TuDiabetes

Yield to Life and Dance.....

Latest Activity

How are you keeping my dear Judith? We're waiting (and waiting) for the arrival of our very headstrong second grandson whose taking his sweet ole time in making his grand entrance. Our daughter, who's also pregnant with grandson number 3, was in th…
3 hours ago
Judith - I'm there in spirit with you while you go thru' this process of life. Give your Mum a smile from me :)
8 hours ago
I will think of you and your Mom.
12 hours ago
We are with you at this time Judith.
18 hours ago
Hi Judith, I just came across this (I am new to Tu), and wanted to let you know I am saying a prayer for your mom, you, and your family. This is very sad for me as I also have been taking my mom to dialysis 3 times a week for the past 8 months. Much…
20 hours ago
Many prayers of peace with you tonight. I sat with my dear father-in-law through dialysis for 5 months before he passed. I know your pain and your mother's worry. Much love and strength to you during these difficult days.
21 hours ago
Judith Your in my prayers every day!
yesterday
we love you Judith. big hugs
yesterday

Profile Information

Hometown (where you come from):
Minneapolis, MN
Do you have diabetes?
Yes
I have:
Type 2
Date diagnosed
February 1, 2007
Most recent A1C (Blood Glucose Average) Value
4.9
What glucose meter do you use?
OneTouch Ultra 2
Type of treatment you use
Diet and Exercise
What is the address for your Twitter profile or other web site, if any?
http://none
How did you find out about us? What were you searching for?
Googled artists with diabetes looking for help with diabetes and creative process.
Who referred you? (if anyone)
n/a
What do you do for a living?
writer; textile/costume designer; choreographer; jewelry maker

Bits of a Life.......

Seeker, there is no path. The path is formed by walking.....Antonio Machado.....

Hello All: My name is Judith. I'm 60 years old; a newbie to diabetes (type 2) and also to chat rooms, forums and online communities. My path has been: dancer--choreographer & teacher--costume designer--writer for theater--poet--textile artist--jewelry maker--50 years since donning that first pair of tights. Also gardener and stray-cat-haven-provider and mom of a son still born at 8 months (1972) and an amazingly Alive daughter (1973) and mom-in-law of her equally amazing partner and gramma of their endlessly delightful 3 year old and astonishingly I guess in this day and age quite profoundly coupled with the same soulmate since 1979. Whew! Also Aunt of two Very Most Precious and Brilliant and Loving nieces!

I grew up in Minnesota & value all I learned coming of age in a place where Mother Nature tries to kill you at least once a year (as Garrison Keiller says); joined my beloved sister and her dance company in Portland in 1976 where I was only going to stay for 2 years and here I still am. I have an equally beloved big brother in Santa Cruz where I like to visit a couple times a year. My 87 year old mother is a fragile-now "tough old broad" of Swedish heritage. I was close to my dad who died in 1989, probably of diabetes complications though it wasn't talked about.

I was diagnosed last winter while still sorting out emotionally just what it meant to have my female core removed surgically, including all the wild hormonal swings that go with surgically-induced menopause. An emotionally messy time I have been in and it continues, I'm afraid.

I am having trouble melding the rigidities of diabetes control with my creative process which is an equally demanding and unruly mistress. I call my glucose meter The Leech. Just last week I ripped it out of its case, threw it against the wall and then in the garbage. Such a tough little sucker, though. It's back online and ruling my life as before. I do appreciate that for many of us it is a miraculous technology, but for me it is still new and intrusive and it galls me--especially as a dancer who has lived deeply in her body since age 7-- to have a nasty little machine telling me what to do with my life.

I wish you all well!.....

Judith's Blog

Judith

Dying of Kidney Failure WITH HELP.....

Dear TuD Friends, as close as family---I post this rather intimate update to my family because we with The D are all subject to kidney failure. But also because my very hard-working family coudn't help my Mom die in her own bed without a lot of subsidized help. So--if you wish to vote against Medicare/assistance for the elderly---well, take a breath and think about your Moms.....




Continue

Posted on March 7, 2010 at 9:49pm — 26 Comments

Judith

On the Eve of a 60th Birthday

Far from home. Far from friends. Bemused by life’s Stellar Goofiness.....I had thought I might be spending my birthday chasing my mother around trying to get a urine specimen to see if she has a UTI. A tricky operation, you understand, since end-stage kidney failure is not about making much urine! And while she does indeed sleep 18 hours or more a day, she is still capable of suddenly leaping up from a nap to serve some dreamed-of person a meal AT ONCE!



