Part-2 of my 50-year diabetic life.
So we are at the point that I was ordered to the hospital immediately. For some reason I thought that it was an over reaction by the doctor, after all, I had heard people talk about some Mrs. who could not use sugar in her coffee. I really couldn’t be up to date with all the possible diseases you could get and this one would be more inconvenient then serious, right? Wrong! I found out that in the hospital I would be introduced to drilling holes in my body! WOW, this was scary! What ever happenend to no sugar in the coffee?There was a boy about age 12 two beds over and the nurse was demonstrating by sticking a needle in her bare leg. I was looking forward to that. Yah, I was still a young feller at that time, thirty years young!That’s what I thought and like it is in so many situations, I was wrong again!
Life is so unfair to me, just listen (or read in this case) when the nurse came for me I was fully prepared for the first lesson but it went all wrong! No bare leg this time, it was replaced by an orange, a nice orange and big also, but I didn’t feel like eating the thing and told her so. She stated right away with a nice smile ( I think she knew what I was looking for) that this thing was my practice area. She said to just stick the needle in the orange, the orange won’t mind at all! Well what can you do when the nurse gives you orders. I was pricking away like my life depended on it until the orange collapsed. Then there she was again! Lesson number 2. She said to bare my leg! Well now,
why would I bare my leg when an orange would do? She said the orange won’t benefit by this but you will!
So here I went home, with the instruction to test my blood sugar often and every morning I should stick that needle
in my leg. Gezundheid like the Germans say! Suddenly diabetes looked big to me! I wondered if I would have to do this for a long time, she said every day, but she could be wrong right? Will have a long talk with the doctor for sure!
I also had to learn to wash my syringe every day and that testing was a messy business. Johanna stepped in to help me.
In the next part I will tell you how I went about that and my feelings on the subject.
JB.