I am married, and I have two children. A daughter who is halfway through her teens, and a son who is fast approaching. They are both very healthy, as is my wife of many years. I have finished my classes at the University of Phoenix working towards my Bachelors in IT (Information Technology), but I still have to test out of a few electives. I am trying to turn my hobby into a career, and my career into a hobby, heh. I just now realized that.

I'm 38 years old, and I still get teary-eyed when I think about it and asking no-one in particular "why me!?". I was diagnosed this in January '08 as a Type2. I still remember clearly when my doctor stated that my blood glucose was 285 (or somewhere close to that), it meant nothing to me. When he realized that I was still waiting for the punch-line he added, "...that means that you have diabetes...". I just stared at him. I had originally gone in for cellulitis (infection) in my lower left leg. You see, I also have lymphoedema in that same leg, so am prone to infection. This was what I was thinking we would be talking about at this particular appointment. The doctor had previously ordered blood and urine tests to be done. That was where we were at. He wanted to go over the test results with me.

He sent me home with a meter and a prescription for test strips and lancets, a packet full of papers, brochures, booklets and fliers on diabetes. I had just run over to his office during my lunch break! I left his office numb. When I got into my van, it hit me! I suddenly was very overwhelmed and I cried for almost 30 minutes before I was able to call my wife and give her the news. She could hardly understand what I was telling her, I was so choked up. I got back to work but couldn't focus for the rest of the day...sometimes, I still feel like I am in that fog.

The only diabetics I know are the ones I met right here, and I am loving it. I am learning so much from everyone!