We still manage to laugh a lot.… Continue

Posted on February 23, 2010 at 7:14pm — 18 Comments

Judith

Disintegration.....

And so the shape of my days is changed in a flash of neurons going whacko in my mother's brain.

For most of a year, I have been calling her in Minnesota 5-6 times a day to remind her to eat or take her meds. All in the family, as well as neighbors, have established a network of support and community in keeping her at home as long as possible.

Thursday, when she picked up the phone for my afternoon vitamins and snack call, she appeared to be speaking a very non-English language and complained t… Continue

Posted on December 13, 2009 at 1:58pm — 16 Comments

Judith

30 years Together!.....

Unbelievable. Today is our 30th anniversary. We're too broke for a restaurant, but D is fixing us a luscious meal of scallops in garlic butter with one of his phenomenally delicious lightly sauteed vegetable mixes. Champagne, of course, and a not-too-expensive cabernet which is my current fave.

To those of you younger in your marriages, I would say that if you can battle your way through the tough times with respect, it only gets better. The last 4-5 years have been some of the most loving of o… Continue

Posted on October 27, 2009 at 5:08pm — 31 Comments

Judith

Emily Sums Up What TuDiabetes Has Meant To Me...

THE PROPS ASSIST THE HOUSE
By Emily Dickinson


THE PROPS assist the house
Until the house is built,
And adequate, erect,
The house supports itself;
Ceasing to recollect
The auger and the carpenter.
Just such a retrospect
Hath the perfected life,
A past of plank and nail,
And slowness,—then the scaffolds drop—
Affirming it a soul.



Got a ways to go on the concept of a "perfected life" of course. And given the diabolical whimsey of The D, I think the house is built for the rest of our lives. Bu… Continue

Posted on September 26, 2009 at 4:04pm — 8 Comments

Comment Wall (500 comments)

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At 1:59pm on March 15, 2010, Marie B said…
just stopping by to deliver a fresh supply of hugs for you. hope you're holding up ok.
At 2:48pm on March 10, 2010, patti lopez said…
Hi my fair Judith! How are you, hope all is well! Patti
At 11:21pm on March 7, 2010, Sohair Abdel-Rahman said…
Miss you.My heart goes to you my friend.
At 5:23pm on March 5, 2010, Danny Weems said…
hi, Judth! Believe it ornot I missed you. I guess when people get stuck in the web of our lives, their absence is noticable. Last year started ok, but went bad. I'm pretty much back on my feet, but doc says headaches will continue for another yr or so. Aleve is my companion.:) I checked your page. do you really have kidney failure?
For now, consider yourself hugged and kissed o both cheeks....even old combat vets can cry with joy sometimes.....I don't admit that to just anyone.
At 3:31pm on February 28, 2010, Lois said…
Judith:

I am so sorry that I did not know it was your birthday last week!! I usually send out the birthday greetings but haven't been up to getting on the computer very much. I'm soooooo baaaaaaaaaaaad!!

I am also so sorry I've had my head buried so far up my dupa that I missed it that your mother was actually dying. Even though I couldn't be there, my Dad was in the same boat as your Mom. He died at the end of September. It was hell and it was a relief too. My love and prayers are with you.

Lois
At 11:01pm on February 27, 2010, Robyn said…
Just wanted to send you a hug and one for your Mother too.
At 12:04am on February 24, 2010, Kristin said…
Just saw that I missed your birthday!!! Happy birthday dear friend!
At 5:51pm on February 23, 2010, Angela said…
Happy Birthday!!
At 1:46pm on February 23, 2010, Marie B said…
Happy Birthday Judith. You were one of my first friends here on TuDiabetes. You helped me so many times deal with the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune. You are our shining star, the heart and soul of our community. blessings to you!
At 1:20pm on February 23, 2010, Virgil Elvin Bowman Jr. said…
Judith, Happy B-day! My messages don't seem to be getting through to you, so I'll repeat my last one. JulieAnn would love to meet you; maybe we can get a Pdx group together again? How are you and your mother? Well I hope. Blessings, Virgil
 
 

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