Monday, January 31, 2011

Making the "D" List

444 mg/dl.


I know it to be true,long before the blood & the test strip met(in not-so-perfect harmony). My mouth is dry,my eyes heavy,& I'm ready to snap at the slightest provocation. But one task remains,at the end of another school day...a task that is as foreign to me as anything I have ever done.

I must register my diabetes as a disability. Nursing school demands it,there is no way that I cannot.The instant anything on my person vibrates,shrieks,or goes off (or the day I have a massive low & have to eat) is the instant that I am summarily dismissed,penalized,rejected,expelled,etc. I've never had anything of this nature,for I've never had any need for it.But now,there are 4-5 instructors who don't know me from anyone else & don't care & I've got to cover my bases.(against the bad diabetes day...for they happen) Even D won't get me a "go home" card but if it gets me a predictable lunch break,darn right I'm going to take it.

So I pick up the form,(to bring to my Endo)chug a bottle of water,bolus,& track back to my car...the ending of another unpredictable day-in-the-life with the big D. No idea how I got that high,just yesterday it was perfect bgs all day. I really think people with insulin dependent D deserve some sort of break,like exclusive access to the soda machine(diet,of course) to quench that unquenchable thirst.People without D(or a family member with it) have little clue just how lucky they really have it.

2 comments:

meanderings said...

It stinks that you have to do it, but it's worth it to stay in school.
And yeah - had a somewhat high the other day and getting blood on the strip was a real trick.

Kathy said...

Wow. Registering as a disability sounds so formal and final. It sounds like you have no choice however. I hope it will get you the privilege to eat when you need to and some respect at least. I have a more informal agreement with my supervisor at work. But I work in a small group within a small company, so most people know me and what I am dealing with.