Diabetes

November is an important month for my family. Not only is it my parent’s anniversary month, but it’s Diabetes Awareness Month. Three members of my immediate family have been diagnosed with some form of Type 1 Diabetes. If you don’t know: those diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes are insulin dependent. First Hannah was diagnosed, then my mom and Brady around the same time. I was around for most of the beginning of Hannah’s battle with the disease. It sucked. Having an autoimmune disease in general sucks, but my psoriasis in no way compares to what she has to deal with on a daily basis. I can hide my flare ups, and they are just that—flare ups—I don’t have to deal with them every day. Each and every day she has to worry about her health. I have watched her go through it, and I hate it for her.

The summer before I went back to college for my senior year, Hannah went on vacation to Disney World with her friend Rebekah. During her vacation, she got ill, so ill that Rebekah’s mom called my mom, and Hannah came home early. When she got home, she was dehydrated and really thirsty. My mom and I thought she had the flu, so we were giving her bottles of Gatorade (not good for a Diabetic), but after a couple days, my mom decided to take Hannah to our family doctor. *This is all what my mom told me. I don’t know what happened because I wasn’t there.* The doctor told my mom to take Hannah to the hospital, so my mom drove Hannah to the hospital—trying to keep Hannah conscious, while paying attention to her driving. Why the doctor didn’t call an ambulance flabbergasts me, but that’s beside the point now. So, once my mom got her to the hospital, they performed blood tests, and Hannah’s blood sugar was so high it couldn’t be measured, and her A1C was high, too. We are lucky that she survived and is here with us!

August 4, 2005, our family changed forever. I remember when Hannah was in the hospital. The entire family had to watch several videos about living with diabetes and how to help the patient live with the disease. My mom, dad, and I were supposed to give her a practice shot, so we would know what to do if she needed one. I remember crying, and the nurse asking me to leave the hospital room (quietly, so no one knew). I am still embarrassed that I didn’t handle the situation better. I stood in the hallway, while the nurse gave pertinent information about my sister’s health. I felt guilt about that for a long time.

Once Hannah got home and reality set in, the entire family tried to help her handle her diagnosis. We all tried to be more careful about what we ate. To this day, I still count out crackers and other carby foods before I eat them, so I know what my carb intake is. We switched to drinking Diet soda.  We rarely drank soda before, but since Hannah’s diagnosis, we drink diet. And yes, I know what’s bad about Diet soda, but it’s a better option for a diabetic. During Lent one year, instead of giving up soda, which is what I normally do, I tried to eat a less than 100 grams of carbs a day. Carbs are in almost everything. I love fruit, and I had to limit my fruits during Lent because there are a lot of carbs in fruit: an apple has 23 grams, a banana has 16. It was a rough 40 days, so I can’t imagine what a lifetime of being overly aware of what you eat is like. I am thankful for that experience because I am now more aware of everything I put into my body. That 40 days made me pay closer attention to what I eat, and I have stayed relatively thin because of that awareness.

It’s been 13 years, and they haven’t been easy ones. Besides the hundreds of doctors’ visits, Hannah has been to the hospital a few times. For a while, Hannah and our family friend, Spencer NeKindinga, were hospital buddies. Hopefully, they are both staying out now! People bullied her, which really pissed me off. People were mean to Hannah because she had Diabetes. I don’t get upset easily, but treating people poorly because of something they can’t help, makes me angry. Plus, you mess with one Lehman, you mess with us all! We may fight, but we are loyal to one another. That’s one of my favorite things about my family. Now, she has to deal with the financial implications of what having Diabetes means. I once picked up a prescription for her, and when I saw the cost of her co-pay, I couldn’t believe how much it cost. It makes me worried because I know that if she can’t afford her insulin, she either doesn’t eat or rations or both (which is what a lot of Diabetics, who can’t afford their medication, do).

There is also the constant worry that there will be the call in the middle of the night that something happened. Once, shortly after she was diagnosed, I found her on the bathroom floor, unconscious. That’s why I always carry some form of sugar with me. It’s not because I need it; it’s because I need it for her. I’d hate to be unprepared.  I don’t want to admit this because I don’t want to embarrass her, but there have been many times I have cried myself to sleep worrying about her. I would do anything to protect her, but there is nothing I can do to protect her from her own body.

I give my little sister props because I am grateful I don’t have Diabetes. She handles it like a champ! I feel terrible when I look away when she gives herself insulin, or crinkle my nose at the smell of her medicine. I need to be better at remembering that it’s saving her life. Hannah, and everyone with Type 1 Diabetes, is a Warrior.

Recently, Hannah found out that she had gluten processing problems, which only exacerbates the Diabetes. Often, Type 1 Diabetes and Celiac Disease (gluten intolerance or sensitivity) are a dual diagnosis. She has changed her diet to cut out even more carbs. While I know I could do it if I had to, cutting out all potatoes would be extremely difficult, especially in our family. (That has nothing to do with her diet, just an anecdote). For Hannah, it was difficult because she had to cut out even more of her favorite foods.

I am protective of Hannah. She’s Hannah Rose in my phone. Hannah is the first sibling I can remember her childhood. I remember when she was born. She was such a quiet and kind baby. She didn’t talk, but she didn’t need to. I loved her from the day she came into this world. Hannah is probably the sibling that is the most like me—emotionally. We both keep our emotions inside—we don’t want others to see our emotions. We both shirk from physical affection—I think it makes us both feel uncomfortable. For her, I think her nervous system causes her to be ultra-sensitive to touch. For me, it’s important to me to let you in my personal space. I will let you in, but it may take time. If I am physically affectionate with you, that means you’ve earned my trust. Physical Touch is definitely not my Love Language. We’ve both gotten better at it, though. It’s probably for different reasons, but we’re the same that way. We’re both quiet, unless we need to be heard. In a way, I think Hannah’s Diabetes is her way of always making sure she doesn’t get overlooked in our family, which can easily happen—there’s a lot of us. We all check on her, and we all boss her around about her diabetes, but the truth is, we don’t know what it’s like to live with it. We just worry about her. We love having her around—even when she’s “The Princess.”

A few years after Hannah was diagnosed, my mom was diagnosed and then Brady, though their diagnoses were not as traumatic to the family because we had lots of experience. I had my blood tested, and it appeared that I didn’t have any signs of being Diabetic. Whew! I don’t think we need any more in our family. I worry about my mom and Brady for different reasons. Diabetes sucks. There is no way around it. One of the best ways I can support the Diabetics in my life (and there are more than just the ones in my family) is awareness. There can be no cure if people don’t know what the disease is. So, if you want to know more about Diabetes, just ask. Though, Hannah is probably a better resource than I am or could ever be. I posted a picture of some Diabetes facts, so you can see a little more the differences between the different Types. JDRF (Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation) is a great resource. Their Foundations deals exclusively with Type 1 Diabetes (T1D). Our family has worked with them to help raise awareness and to find a cure.