Just Two Weeks

This country is broken. You don't need me to tell you that. It seems as though we are all constantly at each others' throats. Everybody is just so angry about so many things. The list is long: race, gender, religious freedom, equality, liberals, conservatives, terrorism, gun laws, health care, on and on and on. We are also in the midst of the ugliest presidential election in memory. All the screaming, blaming, and hatred is just too much. We could all use a break for a week or two.

And that's why I thank God for these Olympic games. For these next two weeks, the headlines will be dominated by the results and, more importantly, the stories of the 2016 Rio Olympics. It will give us a chance to unplug a little bit from the craziness of the world at large and focus on something else for a while. Something entertaining, sure, but also something bigger than us.

The Olympics are about the will and determination of the human spirit. They are about the world coming together. They are about individual and team accomplishment. And right now, they are just about the only thing that unites us.

Some days it's hard to be an American, no matter which side of the political divide you're on. Half of the time it seems as though the "other side" has lost their collective minds, and the other half it feels like the people on your own side have lost theirs. As great of a country as America is, we are certainly not without our flaws. Even if we can't all agree on what those flaws are. But, if we choose to, we can put those aside during these glorious two weeks that are the Olympic games.

For just two weeks we can rally around our athletes. We can all chant USA, USA...and actually mean it. We can let the stories of these athletes become our stories and share in their achievements. Even when we come up short, we know that these athletes are giving us their all and are quite simply the best in their fields. Win or lose, the Olympics represent what makes America...no, wait, humanity great.

I know, I know, at this point some of you, your cynical little inner contrarian wants to start talking about the doping controversies that come up in some sports. You'll want to mention the controversies of people like Tonya Harding and Oscar Pistorius. You'll mention the bribery scandals, question the integrity of the Olympic committee, talk about how trivial sports are, and whatever else you can come up with.

Well, don't. Seriously. If this is you, don't leave me your snotty little comments here or on Facebook. Please keep your negativity  and arguments to yourself on this one, okay?

For every negative that can be named about the Olympics there are multiple positives. And that's what we should be focusing on. We ought to. We need to.

Let's just be proud Americans and unite around an ideal and a dream.

Just for two weeks.

Big Change

Last blog I mentioned having some health issues and that I was going to be looking into them further. Well, I did that.

A week ago I went to my doctor and had some blood drawn. It turns out I have Type 2 Diabetes. This explains a of the symptoms I've had, and some I didn't know I had. Unexplained weight loss for example. What a rip-off, I finally start losing the weight and it's because my blood has it in for me. Nice. Other symptoms include fatigue (I am always tired), and of course foot pain, which I had just attributed to being on my feet all day.

So it's all still pretty new to me and I'm in for one huge learning curve. At this point I am not having to shoot myself up with insulin. The doctor put me on three different pills. Two for diabetes and one for cholesterol, because why wouldn't that be messed up too? I am relieved that I don't have to give myself a shot (for now anyway).

The big change will, of course, be diet and the dreaded "portion control". As a person who loves rich, heavy foods this does not bode well. Don't get me wrong, I like vegetables. Love a nice salad. I don't mind eating lean meat, or "light" versions of food. It's not so much what I can or can't eat that bothers me, it's how little I can eat.

As I look through the literature provided me I am kind of stunned to discover what is considered appropriate per meal for a diabetic diet.  Three ounces of meat? One half cup of rice? One slice of bacon? 1/4 of a bagel, are you kidding me?  One cup of non starchy vegetables? None of this makes much sense.

Part of the problem I am having is that I have received a lot of hard data but not a lot of context to put this all in. I am supposed to have a goal number to base my meal planning around but I don't know what that number is or how to calculate it. There don't seem to be any hard fast rules for this stuff, it's all relative and different  from person to person. Perhaps it's because I am a new diabetic that this seems so confusing, but honestly. I am trying to change the way I eat, I'm just afraid that I'm doing it wrong.

I am supposed to hear from a diabetes nutritionist/specialist soon who will answer all my questions (and I have a lot of them) but that phone call has yet to come. So for now I'm just guessing and hoping I'm correct. I also don't have a home testing kit. Not sure if I need one yet or how to properly use one, since I don't yet understand my numbers. Back to that again.

This is a lot to deal with. I want a cookie. Probably can't have it. Bummer.

Now, I must admit this isn't a total surprise. My mother had Type 1 Diabetes and died young. While her death was technically a heart attack, she did have some complications from the disease. Other family members have had diabetes as well. I have diabetic genes. That's a thing, I didn't make it up. Some family members have fared well with their disease, and some have not. I want to be in the former group.

Considering family history I'm surprised I don't know more about this disease. I feel like I should. I feel like it should all make some sort of sense to me but it doesn't. And the more research I do the more overwhelming it gets.

