Time for another update!

My Health:
2017 has been rough.  A blood sugar level that dropped way too low caused another fall in which I hit my head (again) and ended up with ANOTHER severe concussion.  I was taken to the ER for CT scans and to be observed for awhile.  I was required to see my diabetic doctor two weeks later.  She read the reports and warned that I might have reached my limit for concussions.  Thinking has been very challenging for me and I "lost ten days" (have no memories of anything that happened in that time) due to the concussion.  I still have issues trying to think of words, but I can get to the word I need a lot faster than a month ago!

My A1C (a blood test that tells the doctor how my blood sugars have been for the past 3 months) went up again to 9.8.  NOT GOOD!  The doctor wants it between 5 and 7.  So that tells them my blood sugars are not in control at all.. still... again.  It's frustrating to never be good enough.  They sent me to "Diabetic School" where I proved I KNOW everything that I needed to know, plus some.  They were THRILLED to hear that I'm getting a Diabetic Alert Service Dog, because it will help insure that my blood sugar levels will NOT get too high OR too low, which will save my body from a lot of the harm that can easily happen to diabetics.

WHAT CAN HAPPEN TO A DIABETIC?
I thought I'd put this in because I haven't mentioned this for awhile.
1.  Loss of kidney function - Would mean being on dialysis.
2.  Blood vessels broken in the eyes - Usually leads to blindness, but they now give diabetics with eye damage, shots in the eye ball once a month to help keep them from going blind.  My eye doctor told me it is a horrible experience and prays he won't have to do that to me.  (Yes, he actually said "prays")
3.  Amputation of limbs due to poor circulation - A lot of poorly controlled blood sugar diabetics start getting what is called "Diabetic nerve pain" in their lower limbs (you might have seen TV ads for medicine that helps relieve some of the diabetic nerve pain symptoms).  If a sore develops, one of these diabetics won't feel it, and it can easily worse and develop into gangrene (if you want to Google images of this, you have a stronger stomach than I do!).  Amputation of gangrene body parts does occur, it's very real.
4.  Diabetics are also more prone to heart attacks.

What messes me up?
YES I test my blood sugar often, but levels change for a lot of different reasons (not JUST due to how much or what types of food a person eats)!  For me, the biggest influence for high blood sugars is stress.  Stress from my constant back pain due to a fall down a flight of stairs because of an insulin reaction (low blood sugar levels), stress from needing to see the doctor, stress from my Mom having stage 4 cancer, stress from forgetting words/events, stress from life.  YES, everyone has life stresses and mine are no worse than anyone else's.  They just effect my blood sugar levels a lot.  It is another reason WHY this Service Dog will be so important.  Dogs, esp. highly trained dogs, greatly help reduce stress!

What about the pump?
I've been asked why don't I just wear an insulin pump.  Wearing a machine that has a needle sticking into my skin all the time is not any sort of quality of life for me.  Some people can do that, and I'm impressed!  More power to them!  I can not.  My mind isn't able to do all of the equations to figure out insulin adjustments.  Math has never been my friend!  The needle site causes me to itch.  A Diabetic Alert Service Dog can alert to changing blood sugar levels 20 minutes FASTER than a machine!  Why is that important?  The sooner I am aware of changing blood sugar levels, the faster I can do something to correct it!

SUMMING IT UP
The Diabetic Alert Service Dog will reduce my stress, bringing my A1C levels down.  The Diabetic Alert Service Dog will notify me of changing blood sugar levels 20 minutes prior to any machine.  THIS DOES NOT MEAN I'LL NO LONGER TEST MY BLOOD SUGAR LEVELS!  I'll probably be testing a lot more!

IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS

Please feel free to "bop me on the head with an IM"

in Second Life!

I'll be happy to talk with you

and give you information.

HOW CAN YOU HELP

GET THIS IMPORTANT DOG

HOME?

* Hire Kiva & XMarieX Fairport to DJ at your events

* Purchase items from ~XM~ Designs, from Snowhawk's Labs

and/or MOoH! Pups on Pillows

* Donate at specially marked kiosks in Second Life

* Donate via PayPal to wisconsin_marie@yahoo.com

* Donate at any Wells Fargo Bank to "MUSKETEER THE DIABETIC ALERT DOG"

and/or

* Donate directly to Diabetic Alert Dogs of America, HERE. who will be training

my Service Dog.  (On the blue section at the bottom of the page, click on

"PAYMENT", click "BUY NOW"

In the description, type MUSKETEER PUPPY,

enter an amount and continue.

Verify the payment type (credit card, debit card or PayPal)

and...

* PRAY!

KNOW THAT YOUR HELP,

NO MATTER HOW YOU HELP

IS GREATLY APPRECIATED!