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<blockquote data-quote="Minny9" data-source="post: 2431937" data-attributes="member: 547599"><p><span style="font-family: 'Tahoma'">Hello all. I stumbled upon this site today and felt compelled to join the community! I am 53, diagnosed as a Type-1 in February, 1991, and live in a suburb of Vancouver, BC, Canada (that said, my father was born near Exeter in 1938 before moving to Canada as a 10-year-old, and my late wife's father emigrated to Canada from Scotland at a young age, too, so I don't feel it too inappropriate to be posting to diabetes.co.uk). LOL!</span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Tahoma'"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Tahoma'">Rather than listing off a series of answers to the "introduce yourself" questionnaire, I prefer to give a few more relevant and telling facts about me and my experiences. I hope that's okay!</span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Tahoma'"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Tahoma'">As noted, I am a widower, having lost my wife to cancer in December, 2016, when we were both 49. She passed away just 8 months after her diagnosis, and after 23 years together (19 years married), her loss has easily become the single biggest sudden & unexpected change to my life, supplanting even my diabetes diagnosis when I was 23 and less than a year out of University. It's amusing to me how much more resilient and adaptable we are in our formative years, a time when you are always looking forward, and know -- or more accurately, assume -- you have more years ahead of you than you have behind you...</span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Tahoma'"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Tahoma'">This applies to my life as a diabetic, too. I have been a Type-1 for 30 years, having been diagnosed at age 23. I don't remember what it's like not to be living with diabetes. The challenge for me now is living alone, and without my "safety net" (for that is what my wife often was during some low blood sugar episodes, both minor and severe). I have always respected my condition, and thankfully have not developed any directly relatable health complications from my diabetes. I still play competitive ice hockey (remember, I'm Canadian), cycle, and play a lot of tennis recreationally. These activities have served me very well for many years, and I attribute my relative good health to being active.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Tahoma'"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Tahoma'">Unfortunately, keeping really tight control has led to several severe lows over the years, including a few nighttime events that required my wife to call an ambulance. As I'm sure some of you have experienced, there is nothing more humiliating than waking from a seizure to a room full of paramedics and firemen! Anyway, despite all the emotional upheaval that I continue to work through after losing my wife, and adjusting to a life on my own that I never wanted or imagined, my diabetes just doesn't care about any of that. It is always there, and will still on occasion remind me in a rude and uncaring way that it is not going away. Which leads me to the real reason I came upon this site -- I was curious to know if there are any others who have lived numerous years (decades?) as a Type-1 who face similar challenges while living alone. I am in the process of having my GP submit my application for a continuous blood sugar monitor. For many years, I hated the thought of having some device affixed to me like a prosthetic. However, with age (and a new respect for the fragility of life) I have an appreciation for how this would assist me at those times when I slip dangerously low, especially now and for the years to come without my beloved "safety net" (love and miss you, babe). ❤❤</span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Tahoma'"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Tahoma'">Thanks for welcoming me!</span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Tahoma'"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Tahoma'">Steve</span></p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Minny9, post: 2431937, member: 547599"] [FONT=Tahoma]Hello all. I stumbled upon this site today and felt compelled to join the community! I am 53, diagnosed as a Type-1 in February, 1991, and live in a suburb of Vancouver, BC, Canada (that said, my father was born near Exeter in 1938 before moving to Canada as a 10-year-old, and my late wife's father emigrated to Canada from Scotland at a young age, too, so I don't feel it too inappropriate to be posting to diabetes.co.uk). LOL! Rather than listing off a series of answers to the "introduce yourself" questionnaire, I prefer to give a few more relevant and telling facts about me and my experiences. I hope that's okay! As noted, I am a widower, having lost my wife to cancer in December, 2016, when we were both 49. She passed away just 8 months after her diagnosis, and after 23 years together (19 years married), her loss has easily become the single biggest sudden & unexpected change to my life, supplanting even my diabetes diagnosis when I was 23 and less than a year out of University. It's amusing to me how much more resilient and adaptable we are in our formative years, a time when you are always looking forward, and know -- or more accurately, assume -- you have more years ahead of you than you have behind you... This applies to my life as a diabetic, too. I have been a Type-1 for 30 years, having been diagnosed at age 23. I don't remember what it's like not to be living with diabetes. The challenge for me now is living alone, and without my "safety net" (for that is what my wife often was during some low blood sugar episodes, both minor and severe). I have always respected my condition, and thankfully have not developed any directly relatable health complications from my diabetes. I still play competitive ice hockey (remember, I'm Canadian), cycle, and play a lot of tennis recreationally. These activities have served me very well for many years, and I attribute my relative good health to being active. Unfortunately, keeping really tight control has led to several severe lows over the years, including a few nighttime events that required my wife to call an ambulance. As I'm sure some of you have experienced, there is nothing more humiliating than waking from a seizure to a room full of paramedics and firemen! Anyway, despite all the emotional upheaval that I continue to work through after losing my wife, and adjusting to a life on my own that I never wanted or imagined, my diabetes just doesn't care about any of that. It is always there, and will still on occasion remind me in a rude and uncaring way that it is not going away. Which leads me to the real reason I came upon this site -- I was curious to know if there are any others who have lived numerous years (decades?) as a Type-1 who face similar challenges while living alone. I am in the process of having my GP submit my application for a continuous blood sugar monitor. For many years, I hated the thought of having some device affixed to me like a prosthetic. However, with age (and a new respect for the fragility of life) I have an appreciation for how this would assist me at those times when I slip dangerously low, especially now and for the years to come without my beloved "safety net" (love and miss you, babe). ❤❤ Thanks for welcoming me! Steve[/FONT] [/QUOTE]
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