To Endo, With Love

Often our health care team only sees us for about 15 minutes several times a year, and they might not have a sense of what our lives are really like. Today, let’s pretend our medical team is reading our blogs. What do you wish they could see about your and/or your loved one's daily life with diabetes? On the other hand, what do you hope they don't see? (Thanks to Melissa Lee of Sweetly Voiced for this topic suggestion.)

Dear Endo,

I wish you'd say "Good Job." I know my a1c isn't 5.9 (nor will it ever be) and I'm not a lean, mean, marathon-running machine, (I wish that I were) but I get up every morning and try to do my best with this diabetes crap. It isn't always easy, its rarely easy. I wish you knew how encouraging it would be to hear those words coming from your mouth. That hasn't happened yet, not when I delivered a beautiful healthy baby boy,(a "Congrats!" but no "Great job, he's perfect!") and certainly not when I got the best a1c of my entire diabetes existence and you told me I was a bad mother & harming my baby with that a1c and I went home and cried for two solid hours until the DOC pulled me out of the depths of my 7 month pregnant depression. Everyone has bad days, and I've forgiven you for those words. (I cannot, however, forget them. They are seared onto my soul for eternity.) I used to fantasize about getting that under 7 a1c and getting to hear those words from a health care provider, but now I have come to realize that its probably not that big a deal to you and won't ever come to pass. I know I will feel good about any and all a1cs around that number, but it would be nice to feel that my health care provider could also be my cheerleader. I still respect you and your solid clinical skills, I get great care from your office and you (with the exception of pregnancy) don't hound me about my blood sugars. Thank you for that.

But mostly, I just wish you'd acknowledge the effort that I put into this..you have no idea just how uplifted and amazing that would make me feel. Diabetes is a life long journey, and "thus shines a good deed in a weary world." You've got the power to make this journey a little less burdensome.

Signed,

Your Patient