Bottom line is that I have a chronic disease that will be with me the rest of my life. I will do my best to manage it and control it. This will be a struggle, and it's already hard. But I have no choice.

And I still want a cookie.

Catching Up

Hiya! It's been a while. That happens to me sometimes. I have every intention of blogging on a regular basis but, y'know, life happens and I get tired a lot and, well, frankly I just don't have the energy at the end of the day to sit down and type. Sad, really.

But here we are. It's 10:48 pm and I'm super awake so let's do this. Here's what's been going on in Dave land.

-I have had some health issues lately. Last month I went to see a GI doctor about some digestive issues I've had for pretty much ever. I got on prescription type probiotics (not yogurt) and some vitamins and I've really noticed a difference. However, there was some concern about Barrett's esophagus. Well, my esophagus, really, but the thing they were looking for is called Barrett's.

Anyway, Barrett's esophagus is a pre cancerous condition in which tissue that is similar to the lining of your intestine replaces the tissue lining your esophogus. So I got to go have an upper endoscopy done. They knocked me out and did a biopsy on me, I had the best nap ever due to the anesthesia, and a lot more money than I was expecting later there is no concern of cancer in my esophagus at all. So yay me.

I still need to see my doctor soon about a few other things. One of which is the fact that I have lost a noticeable amount of weight without actually trying. On the one hand, it's kinda nice to need a new pair of pants and some new shirts, but I would still like to make sure it's not anything to worry about.  Plus I'm exhausted most of the time and I'm beginning to wonder if the two are related. So a check up is coming. Hopefully there will be no worries but I'll keep y'all posted.

-I am typing this while listening to the official download of The Who's performance in St. Louis a few weeks back. It's sounds good.

I went to that show with my father and brother. We are all serious Who fans, and their music has been important to us all both individually and as a family. That may sound strange to some, but music has a way of bonding people together, and this is a bond we all share.  I could wax poetic on The Who all night but for now I will leave it at this. The show was fantastic, with a great set list and stellar performance. I am glad I went and that I went with my family. Thanks to Pete and Roger for making the show available, for doing the show in the first place, and for everything else.

-As long as we're on the topic of music I suppose this is as good a time as any to make it official. I am making a record. It's a little over halfway done so I won't say too much about it yet. All I will say right now is that it's a big, fun, rock record and if all goes well it'll be out this summer. I will also be doing a charity tie in with purchase of the disc, so stay tuned for details. More to come.

-April is Autism Awareness month. For some reason the color chosen to represent this is blue. I don't know why either, but okay. So I'll be wearing lots of blue this month because I am aware, and I have a son who is on the very high functioning end of the spectrum. I haven't spoken too much about this on social media but I'd like to put it out there now.

Have you ever seen The Big Bang Theory T.V. show? You know the character Sheldon? That's my boy, only  he's five years old and has a bit of a violent streak. Not that he means to be violent or mean, he just doesn't have the ability to communicate or control his emotions well when he is upset. The boy's got a good heart and his IQ is borderline genius but his social skills are severely lacking.

The school has an IEP set up for him where he is with assistants/paras almost all day, and he goes back and forth between his large kindergarten class and a smaller class for kids with similar issues. He is able to take sensory breaks if he needs them and has all the support he can possibly get.This is a blessing for sure.

Educationally, the boy is classified as autistic. Our insurance pays for him to go to classes for sensory/ autistic children at a special center. So for all intents and purposes, he has Autism. Except that the child Psychologist we took him to didn't give him that diagnosis, largely because when he's one on one with an adult he is funny, charming, and a smart, cool kid. So we haven't received an official diagnosis at this stage, but his Autism is pretty obvious to anyone who sees him in large group situations or with a group of kids other than his sisters. In fact, other parents of kids with Autism will come up to me after observing his behavior and talk to me about Autism. So I started wondering why he hasn't been officially diagnosed. Not that that's a bad thing, necessarily, but it's curious.

Here's what I think is the deal. If you research Asperger's, he has pert near every symptom on the list. I mean, it's textbook. However, Asperger's is no longer a thing. It's not diagnosed anymore, especially not in children. It's like they just decided it isn't real, or was just a dream, like on Dallas. Now, I'm not sure who "they" are in this scenario exactly. It's either the medical profession or the insurance companies. If I were a betting man, my money would be on the latter.

So anyway, that's where we are. My son doesn't have a label to follow him around, which is good. As long as that fact doesn't prevent him from getting any of the help or services he needs (and so far it hasn't) I suppose all is as`well as it can be.

-Okay,that got long, but I got a few things off my mind so that's nice. Also it's after midnight and the concert is over so it's bedtime.

Thanks for reading, those of you who do. Love y'all. Back soon.