Fall 2005 Finals Week

I'm ::gasp:: DONE!

Hallelujah! Thank the Lord!

::collapses::

I apologize for not posting much this week, but dead week and finals week nearly killed me (my poor feet can attest to that!).

Would you like to hear a "OMG, Allison, I can't believe you did that!" story? Sure you do! So, Monday morning, my English final is at 8am. I wake up. At 8 am. I throw on clothes and grab my bag, which thankfully already has everything in it. But I can't find my slip-on Arizona flats. In my sleepy, panicked daze, I grab the next best thing- my $7 cranberry clogs. I run out the door.

About a block later, I realize these shoes suck. I'm sliding all around in them, and I can't get a good enough grip to do anything but walk quickly. I require more speed. So, I decide to take them off. I sprint about a half block barefoot, before realizing this is even worse, and certainly more painful (and I swear I could hear the entire diabetic community yelling at me in unison "Put your shoes BACK ON!"). I slide the shoes on and keep going. Faster. Come on. Ow, this hurts. Keep going. It's only pain.

I arrive, grab the test, unzip my bag and pull out the Green Books and begin taking the test. After about five minutes, I decide to slip the shoes off to give my feet a breather. The blisters are burning. After answering the first question, I glance down to see how badly the blisters have broken. Oh, they're broken alright... and my big toe is bleeding. Clearly not thinking straight (blood loss perhaps?), I continue taking the test. Afterwards, I head to the bathroom and clean off my feet. They're still sore and red, but not bleeding. I'm starving, and although I still haven't tested yet, I go with a friend to eat breakfast and then head back (slowly, oh so very slowly) to my house to test, get properly ready for school and study.

I consider going to the Health Center, but I have ointment and band-aids. But I also have work at 4:30 and I know there is no way I can stand on my feet for 6 hours. Work wants a doctor's note if I'm not going to be able to come. So I walk (slowly, oh so very slowly) to the Health Center. I tell the receptionist I've hurt my foot. Mary Jean, the resident CDE, is with another patient but she sees me and I tell her what happened. "Oh, it's a good thing you came in then, especially with diabetes."

The receptionist sends me back to another area to see the doctor. This guy has to be the funniest doctor I've ever met in my whole entire career as a patient. He asks me where I'm from, what my major is, the usual. He asks me what medication I'm on.

When I tell him insulin and Symlin (to which he furrows his brow and writes "Similin"), he asks, "So, you're a Type 1 diabetic. How long?"

"12 years."

"Do you know what your last A1C was?"

"7.8" I say. "I know, it's not that great."

"Hey, the fact you know what an A1C is is impressive."

Chuckle. "Yeah, I know."

He takes a look at my feet. Nothing is broken. He asks me where it hurts and I say "right there," pointing to where the left pinky toe meets the rest of the foot, and of course, the blisters.

"Well, good."

"Good?"

He tells me the fact that I can feel the pain is a good thing because it shows that I'm in good control and I haven't lost any sensations in my feet. "Can you feel this?" "Yes." "Can you feel that?' "Yeah."

Which has lead me to the latest addition to "You know you're a diabetic when....": Your doctor is happy you can feel pain in your feet. Oh dear.

"It's a good thing you came in to see me. Diabetics need to pay special attention to their feet." Right. Of course. That's why I'm here...

I tell him I have work tonight and that I "kinda sorta don't want to go." He looks at me. "You just wanted me to give you a doctor's note, didn't you?"

"Yes...." He laughs and shakes his head, writing me the note.

"There. I wrote down 'secondary injury'. They'll look at that and run. Now, if it starts bleeding or filling with puss, you come back and see me." How's that for mental image?

"Noted."

So there was my exciting adventure of the week. My toe is healing quite nicely, but the blisters are still red and ugly. Lots and lots of antibiotic ointment has been used.

In other news: My parents and brother are driving down tonight for the Nickel Creek concert. My dad is a huge fan and when I found out a bunch of my friend were going, I called and asked if he wanted to come down. Then he thought we should bring my mom. Who in turn though we should bring my brother. So now the whole fam is coming to Eugene and spending the night, and then back to Portland we go.

So get this. My winter break starts official today (December 9). Guess when classes start? January 9. Yeah. I don't think the school administrators like us very much. They're trying to ditch us for a whole month.

My big plans for the break:

• Get a job (hopefully)
• Finish Diabetes Teen Talk
• Do lots and lots of PR work for DTT and for the OC (seriously, why are we not on dLife's website?)
• Sleep
• Eat copious amounts of candy at the Candy House party (for the last 14 years, my friend Kayce's family has hosted a Candy House party where we decorate graham cracker houses with frosting and candy. More candy ends up in my stomach than on the house. I don't even try to keep my blood sugars under control while I'm there. A high is inevitable.
• Shop shop shop
• Write? Maybe?
• Read.
• NARNIA!!!!
• Go to the endo and get my latest A1C (ahhhh. Scary!)

Oh, and hello to the new bloggers in the OC! Especially Bethany, Alex and Megan, my fellow college-bloggers! Yay! I'm not alone! ::waves::

I'm adding all the blogs that have been piling up in my e-mail box to the OC right now.... Check 'em out!

Forthcoming: Grades and Endocrinologist Report.