DIABETES — I laugh in your face…

Sunday, April 3, 2016

Who knew?  Not me!  Evidently Tom Hanks was diagnosed with Type Two Diabetes and announced it on the David Letterman Show in 2013.  Guess I missed that episode.

As you know, I believe in using humor to help me through my day with diabetes. However, when watching the link (see below) about his diagnosis, I wanted to say, “Be careful, Mr. Hanks, guess who might just have the last laugh?”  

Tom Hanks is an actor whom I admire and was hoping that he was taking his diagnosis seriously, when I came upon an article in a magazine known as Diabetes Focus.

The article mentioned his announcement on the Letterman Show,  but it also went on to explain the steps he and his wife (Rita Wilson) were taking to manage his T2D and improving their lifestyle as a whole. Those steps included limiting sugar and exercising on a daily basis. He took it seriously.

Hanks pointed out that genetics plays an important role and that he was “genetically inclined” to get the disease.  I wish I’d understood that, those many years ago when I was diagnosed.  I’d had two babies that weighed in at 9.3 lbs. and 9 pounds even, and I was informed that gestational diabetes simply meant that I “might get diabetes later in life.” It was treated as “nothing to worry about.”  Believe me, that “later in life” showed up much sooner than I’d anticipated!

The GOOD NEWS in this is that, SO much more is known about diabetes today and, it’s no longer treated as “nothing to worry about.” It’s an epidemic, and I’m hoping that parents world wide are paying attention to their medical history, the food that they and their children are eating and the exercise that takes place with their family members each day.

Should we LAUGH IN THE FACE OF DIABETES?  Hell yeah! BUT, only with the knowledge that we are controlling it with diet, exercise, and medication (if needed). It’s a serious matter, that can be dealt with a dose of humor — to get through the day.  🙂

Sometimes, Laughter is the Best Medicine!    🙂

 

 

 

 

“How It Began” or “You MUST Be Joking”

Saturday, September 20, 2014

“How It Began” or “You MUST Be Joking”

It was about 12 years ago that I was diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes. My doctor’s words were clear, “Your blood work is back, and you have diabetes.” My response, “That’s ridiculous! How could that be? I feel fine.”

She asked me some questions and I told her that when my son was born, my obstetrician did some testing. He said that because my bouncing baby boy weighed in at 9 lbs., 3 oz., he just wanted to check. The results were: Gestational Diabetes. “What does that mean?” I asked. “It just means that later in life you could become diabetic.” Knowing that we were discussing the far and distant future, I put it out of my mind. (That was in 1975.) I was a kid, who knew?

I told my doctor, “He said LATER IN LIFE.” Her response: “This is it.” I was stunned, and still wasn’t convinced. She asked about my family history. Explaining that diabetes was not “hanging” from MY family tree, unless you count my brother… “There you go,” she said. (Ah, genetics!)  And the journey began.

Posted by K Keevins at 11:29 PM 2 comments: