I'm talking about the big brother version of the little brother that I use on a daily basis:
That my friends, is 1/2 gauge insulin needle. The kind of needle that I perform the comedy doctor bit where I simply jab a body part and for the most part, I don't hit muscle (ouchies) or a capillary (BLOOD!).
The main reason why I bring this up is that yesterday (5/3), I started a series of shots for a condition called Diabetic Macular Edema. Apparently the laser surgery that was performed back in September didn't quite do the trick, thus the need to have these shots {I am deliberately not going into any kind of detail because quite frankly, it gives me the willies}. I'm not overly thrilled about it, but since I have but one eye to look at the world around me, it's something I gotta do.
It's a bitch getting old, and it's even more of a bitch three weeks short of b-day #51 having a body that's slowly breaking down.
If you're wondering why I'm writing such a unpleasant post {writing about a physical malady, any physical malady is uniquely unpleasant}, it's because I got a very sobering reality check from a good friend of mine. I touched base with over the past weekend and she told me what she was diagnosed with {the dreaded C}, and it just about knocked me out of my seat. I knew she was having health issues, but this final diagnosis caught me completely off-guard.
I'm glad it was caught in time, and with a couple of rounds of seriously-heavy-duty-medicine, she should be good as new. Still, to hear about a friend whose basically in your age bracket, if not your same astrological sign, becoming seriously ill, is the kind of reality check that makes you think very long and very hard about some of the choices one makes.
Some choices are unavoidable, such as living with C.M.T. (genetics), one eye (genetics), short leg (genetics), bald (genetics). Others are avoidable, such as diabetes (family history), fat (personal choice), and bad eyesight (pick a reason, any reason).
Life indeed can give you a wicked hip check into the boards when you least expect it. It's how you respond to it that shows everyone what you're actually made of.
To end this post on a upbeat note, we give you ye olden picture of past springs to make you think of better things to come:
And before I forget, be sure to check out the latest at I Are Writer!
(c) 2016 BOOKS BY G.B. MILLER. All Rights Reserved.
Yes, middle age can be an ugly reality check about health issues. But the good news is that it's never too late to benefit from making good health choices. I'm in the same boat and have been trying to live a better life for years, dahlink, simply years. We can only do our best!
ReplyDeleteIt seems that I've been getting that ugly reality check about my health for the past several years, and while saying that you're gonna make good health choices, it's a whole other level to actually do so.
DeleteIt's very sobering when you see people your own age falling prey to too-many-birthday-itis - I have to resist the temptation to read online medical dictionaries. In the last year my tiny choir has lost two members, plus a sister of another one and a husband of a 4th with another husband now terminally ill...all of them in their 50s. It's like the group has a hex on it - no wonder I'm having problems attracting members. At least you're looking at it all with a dose of humour. Keep the bright side out.
ReplyDeleteIt's definitely sobering. And humor is more or less, the only way I can deal with the personal issues w/o going slug nutty.
DeleteNeedles scare me a little bit
ReplyDeleteIt used to bother me way early on when I was first diagnosed back in '85 to give myself shots. So for the next 17 years, I did nothing but pills. By '03, it was deemed a necessity to take insulin, thus the need to overcome my minor phobia of injecting myself. Nowadays, I really do give myself shots like I described. As for everything else, I simply turn my head and wait for them to finish.
DeleteGod Bless you - no way I could give myself a shot.
ReplyDeleteI'm the same age and yes, it's scary when those your age start falling apart or worse. Or those younger.
My mother is the same way, which is kind of funny, since she used to be a nurse back in the day. Family has to give her chronic condition shot because she can't do it herself.
DeleteIt does kind of suck getting older, but it's happening to everyone I know, so we're in it together. Hang in there.
ReplyDeleteIt seems like everything is just accelerated once you get over the age of 45, which definitely does suck.
DeleteIt sucks getting old. I'm starting to have weeks where I feel bad all week long. I never used to get sick, certainly not this much. And I don't know how people are able to give themselves a shot every day. I just can't imagine.
ReplyDeleteWishing the best for you, and the medicine will do the trick.
I kind of tune it out now. It's basically become my physical white noise, so when I don't do it, it usually means I've been nailed with a stomach bug of some kind (no eating usually means no insulin, which in turns means a low blood sugar for the day).
DeleteI'm certainly hoping the medicine does the trick, because even having crappy vision is better than having no vision.
Curious cat that I am, I looked up your new type of injection on YouTube. Holy cow, that does not look like fun. I didn't mind watching it on video, but if I had to have it done to myself I think I'd have a nice, big panic attack. Yikes!
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry to hear that your friend has a hard road ahead. Best wishes to her, and to you.
Trust me, it was not any kind of fun. The shot itself took about ten seconds to actually perform, but the prep work drove me nutty. I have mild panic attacks when it comes to my eyes (I was simply a puddle of water when it came to the laser surgery), so this was right up my alley.
DeleteThanks for the best wishes.
In our graduating class of about 100, already 11 have died. One of our old classmates died 2 weeks ago from heart issues. Even at our age, it's sobering knowing that just because you think you're in stellar condition, it doesn't mean you are (he was very fit).
ReplyDeleteI've had that many pass away from my graduating class, plus a few more prior to graduation. Exceptionally sobering reality check when you hear that someone in your age bracket that you know of had passed away.
Delete