10: The Future...

“All good things must come to an end.”

 

Poignant words spoken by the character Q in the final episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation. But it is a true quote, because all things do eventually end. That’s why today’s blog is the final blog of 10 that I’ll be posting for a while.

 

As I sit here on the beach at Surfside, a place my family has frequented for nearly 40 years now, it seems only appropriate that this would be the setting for my final entry in this tale.

“It’s been a long road, getting from there to here,” as the lyrics of the short-lived Star Trek: Enterprise series once had for the opening credits. I always thought that was a unique way to start a new series, way back when. It certainly has been a long road for me on this journey of living with diabetes. Now encompassing 3 years since I first receive the phone call that ill-fated morning on a rainy, March day. But that day spawned something different me that has resonated throughout the years since.

 

It's never been about the destination, but the journey. Going to the beach is always fun, in fact more fun sometimes that reaching the beach altogether. The camaraderie with family and friends, the laughs, the blessings of being with those you love cannot be overstated. That’s what makes a journey so great. Of course, there are sad moments, angry moments, scary ones too. A journey is never one way or the other. It ebbs and flows just like the tides, washing in and out.

 

When I think back about this journey, I sometimes don’t think of it as a linear timeframe. I think more about the unknown possibilities of existence. What if?... is another favorite show of mine from the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The decisions we make can, and probably do, create alternate universes where something different happened there from the reality we know. I sometimes wonder where my life would be right now at the A1c of 10 never occurred? My most common thought goes to the decision to go to Employee Health for what ended up being the final time. What if I had chosen to skip again, like I had in 2019 and 2020? Of course, another possibility comes to mind as this was the last employee check-up provided by AnMed Health. The hospital ceased doing birthday check-ups on employees in 2022. So, what if that had happened a year earlier? Would I have had greater complications that would have been irreversible? Would I even be alive today?

 

You can what if yourself into a quandary if you allow it. But that is where faith comes into play. Jesus said, “Don’t worry about tomorrow, there’s enough worry today.” He’s perfectly right. What happened occurred the only way it could for me, from a more linear perspective. It was the story of my life and the direction it was meant to go. The reason? It led me closer to God.

 

So, over the past 15 months I’ve embrace the path that Jesus set me on to tell the tale of this journey. It’s been a wonderful experience filled with pitfalls and possibilities ripe with promises of a joy and hope. I’ve been able to share how my battle living with diabetes has shaped me into the man I am now. How COVID can wreak havoc in ways we might always believe possible, but ultimately learn are true. How a person can change their fortune by simply having faith in something greater than themselves. I’ve had many blessings over the past 3 years that have helped me greatly with my body, my mind, and my spirit.

As I sit here typing, sand between my toes, I ponder another what if. I remember thinking this past fall would I ever go to the beach again? Last year, of course, was the issue with Afib and the fear, anxiety it caused me taking months to recover from. I was truly scared to travel anywhere again for months. What if I had allowed that fear to grip me completely? I was so petrified of driving, at times I was afraid to simply drive to work. Several times I had to call my wife or my mom to talk me through an issue I was having driving my truck. I was that scared of what had happened. I didn’t want to do anything to make it happen again.

 

This issue with Afib could have set me back greatly, had I let it. But, again, God showed me the way through that ordeal. Now, I’m sitting on a beach with my family, enjoying the breeze and the waves, feeling like a kid again. So many times I have come to this beach with Maw Maw and Paw Paw, my parents, Niney, Nick, Travis, my in-laws Jim and Brenda, and of course Leslie and our kids, Abby and Charlie. There’s truly never been a better place to be for me. I remember the first time I came to the beach at the condo at Surfside, in December 1986. I was 9 years old, and this place looked massive. But it was so beautiful, I couldn’t have imagined wanting to be anywhere else. Many times we have come here over the past 38 years. The condo has endured a lot in that time, between storms, winds, rain, high tides, and hurricanes, but it still goes on. The outside colors have changed, but the structure remains the same. The furniture is new, but the atmosphere never grows old. The familiar sounds of the past echo through the halls of the new.

