Feb 1, 2006

MELLITUS, 10-15%

At the start of the year I was diagnosed with type 1 Diabetes. “Type 1 diabetes is marked by a total or near-total lack of insulin. It results from the body destroying its own insulin producing cells in the pancreas. People with this form of diabetes require daily insulin therapy to survive. Type 1 accounts for around 10–15% of all people with diabetes”. While this came as a shock, it also helped explain the constant fatigue I had been fighting on a regular basis for the last few years. The Doctors can’t find any point in time that my body would have started attacking the pancreas, it’s safe to say I’ve probably had for most of my life, I am however grateful it was detected now rather than later.

Life goes on pretty much as normal, though some would say jabbing one’s self three times a day is hardly normal. Replacing the sharp after each use and the overall procedure is totally pain free. Regular insulin in my body now is not only providing me with a tummy but my pants hug my bum instead of hanging loosely from my hips.

The next set of photos shows Jay with a draft painting of a mural she’s been commissioned to paint back in her home town. If my memory serves me right the photos were shot at my Dad’s place a month before she left. A lot has happened between us two, where no longer an item, splitting up at the start of the year. To cut a long and personal story short I still have heaps of admiration and compassion for her and wish her the very best in life.