He's Normal!

"Did you just call me normal?" Dave asked.
"No, *I* would never call you normal! But these test results say otherwise..." I replied.

Sorry. I have to brag on my hubby for a bit. Back in September, Dave was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. His A1c (3-month blood sugar average) was 8.9. That means his average glucose level over the 3 prior months had been above 200. Even his fasting levels were 180-220, which meant his liver was kicking glucose into his system overnight. Definitely not a good thing!

I received the news with all the eagerness of a cat in a tub of soapy water. I was done. After seven years of Lyme and other tick-borne illnesses, I was not ready to learn about yet another illness. But after I had my little rant I put on my game face and went with him to diabetes education classes. Thankfully they did the classes one on one for us so Dave could avoid perfume exposures from other classmates.

Everything seemed insurmountable to me. I knew I couldn't realistically keep track of what he eats, because one of the problems with Lyme is sleep that refuses to regulate. I can't watch what someone eats while I'm sleeping! With his memory struggles, would he remember what to eat, and when he had eaten, and to track his blood sugar?

While my fears were doing the proverbial bull-in-the-china-shop run in my mind, Dave was taking the bull by the horns and reading labels. Lots of labels. I think he knows every grocery store aisle in town now (especially the 24 hour one, which turns out to be a good place to walk in the winter as well). And walk he does--twice a day many days. He may not go far or fast, but he goes, and he doesn't give up. He's shown incredible discipline in his eating, which for anyone is difficult--but for someone with the struggles of Lyme Disease to overcome, it's downright phenomenal.

I knew he was making good progress when the other day he came out sporting his jeans that hadn't fit for awhile. But neither of us knew how well until his check-up this week. Down 18 pounds since September (35 since summer). Cholesterol down 18 points. And his A1C--a whopping 5.9 now! He's actually in the "normal" range! (That doesn't mean he can stop all the changes though, it means keep up the good work!)

It's funny how what I thought was the last straw to do us in (or at least me!), became the catalyst God used to help Dave make important health changes. We never expected results this positive--the education classes were encouraging him to get to 6.5 or 7. Anyway, I am so proud of Dave's hard work this fall, and we are praising God for seeing us through and enabling Dave to focus on the needed changes.