 

That’s the journey that matters the most. Cherishing those moments that come and pass, with hope for the future. In the summer of 1990, Back to the Future III came out that had a wonderful statement from Doc Brown at the end:

That statement epitomizes the future for us all, and especially the future of my life living with diabetes. I may never do away with the condition, but I can certainly learn to live with it. Over the past year and half I have been living well with diabetes with A1cs 5.6 or less. Doing that helps me greatly, and hopefully will guide me towards a future filled with prosperity knowing I’m doing all I can to help myself and others. That’s always been the point of this blog, to share my journey with all of you in the hopes it will help someone else through theirs. So, whether you are working through diabetes, anxiety, Afib, a heart attack, back concerns, a cancer diagnosis, all of these things can be navigated equally the same through the thoughts and feelings I’ve shared with you. Because at the center of it all is Jesus, helping me understand my place in this world so I can carry on forward to the future He has set.

 

With that, I hope you all have a wonderful week yourselves, coming on the heels of Father’s Day. Love those around you with all your heart, all your mind, and all your soul. I know my journey is nowhere near complete, but much like Star Trek: The Next Generation, “All good things must come to an end.” As this blog ends, my journey continues. Perhaps sometime in the future I’ll return with more stories to tell of the journey. But for now I want to focus on that which matters most in the image below.

“See you out there…

10: Ups and Downs Into Darkness

 

This Star Trek: The Next Generation scene summarizes what happened after November 18, 2021. Data struggled after losing a game to a biological creature, an alien. Data being an android did not feel he should have lost. He made all the correct moves and did everything right from his calculations, but ultimately, he lost the game. He could not process this failure and questioned all of his capabilities, including serving aboard the Enterprise. In this scene, Picard had to remind Data of his duties with the quote above, more sternly as a captain would. Data had to recognize that we all lose sometimes. Such is life.

While living with diabetes, I convinced myself it was possible to eliminate the problem. To win no matter what. I was going to beat this with no issues, and although it seemed to be heading that way, there was one thing standing in my way--vanity. Remember that word? Data experienced it too. Self-pity makes you do strange things sometimes. You start questioning everything. But all self-pity represents is another form of vanity. When your ego can't take what has happened. "Definitely my favorite sin." Always keep that quote in mind.

It broke my heart that day to see my A1c go up, especially with all the work I had put in to accomplish my goal of staying healthy. Coupled with increasing the Glucophage, I felt utterly defeated. Never mind all of the other accomplishments I had made. All of my other numbers were excellent. My weight was exactly where I wanted it. I was about to run my third 5K that year at the Electric City Gobbler, yet another race under 29 minutes for my time on Thanksgiving Day, but none of that mattered.

The A1c went up! I have to take more medicine! Woes me.

It's the same response as remembering how the Atlanta Braves of the 1990s lost 4 World Series instead of always thinking about the 1 championship they did win and, of course, all of the team's other accomplishments. They should have won more. That is a bad thought process spurred by worldly nonsense.

In this case, I was giving in to the worldly nonsense myself instead of enjoying the accomplishments I had made, much like Data.

With my Glucophage being increased, that unnerved me. I convinced myself I'll have to start eating more. That was probably not true, but that's what I did anyway.

But the worst part was the next day.

I did something I hadn't done before after my visit with my provider in April 2021. I donated blood to the Clemson/South Carolina Blood Drive. This blood drive is an annual event set up right before Clemson and South Carolina play each other in the Palmetto State Bowl at the end of the football season. It's all part of Rivalry Week in College Football. I had never donated to this event, so I looked forward to doing so for the first time.

I loved donating blood. The gift of life or a chance to save one. Those slogans are a mix of the common ones I see. I have been giving blood almost annually since working at AnMed Health. I even gave during the height of the Covid Pandemic in the Fall of 2020. So, giving blood when I was perfectly healthy in November 2021 seemed like a great idea. My hemoglobin was still excellent, and I was feeling good. However, I couldn't shake some of the negativity in my mind, and something was telling me not to give blood that day. Probably because of self-pity.

However, my blood wasn't coming out like it should during the donation. The phlebotomist kept having to move the needle around in my arm to try and help, but that only hindered me. Eventually, I had a vagal response.  What that means is the pain of the needle moving, combined with a lower amount of blood, started making my blood pressure drop. I began to feel woozy and had tunnel vision. I turned pale and almost passed out. They put all of these fans on me and lowered the head of the bed I was in to help send blood back up to my heart. It was a terrifying experience I had never had when donating blood. Because of this experience, I've never given blood again. This was only the beginning of the negative things I was letting in, and it was only a day after the higher A1c result.

