I'm not writing this for you to feel sorry for me or to share in my grievances. In fact, it's just the opposite. I'm writing this so my friends and family can hold me accountable against the fatty, sugary shit I've eaten for years. I wish I could say I never saw this coming. but unfortunately, a fatty pipeline of imperfect blood sugar has run through the veins of my family tree for decades. I grew up attached to my grandma's hip (almost literally). I distinctly remember the sound of her rings clanking against the glass insulin bottle as she prepared to give herself the daily dose of medicine in her stomach at the kitchen table. After a month and a half of dealing with weird symptoms like constant urinating, (I felt like my bladder belonged to Michelle Duggar), my incredible coworkers and friends advised me to go to the doctor for an annual physical. Apprehensive of the outcome and finger pricks, I went to the doctor and found out I have diabetes today. Yes, "the beetus." My blood sugar (even after a 12-hour fasting) was at 360 and my A1c levels for the past 3 months averaged 9.9. A diagnosis of a severe diabetic and was told that If I hadn't come in when I did, I would have been in a diabetic coma just a few weeks later. STOP -- I know what you want to do. You want to say, "Oh Andrew, I'm sorry." Don't be. Ya know why? Because I did this to myself. Like many southerners, I indulged in fatty foods, gallons upon gallons of sweet tea, and whenever I felt like it, treated myself to ice cream like it was the Last Supper. The good news -- Now I know. I know what I need to do to get healthier, become more active, focus on myself more than the countless hours of work I put myself through, and advocate others to make better choices when we go out to eat or have that mighty urge to choose the drive-thru lifestyle. Today begins a new me. So hold me accountable. I'll be holding everyone around me accountable. And dammit, diabetes, as much as I hate you right now, I'm glad you've helped me wake up and realize what I need to do to become more spiritually, emotionally, and physically healthy. I know my grandma has been watching over me from above for sometime, but now more than ever ,I know that with God's will, her guidance will get me through alongside my incredible friends, family and coworkers. My goal by May 29, 2016 is to be a more fit and healthy Andrew who doesn't need to check his blood sugar everyday. "Do not remember the former things, nor consider the things of old. Behold, I will do a new thing, now it shall spring forth." (Isaiah 43:18) |
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