As I walked downstairs on Easter Sunday, I was expecting an Easter basket of sorts. Why else would my parents ask me to delay getting ready when we were already time crunched? Before anything else, my mother said, “Remember that it IS a happy Easter.” They then informed me that my grandfather had passed away. He had been declining in health and while this was not sudden, it was also oh so sudden.
This side of my family is centrally located in the town my father grew up in, so we were with my grandmother all week. Since I’m not currently working I saw some of my family every day. I was going out to eat or eating casseroles all week (all made of chicken and gluten – one of my uncles is allergic to poultry and celiac). I’m telling you this because it was not the best food for me, nor the easiest to bolus for. I was a hawk with my dexcom waiting for the stress and the grief to kick in. I tested my blood sugar next to the dexcom to prove it was wrong. It wasn’t. Apparently my new guardian angel was keeping my blood sugar right where it needed to be. Until we left to go to the wake.
We left the house and I was nearly 500. I gave myself insulin and prayed it would work the way I needed it too. I had been drinking water all day and knew in that moment that this wake would be extra not fun for me. It was in that moment that I envisioned parking myself next to the restroom. (If you’re reading this, and are unaware, high blood sugars make your bladder less efficient. Kind of? I don’t know if that’s the right word.) I found it as soon as we got there, and realized that it was in the least convenient spot in the building. My grandfather grew up in this town, never left, except for his time served overseas in the National Guard, and his children all live in the greater community. He reminds me of George Bailey, and the wake proved this. I would try to walk to the restroom, but had to make it through the whole line first. It was hard. I wanted to talk to the people who were stopping me to give their condolences, and I wanted to say “medically, I need to get to the bathroom!” Within two hours, I was in the low 200s and from there not worried about where my blood sugar was sitting. The urgent need to use the bathroom also decreased and I was a family member at a wake just like the rest of my family.
Sorry for your loss and glad to hear that your sugar ended up dropping enough so that you could be present in the moment of the wake, albeit a difficult experience with or without diabetes!
Briley, I’m so sorry to hear about this, but I’m glad your diabetes cooperated eventually so you could be there with friends and family members. That photo is special.