I got to feeling better that weekend and ran my 5K the next week, again doing well and feeling good. Amidst all this turmoil with the slightly higher A1c, I was also stressing pretty well. I had defended my proposal for my PhD, but now I had to submit the IRB application to conduct the study. That process was not nearly as involved, but I had a deadline to get it done by the beginning of December. I also threw in earning certification for the first time, as if I needed something else to occupy my time. However, I earned my Certified Healthcare Simulation Educator certification, also known as CHSE, pronounced "chessy."  I was proud of all that I had done by the end of November, but in league with the negatives of the higher A1c, the blood donation gone wrong, and being overly stressed finally took its toll.

My heart skipped a beat that day in early December.

This took me completely off guard and scared the life out of me that day. It kept happening too. I contacted my provider to let them know what was happening. They were very helpful, trying to get me to calm down more than anything. What was happening was known as a PVC. Premature Ventricular Contraction. A PVC gives the impression of fluttering of the heart. It can sometimes feel like racing or even like your heart skips a beat. For a brief instant, you get this sensation as if your heart stops, then starts back up again. It's unnerving the first time you feel one.

I've had palpitations before, once when I got really dehydrated during the summer while out walking the kids as they sat in a stroller. That was my bad for not drinking enough water before, during, and after.

This, too, was my fault that day in December.

I had worked myself up into a frenzy worrying about this A1c. How could I do everything right, and this ends up being the result?

Deep down, something was trying to tell me to chill, but I didn't want to listen to it. My vanity wouldn't let me settle down. I think the point of this is to illustrate how our mindset can shift very quickly. When it does, it's because you let it. I let myself get carried away, and I had to regroup. The problem is that regrouping would take several months to achieve.

My stress level was so high by December 2021. I knew I had to finish my PhD by July 1, 2022, or was out of the program. That's right! If I didn't finish by July, I didn't earn the degree I had been pursuing for almost 7 years at that point. I was also trying to apply for a new position at Clemson and kept stressing about that. I needed to begin my study no later than February 2022 if I wanted to get done in time to defend my dissertation and complete my degree. I still had all of my usual stressors of family, work, and life, with these added on, and managing sugar issues. Let's not forget Omicron variant showed up too about this time and wreaked havoc well into 2022, although in no way near as deadly as the variants that came before it. 

All of this was enough to stress anyone out, but I was letting one thing drive my stress. A slightly elevated A1c. Two-tenths of a point was all it took to drive my mindset backward. 5.8 isn't even bad, folks. It isn't even bad and something you can fix easily. But it would take its toll on me in the weeks ahead as I headed further down that rabbit hole, descending further into darkness until heartache commenced. My only hope was that I would get it together, much like Data, and realize a new plan of action.

Stay tuned for the next segment, 10: Ups and Downs of Heartache.

10: Living

"Someone once told me that time was a predator that stalked us all our lives. I rather believe that time is a companion who goes with us on a journey and reminds us to cherish every moment, because it will never come again. What we leave behind is not as important as how we've lived. After all, Number One, we're only mortal."-Captain Jean-Luc Picard, Star Trek: Generations.

I've always loved this final dialogue from the film. This was the last Star Trek film to be released while I was still in high school, December 1994. I was 17 when that movie came out, so this line resonated with me. At that point in my life, I had many years ahead. It seems like yesterday I was with my parents in Charlotte, seeing this film after my final Cross Country meet at the Wendy's Invitational. A few months later, I graduated from T. L. Hanna High School, Class of 1995.

That seems like a blur now that nearly 29 years have passed since that day. But time has been a companion all along the way.

The Bible has a lot to say about living too. One particular verse says, "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving."-Colossians 3:23-24.

This verse, too, says little about leaving something behind. It speaks volumes about how you live. Cherishing those moments as they come along the way and serving something greater than yourself or anyone else.

Finishing high school, you have great opportunities to come, but the greatest is who you allow yourself to become. No one is ever defined by their actions but by who they choose to be. It's always your choice, as Mrs. Kay once said.

