Choices made in my life time by JOHNBEN…
Now that I have reached the ripe old age of 80, well I can’t help looking back at my in particular diabetes history.
I well remember finding out that something was not well when I went to my bowling team night, throwing the ball, hoping I would hit something because all of a sudden I couldn’t see the darn pins, only vaguely.
My teammates told me to go home at about 9 pm. Driving in the middle of the road keeping the wrong line under the car I made it home in one piece. Walked into the house to fall to the floor. Yes it was not a very good time for Johanna, sitting there with two little boys, one of them now being a grand father. How time flies by so fast and the trouble is, you won’t even notice it during all that time! The falling to the floor gave me an inkling that something was wrong and it was the start of my 50-year diabetes life. When you are young and a newby at diabetes you don’t take it all that serious and there was no way to test to see how wrong you went about , so much damage was done in the early years. If the computer would have been around I could have learned that I had to improve my diabetes life. In those days there were no people writing a letter about "Diabetes rules and guidelines,"like a certain individual will now do! So, choices could not be made and you lived by the seat of your pant, using urine testing to see what happened 5 hours ago. Like driving a car looking in your rear-view mirror. For six months we drove all over the USA and Mexico without health insurance. Today I would not ever dare to visit the USA thanks to your medical situation.
Today you newbies have a choice, to pay attention to your testing or forgetting about it all. This is so easily done because in the first few years you can eat and drink what you want without feeling too bad but you are adding up to your troubles with diabetes at later age. Never testing, how would you know the difference?
I’m sure there are those who feel the consequences soon after getting diabetes. I say this to prevent you to hit me over the head and an 80 year old head prefers if you wouldn’t do so LOL.So all of life hangs together of choices to be made. I could have chosen to stay a bachelor and work on my piano studies at the conservatorium and Johanna could have stayed a bachelerette and finish her ballet training she already was at for 13 years.56 years ago we decided to leave Holland for Canada. At the time you make the choice which appeals to you most. Later on, reflecting back we made good choices but with a choice there are always at least two different things to choose from and the others later on may look like also good choices to make.
So, you cannot have everything in life! Choices are necessary!
I could make this four time as long and then some, but I know if it gets to long people lose interest, so I stop.
Let me know if you found it interesting or not. I would appreciate that a lot!
JOHNBEN.
HOLY Moses!
JB.
Thank you Johnben, I found this to be totally interesting!! I’m very happy that you arrived at your “ripe old age” of 80 with diabetes, good for you!! I hear that a lot more these days and it’s great. I also am a diabetic who started out with urine testing and no such thing as an A1C test to let you know how your control’s been for the past couple of months!! I do feel bad that you are reluctant to visit us here in the USA and I was going to say come on down, you’ll be fine, but I guess I really don’t know if that’s true. Yes, our medical system is not good for those of us with a “condition.” I have to deal with that fact since my husband has a small medical office of his own but does not qualify as an entity worthy of the blessed “group” health insurance so my condition robs me of the chance for 100% coverage for the rest of my life and the coverage I do get is unbelievably expensive; oh well, that’s a discussion for another place and time! Let me wish you a happy birthday and many happy returns of the day!!
JB …and NO Dutch pension either for you , as I receive monthly…the equivalent to take Gordon to a fancy restaurant twice if that’s what we want to do , ha, ha , since I left the Netherlands after 1957…in 1963 .
Keep on posting 
Thank you Robin and Nel. I was thinking of only becoming a reader instead of poster. However…
Nel, I just love Canada! Even at old age I get really looked after medically. Holland doesn’t appeal to me at all now with all the changes in people there. Hope it won’t happen here also, but we will probably never get to see that …
Nice long reply Robin thank you so much!
JOHNBEN.
Great story Johnben. I also remember the daily single injection and urine testing and thinking all was fine. I hope all newbies read your story and realize we all need to take this seriously. I remeber I decided to get a pump because I thought it would be easier and cheaper. Boy was I wrong! But it is a lot better. But I had to see many Doctors to convince them to let me get one. That was 6 years ago and I never looked back…