It Takes 2

Well it's been a while that's for sure!  Since the last time I blogged I've gotten married, been promoted a few times, became a two-time Uncle and have had more diabetic lessons than I can remember.  I stepped away from blogging for a while so I could focus on handling my disease while my life was totally changing.

I learned that diabetes is a heck of alot easier to manage when you make 100% of the decisions for yourself. But when a person starts thinking as two and the other's happiness is even more important than your own blood sugar management becomes harder. K has always understood what I struggle with but she had to get up the same learning curve we all did when first diagnosed: what foods affect my blood sugars when, how to make time for cooking each meal, how to avoid unprocessed foods and how to help me make smart choices at each meal.  As we struggled up the learning curve my A1c and weight bounced around, my highest A1c was 7.2 (which had alot to do with the Animas infusion sets not working for me) and my weight at times crested 200 lbs.  But now she is a fully certified type 3 and understands how each piece of food will impact my blood sugar and fully supports why I'm obsessed with getting in hours of exercise.

With K's help my A1c was a shockingly low 6!  And my weight is now back under 190.  In her own subtle way she has taken over the grocery shopping, gotten me to refocus my diet and is making sure we eat out a ton less.  She lets me bring my bike on vacation and does whatever she can to help me fit in a long bike ride or run if there's going to be a feast that night.

Without her support there is no way I could have reached the lowest A1c I've had since I was still producing some insulin.  I once thought that I could fight this disease head on, that each day was about staring my blood sugar down and out working the problem.  It's way more of a dance than that; I can't do an Ironman everyday and I can't live my life on an organic farm.  It took a few years but K has taught me how to achieve amazing results while being less intense on how to get there.  No way could I have gotten to an A1c of 6 without her love and support.