Despite being in the throngs of a dissertation in 2021, I still had plenty of time to reflect on the choices I had made to that point in life. Many were good, but I indeed recalled the ones that led me to where I was by June 2021, involving my health. I had made some poor choices in that aspect of my life. As outlined in prior posts, I developed bad habits in my diet and had become a bit lazy in my exercise routine. But those were all my choices to make.

Then amid it, I had some startling news between March-June 2021. Three of my former classmates from high school had passed away. Two passed in March, right before I realized the A1c of 10. The other was in May of that year. I remembered them all very well.

Jason Anderson was someone that I played sports with many times throughout middle and high school. We would go to the bowl in Anderson, down below the old swim center (which is gone now) on the grounds of McCants Middle School (formerly known as T. L. Hanna High). It was always fun playing football down there with the guys. I once showed up late for a game that had already begun. I walked out on the field just as they called hike to run a play. Jason came charging around as a defender to get the offensive player, and I just stopped dead in his path. I didn't know what to do, so I stood there like a pole in the middle of the field. Jason ran smack into me and almost fell down. Afterward, he joked, "I couldn't tackle the guy because Thrift threw a nasty block." It wasn't intentional, but still pretty cool. He, unfortunately, died of a heart attack in March 2021.

Nikki Carson was a beautiful young woman when I saw her in school. She was sweet as she could be, from what I remembered. Always pleasant with a brilliantly bright smile. I always remembered that about her. She was always willing to help, laughed a lot, and radiated kindness. I didn't know her as well as Jason or interact with her as much, but when I did, I always enjoyed talking to her and seeing her insights about things. Unfortunately, she, too, died in March 2021, I believe from a heart-related condition.

Both of these individuals' passing got my attention and was another reason I wanted to get myself checked out. When I had my heart rate spike to over 130 beats while sitting still, I was worried something terrible would happen to me next. If I had not gotten checked in March 2021 and never knew about the 10 A1c, I may have joined them. But, again, it was my choice to pursue a new course that could help me in my life. Did Jason or Nikki have a choice with their conditions? I do not know. All I did know is what I could do to help myself.

After my successes through May 18, 2021, I continued living my life throughout that month and beyond. It would still be challenging, but if I chose wisely, I could manage what I was going through. I was managing it well with the reduced A1c and feeling great. Then, I heard about the passing of another classmate.

Trevor Walling was someone I had known almost all the way through grade school. I wasn't close to him, but I knew of him and interacted with him some. Trevor was voted the Class Clown at our senior banquet in 1995. And he loved it! So did everyone else because he was good at it. He could dance too. At senior prom that year, I remembered seeing him charge out on the dance floor when no one else did, dancing to the music without concern. The man liked to have fun. 😁 The last time I saw him in person was in 2004. My wife and I went into a GNC shop, and he worked the counter that evening. We got what we needed and caught up a bit. He was working and doing some things in school and had plans from what I remembered. It was just nice to see him again, as it had been a while. I just didn't realize this would be the last time I would see him alive. So, when I heard about his unexpected death in May 2021, that was a real eye-opener. As I read about his life since the last time I saw him, I was happy for him. He fulfilled those plans. I was happy about how he had lived. He cherished the moments that followed that day in 2004, and that's a monumental achievement for anyone in life. Proud of you, Trevor.

Jason's, Nikki's, and Trevor's deaths made me reflect on all those lost from my Class of '95 along the way:

Allison Kay

Gene Haskins

Jason Hill

Scott West

Chadwick Boseman

These are just the ones I knew about and confirmed. There are most likely more, unfortunately. Reflecting back on all of these people I knew from school, there was one thing they all had in common. 

They lived.

Some had tragic ends, some had illnesses, but all of them had lived up to the point of their deaths.

I once remembered Scott playing Taps for Coach Wayne Jones' birthday in the lunchroom. He was an excellent musician.

I remembered how physically fit Jason was. The man worked out hard and would have put any cross-fitter today under the bus. I even remember seeing him one last time at the gym a couple of months before his accident. 

Who doesn't know Chad? But I still remember his Mr. T. L. performance that brought a hush to the crowd as he won that title, the first of so much more to come in his esteemed acting career. Wakanda Forever.

