The Corner Booth

If I have any say in it, I'd rather not die today. Here I sit, shivering and scared. Worried about what's ahead as to my diabetes and the treatments I'm able to afford. My vision is slightly fuzzy and I'm sure that if I tried to stand up right now, I'd topple over thanks to the hypoglycemia I am experiencing. My blood sugar is 43. That's what my CGM says and the arrow is pointing downward. My meter pegs me at 54. Either way, that's dangerously Low. This is the second time in a day I've been this low. Of course I didn't cause these Lows intentionally. It's not as if I don't pay attention or put a huge amount of effort into my BG management every day of my life. But mistakes and unintended consequences happen. Sometimes twice in one day. And with the hypoglycemia unawareness I experience after 32 years with this disease, I thank God for the CGM technology that can alert to what's happening -- before my mind becomes totally useless. But for...

You know, I am very happy with my life. We can complain all day long about This or That, but when the rubber meets the road, the undeniable fact is that I'm doing OK. I've got more to smile about than not. Especially when it comes to diabetes. I am 37 years old and today marks my 32nd year of living with type 1 diabetes. At least, according to my self-proclaimed diabetes anniversary day . Oh, and it just so happens that today's also the birthday of Mr. Chuck Norris -- so that's even more awesome. We can find so many things in life to gripe and cry about. I do quite a bit -- from insurance coverage woes, to carb counting and meter accuracy to complications and everyday stress that throws my blood sugars into a tizzy. Yep, I'm rolling with some mild complications (retinopathy and neuropathy, among them) after my three decades of T1D. Nothing too serious, just hovering there in my world like a dark cloud that sometimes appears in the sky but most of the tim...

 You might say that I take my coffee pretty seriously. Don't even think about asking me to do anything productive before I've had at least one cup in the morning, and you'd be quite mistaken to think that's the only one I'll be enjoying as the day moves on. Hey, coffee is just as essential for me as insulin! I jest, of course, but you get how serious I am about my java... Yes, I've been cherishing coffee for more than two decades now since I was a teenager. For those keeping track, this obsession began about 10 years after my diagnosis with type 1 diabetes at age 5. And it corresponds with my start in the journalism and newspapering world -- those high school and college years when deadlines were calling and caffeine kept me going. ( It’s a well-known fact that journalists drink the most coffee . )  I don't believe coffee impacted my blood sugars much when I was younger, but then again I didn't watch it very closely. Not until recently d...