Some People Wear Their Heart on Their Sleeve

8.3% of the population in the United States has diabetes. I am part of that percentage.  Hi, I’m Ron and I have diabetes.  I was diagnosed as a type 1 or juvenile diabetic more than twenty years ago.  It’s been tough, but it sure has gotten easier.

Early on in my diagnosis, I used injection therapy to treat my condition. That means that I sometimes would stick myself with a syringe of insulin 2, 3 or more times a day to treat my condition.  About six years ago I went on pump therapy.  An insulin pump works more consistent with what the body should do naturally in someone who isn’t diabetic.

I’ve been lucky…I live my life, I enjoy my friends. I travel. But, the most important thing I do is test my blood sugar.  Sometimes six times a day.  That may sound like a lot. But it is the most important thing a person with diabetes can do. It’s all about maintaining a healthy blood sugar.

In fact, the doctor that diagnosed me more than twenty years ago said, “Ron, as long as you watch those blood sugars, there is no reason why you can’t live like everybody else”.  Smart thing to say back then and treatment has come a long way since. We know some much more now.

You may know someone affected by diabetes and may not know that much about it. I encourage you to learn more at www.diabetes.org or just shoot a question my way.  I’m not a doctor, but I do live with it.