Gene, or NormaGene as we liked to do to him in jest sometimes. I remember when he got his Toyota truck and spent an entire party one night jumping over dirt jumps in someone's yard over and over and over and over, like seriously, I didn't think he was going to stop. He loved that truck!

I'll never forget Allison. My grade school crush, so of course, I wouldn't forget her. In 5th grade, her little brother PK asked me, "Do you like my sister?" I was so embarrassed because I thought, Is it that obvious? Later at her funeral, as I shook PK's hand in front of her casket, he took a little longer to let go. I've often wondered what he was thinking at that moment.

Allison's death was one of the hardest for all of us. We were so young and barely a year out of high school when it took place. Following the accident that had occurred, I wrote a final email to her, telling her thank you. I let her know that I always appreciated how she took up for me, even sometimes when others didn't. That's what I liked about her most. Unbeknownst to me, those emails at Clemson found their way back to Mrs. Kay. That led to months of conversations with her about life, as Mrs. Kay loved what I had to say about Allison, believing it epitomized who her daughter was. However, I had never expected anyone to read it, so I was a bit embarrassed. But I loved those talks. The crux of the discussion was that we all make choices in life, and we have to live with them, good or bad. She told me the story about Allison and the steeple. There were so many wonderful things that it honestly prompted me to think, This story of Allison would make a great movie. A cautionary tale about the choices we all make in life. But mostly a final story about a wonderful person who was lost tragically but served to unite a community in many ways. I even thought of a soundtrack for the story, everything from Gimme Some Lovin to Hootie and Blowfish, Dave Matthews, Eye of the Tiger, and so much more. Maybe I'll get around to that story One Sweet Day. 

So much loss and yet so much left to gain. 

After hearing about Trevor's passing, I made a choice then. I would keep living, whatever it takes, no matter what, for as long as possible.

The eye-opener I received was that I had a lot of life left to live. Many things occurred in the years leading up to 2021, making me aware there was much left to do. This A1c was just a phase in my life that can only improve. So, I would keep living and doing all I could to better myself, my family, friends, colleagues, and everything. 

June through August was more about living life to the fullest and doing your best, no matter what. I worked in clinical groups, dieted like I had been incorporating things back in, and exercised the best I had in many years. Life was perfect. I was living and not allowing the predator to stalk me. After all, we're only mortal.

"Speak for yourself, sir. I plan to live forever."-Commander William T. Riker, Star Trek: Generations.

The Bible has something to say about living forever too. 😀

Look for the next segment, 10: The August 2021 Results. Enjoy this picture of my Class of 1995 in the meantime. I'm in the top right corner, next to Will Dorsey.

10: What I Did for My Diet.

So, now that the dreams are behind us, it's time to get down to the nitty-gritty.

What did I do to fix the A1c issue of 10?

First and foremost, it wasn't easy. This segment will be broken down into three parts to illustrate the many changes needed to reduce an A1c of 10 to a "normal" level. The changes were needed in three critical areas: diet, physical activity, and mentality.

All three of these things work together to help anyone dealing with circumstances related to health. It's not just about diabetes at this point but establishing a way for your body to cope with the changes that take place naturally.

We all age, there is no way around that except one, and that's not a direction any of us want to go right away. The point is longevity coupled with quality. You want to live as long as possible with the best quality of life. The best phrase for this is truly, "Live long and prosper." Yet another Star Trek quote. That is the goal for anyone on earth, especially if you are living with any ailment. Get used to those quotes. You'll see plenty more where that came from.

The three segments will illustrate what I did during the first six weeks following my initial visit with the provider. That first six weeks were crucial to changing my status as someone living with diabetes to possibly someone living without diabetes. I feel some quick stats are needed from that first day to illustrate a starting point where I can then report what changed after the first six weeks:

Reference: Actual Result (Normal Range)

Hgb A1c: 10 (3.8-5.6)

Weight: 231.6 lbs Height: 72 in

BP: 142/87

BMI: 31.33 

Cholesterol: 205 (4-199)

Triglycerides: 162 (0-150)

HDL: 41 (>=55)

LDL: 132 (0-99)

VLDL: 32 (0-30)

Risk Ratio: 5 (High risk for heart-related concerns)

First Fix: The Diet

Diet was the hardest to fix, so I wanted to begin with it. I also believe diet is hard for everyone. Humans are a species that likes to eat. Additionally, we, especially in the United States, like to eat junk food. Before March 31, 2021, I mentioned that my diet had foods I could continue eating but had many that had to be eliminated or altered. 

