Hooray for friends!

Behold!!!!

This is the bounty brought to me from some of our dear friends, David and Meghann, from the States.  In exchange for giving them tours of some of Rome's sights, they brought me a month's worth of pump supplies, 10 CGM sensors and 10 boxes of test strips!!  WOOHOO!

Now this is not standard procedure, that all who come visit should bring me insulin pump supplies.  But Meghann is a dietitian and will soon also be a CDE.  She works with diabetes patients all day long and got her hands on some spare supplies.  It was an incredible gift, one that allows me to keep wearing my insulin pump for the time being.  I haven't forgotten that the end is in sight, so I'm incredibly grateful for their help in keeping my life as close to normal as possible.

And while we love these friends for all sorts of reasons, it was especially nice to spend time with people who "get" this disease a bit better than others.  It's not that we sat there and talked about diabetes the entire time, but with them I don't have to worry about making them uncomfortable or lengthy explanations about my eating habits.  And even if she had wanted to (and I don't know that she did), Meghann never pressed me for information.  She never gave me a weird look for eating gelato every day with them or eating a huge portion of pasta.  She only asked after my numbers once, and just to ask if I was low.

Maybe the most valuable thing - diabetes-wise - that I got out of their time here was Meghann's independent affirmation of my decision not to see an endo while I'm here......at least not now.  Since I work hard to take care of myself and am always seeking information, she acknowledged that seeing someone just to test my A1c wouldn't really do anything to improve my self-care.  And ultimately, I think that self-care is the most important kind we PWDs receive.

We had such a good time with them while they were in Rome, and I was so grateful for what they brought me.  I kept trying to convince them to come back in 2013.  I guess we'll see!!

*Disclaimer: I am not a doctor or any sort of medical professional.  I am positive that NOT seeing an endo or other type of doctor is not the best approach for everyone even though that is what works for me right now.  I am no model for behavior and I am well aware of the risks and the fact that I'm going against medical advice in some of my choices.