blood sugar level down on a regular basis. I think we are finally getting close. I’m not getting enough exercise though and I have to work on that.
Tracey took off this morning for a few days of meetings in the suburbs of Chicago. I will be a bachelor for a couple days. That reminds me —— I need to make some calls. I forgot about the dancing girls for the big party and ——
Interesting experience last evening that brought back a memory. Aaron is playing high school football this year and we had to get his mouthpiece fitted. After trimming the ends so it would fit in his mouth, Tracey dipped it in boiling water for twenty seconds to make it soft and then had him bite down on it real quick to make the impression of his teeth. The look on his face was priceless when Tracey took it out of the boiling water and told him to stick it in his mouth. I’m sure he thought it was going to burn his face off. I remember that dreaded mouthpiece from my short football career. Nasty thing always tasted bad (because I kept it in a gym bag?) and it was hard to breath around. It probably saved me from busting my teeth though.
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