During the first six weeks, I ate no sweets at all. No ice cream. No sugary drinks, like regular soda, slushies, or sweet tea. No fruit, as the sugar content could be a concern. Eliminating these items was a big move in the right direction. Later ice cream was incorporated back in but at a manageable amount. I had stopped drinking regular soda many years before I began dieting in 2011. The one that was hardest was sweet tea. I loved sweet tea. It's sooooo good. But, it had to go permanently. The last sweet tea drink I had was on March 30, 2021. Since that day, I have only drank sweet tea once at a meal, and that was because there was nothing else within reach to drink. But, this lovely item had to go, no more sweet tea, for that one notable exception.

Next were the fried foods. Now, I did still have a few mixed into my diet, like bacon, for instance. But that was about the only fried thing I ate during those first six weeks. I love bacon and grits with toast. I've eaten that almost every morning since April 7, 2021. Leslie makes that for me every day. She is the absolute best for doing that too. Sometimes my mom does it, but Leslie is the primary breakfast queen these days. The breakfast of bacon, toast, and grits is a fun, delicious, and basically nutritious way to start the day. I'm not a big egg person, nor did I want fruit. These three items were plenty for me to eat until lunchtime rolled around. I know it may not seem to be the healthiest breakfast to eat, but you do have to maintain some things you've done before when it comes to controlling diabetes. You can't stop everything cold turkey. Otherwise, you risk causing other issues making it harder for your body to adapt. 

But other fried foods, like at Chick-fil-a, Zaxby's, Canes, or anywhere that liked making fried food, were gone for those six weeks. Chick-fil-a chicken sandwiches were the worst to let go of because I loved their sandwiches. So delicious. But it had to go. I switched from a number one combo, which is a fried chicken sandwich, large fries, and a Sweet Tea, to grilled chicken nuggets, a side salad, and water or a diet drink. Other times I would eat a grilled chicken sandwich from Chick-fil-a and eventually settle on the grilled chicken club sandwich. This was monumental for me, as I never had enjoyed the smell of grilled chicken sandwiches from Chick-fil-a. I never wanted to eat one. Now, I have a completely different mindset and still buy the grilled chicken club for a meal occasionally.

I switched to many grilled foods and vegetables, with fried food and sweets eliminated. Asian veggies are something I grew to love and were readily available at the grocery store. You warm the packet for 5 minutes and get a wonderful, tasty pack of steamed vegetables you can combine with a good protein, like beef frank hot dogs. I would grill some of the hot dogs, usually two, to eat with the veggies. It was a yummy lunch.

So, how did a typical day look for me with my new meal plan? I'll break it down for you below:

Breakfast

3 strips of bacon

bowl of grits with pepper and unsalted butter

1 slice of toast with unsalted butter

Lunch

Asian veggies with 2-3 beef frank hotdogs (no bun)

Supper

Zaxby's Grilled Chicken House Zalad (Many variations that could go here, like Barberitos burrito, S & S Cafeteria Roast Beef with new potatoes, green beans, and grilled onions with 2 cornbread, etc.)

Snack

3 pretzel bites and 3 carrots

I also took 1000 mg of Glucophage (Metformin) with these diet changes at supper. Two tablets daily. Now, the way Glucophage works, it helps to decrease extra sugar in the system. So, if your average blood sugar is running 240-300 like mine was with an A1c of 10, the Glucophage would kick in to help lower blood sugar in those conditions. The primary function of Glucophage is to help regulate the pancreas and insulin production, however.

With an A1c of 10, that meant I had some pancreatic function, and therefore I was producing insulin still, just not as well as I once had before the sugar issues occurred. So, the Glucophage helped make the pancreas produce insulin better and therefore work to regulate blood sugar correctly. But if there is no excess sugar in the bloodstream, either through diet modifications and/or exercise, then the Glucophage doesn't do much beyond helping the pancreas. In fact, the changes to diet and exercise work more effectively to assist with blood sugar than Glucophage alone. If I kept my diet under control, then the Glucophage might not be necessary, or at least reduced.

That was my goal, to either reduce or eliminate the Glucophage altogether. It was going to take work, though. A lot of work. Daily work, without end. Being diabetic was not something that would ever go completely away. A friend pointed that out to me because of a family member in their life and what they had to deal with. I knew this, too, from my past experience with both my grandmother and father-in-law. Simply taking medications would never be enough. The meds don't really work without you trying to change your habits.

Now I was on my way with a working diet that allowed me to still enjoy some things I had loved prior to the A1c of 10 and cultivating some new things into my diet that helped me start getting my sugars where they needed to be. 

That's another good reference point to show here. The first blood sugar reading was from the first day I assessed my sugars at home. From the first day I began, I was checking my sugars routinely, and the very first one showed this result:

This blood sugar reading was on an empty stomach, with no food consumed at the start of the day. I was seeing where I was on a random check. Clearly elevated, and it shows how far I still had to go. 

As I said, the diet was one piece, but now I had to get my exercise regimen back to work. What that would mean is not only doing more walking, but it also meant the return of something I thought I would never do again, along with activities I hadn't done in nearly 20 years.

Tune in next time for 10: Exercise Routine.

Loopholes, Jacob, the island....OH MY!!! Who else is LOST?

Cuse me Damon, but could you explain what is going on here with Lost? Let's face it, this show has loads of people talking. By loads I mean the people that actually still watch it and didn't stop tuning in simply because they wanted to see more of Sawyer doing what he does or Kate's bottom. No, this show is for those with an open mind to possibilities most people could care less about. These same people that claim to be lost on Lost, also buy into the "Lone Gunmen Theory" of the JFK assassination, "NASA faked the Apollo Landing Theory", and they kept voting for Kate Gosselin on Dancing With the Stars simply because she's good entertainment to them.

Hey, we all need a release sometimes. Let's face it, most blondes are great entertainment from their bountiful assets, to their mind numbing dialogue. I can see what people like about Kate, because you truly do see people like her everyday. I just don't understand why it's lasted this long, because you do see people like her everyday! That goes for Survivor, American Idol, The Real World (any of them), Big Brother, or any other TV show that is long overdue for cancellation because of its inherent ability to suck people into a sinking ship.

What's the deal with the love affair some people have with stuff that is basically....well, stupid, for lack of a better word? Are the American people that inebriated by this "entertainment" that they just don't care to rationalize it out at all? I don't even believe it has to do with simple mindedness because some of the people so enamored by such things as Kate seem to be well educated people and you'd think they would ultimately deduce that Kate, and anything else like her, sucks!

Yet, they keep flocking and changing the channel to these shows, all the while ignoring shows like Lost simply because you might have to think a little bit about what is going on as you watch the show. That's the same way for FlashForward, Fringe, and an assortment of other TV shows out there anguishing on the brink of cancellation, hoping to get renewed year after year. I'll admit, V, eh, never been that interested; The Sarah Connor Chronicles could have been done better; but hey, people love the latest Vampire TV series to come out, namely Vampire Diaries. That's an obession for another blog later...don't get me started on this whole Twilight fiasco. Seems like subliminal brainwashing to me.

I didn't watch Lost during the first season mainly because I wasn't watching any TV shows at that time. There was just too much to do in my new home and too many other things I wanted to do in life for TV at that time. But, I watched one episode of the second season and became hooked immediately. The reason, it was more than just some people being lost on an island. I think that's why people tuned in for the first two seasons, especially the first. It seemed like a dramatic version of Survivor, or even a TV version of Cast Away. But this went beyond the "realistic" approach that had Tom Hanks talking to volleyballs and men and women voting each other off the island. Lost presented something every week that you'd never expect. That's what got people so interested in the first place. That and the characters themselves. Who doesn't like Evangeline Lilly in a two piece? Who doesn't just think Sawyer is the cat's me-wow? Who doesn't like seeing the debate waged between Jack and Locke about science and philosophy? Who wasn't curious to see if the Losties would get off the island? It was an awesome first season and lived up to the hype. People talked about it on radio stations, on street corners, during lunch. Great show.

Then they got in the hatch and it's been downhill ever sense. No one seemed to really like Desmond. What was the point in the hatch anyway? What was the hatch protecting? As the 2nd season continued to unfold, grumblings increased, until the hatch blew up and season 3 began.

Then it just got weirder. There's another island to this island? Why all the mind games? How did Locke, Desmond, Eko, and Charlie survive this blast anyway? Why is Desmond shifting through time? Weird, weird, weird! Not as weird though as when you get to the final episode of season 3, rescue is imminent, Jack is happy, only to see Jack bearded up yelling, "We have to go baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaack!" Huh? They get off the island and he wants to go back???

So season 4 became the arduous journey of simply getting off this island, with an assortment of new characters involved. Basically a 14 episode season reflected all of a week in the Lost universe. But hey, one season of 24 is but a day, so who's counting? And how does this adventure to the boat turn out? Only 6 Losties getting off the island, the boat sinking and the island...DISAPPEARS! WTF???

Now it gets even weirder! If you're a fan of Miss Teen South Carolina, now would be a good time to exit the page, you won't understand this part. The island inhabitants start shifting through time! That's when a lot of people, minus the die hard fans, changed the channel. It was just too weird. The unfortunate thing is, they really missed out on a good season. You got to see flashbacks, flashforwards, flashes through time, and in the 6th and final season you have a flashsideways! Yes, for those of you that thought Season 5 was too weird, you ain't see nothing yet until you've seen season 6 and the Alternate-LA reality where no crash ever took place and the island is sunk!

Alternate realities, time travel, philsophy, science, theology, mythology, black smoke monsters, people living in a foot, the others, the Losties! Oh my! Dorothy's head would have exploded by now. All this stuff is twisting so fast, not even a Twister could keep up with it!

But that's the tapestry that has been weaved, and it is amazing! You have an island, somewhere in the Pacific, where a mysterious energy gives human beings the ability to explore the unknown possibilities of existence. One being guards this secret from others, while another tries to manipulate and use it to their own advantage. All the while, a few chosen people inexplicably end up on the same plane at the same time to crash land on this island and begin experiencing all the island has to offer. Those that can't walk, walk again. Those with incurable diseases go into remission. They find out there is much more to this place than meets the eye. Even when they think they understand what is going on, they still don't. And it's all finally culminating into a dramatic finale where something truly has to give. Not so much so the audience can understand exactly what is going on, but so a resolution to this epic tale can finally unfold.

The thing about Lost that makes it different from most shows on TV, and profoundly more interesting, is that it speaks in parables. Each episode is a story unto it's self, but still a major part of the whole. That's the way life is. Every interaction we have is a story unto itself, but fits into the perspective of our entire life. Once, there was a man that taught in this same format. The purpose of that format was so the listener could grow in understanding of the words that he spoke without having to be spoon fed the answers they seek. His name was Jesus, look him up!

Lost isn't supposed to give you the answers, it's supposed to allow you to figure it out on your own. I believe even once the final episode airs on May 23, 2010, we still won't have all the answers. But that's the point, isn't it? Do we in real life have all the answers figured out? Do we completely understand why we are here? What is the point of all this? And, don't others meet those that attempt to figure it all out with ridicule over their vain attempts? Although it is fun to try and figure out where Lost is going, there's no point to it. It's not about endings, it's about understanding. In order to understand, you have to think. That means you have to stop watching BS shows about supposed reality, which is about as real as Lost is anyway, and start indulging in that which cannot be explained readily. Only then will you come to realize what Lost is truly about. I can tell you, it's not about physics; you don't have to be a mathematician to figure it out; it's about who we are as people, where we are going, what we believe in, and most importantly, why we are here.

You have no idea what I'm talking about do you? That's ok! You'll figure it out one of these days, or just go on believing Lost is going to be cancelled. Last time I checked though, you never had the kind of fanfare about a show ending the likes of which Lost has entailed when it's going off into oblivion. Typically, when a show gets cancelled, it just simply ends. As far as I can tell, the only show that has ever come back from the dead is Star Trek. Oh yeah, that one belongs to J.J. Abram's now too! And it's been resurrected twice now!

So here's to getting Lost, may we never completely understand it because it's always been better that way!