Ekphrasis

Ekphrasis Post. Go to flickr.com/explore and write a post inspired by the image. Can you link it to your health focus? Don’t forget to post the image!

I don't really know where to go with this....

Yeah.

Ok, I can relate it to diabetes.  Sometimes I feel like diabetes is taking over my life.  And therefore I am faceless.  Just like the woman in this picture.  She is being taken over by the materials that seem to run her life.  But someone is reaching out to her...mmmmaybe for help to get out of the craziness?  Just like I use my friends to help me get out of the craziness. 

It is a stretch. 

What the heck does Ekphrasis mean? 

On a funnier note....

Today I was at work and the lawyer in the office came up and offered me some chocolate just after he had offered the girl in front of me chocolate.  As he walked away all of a sudden something thunked REALLY hard against my forehead!  OUCH!  What was that?  Then I see my co worker pop her head up in horror!  She had received chocolate from the lawyer as well and when she realized that it was dark chocolate, which apparently she doesn't like, she tried to chuck it at him...missing the further away him and hitting me right in the forehead from two feet away!  I had a slight bump and complained of dizziness the rest of the day.  The whole office had a good laugh out of it! 

Maybe I won't have to go into work tomorrow...

The Health Activist Writer’s Month Challenge 2012 (#HAWMC)

Why I Write...

 I write about my health because… Reflect on why you write about your health for 15-20 minutes without stopping.

Hmmm...ok...well, I probably write about my health first and foremost because I keep on getting emails saying that "they" are having a blogging challenge and then "they" send send me little prompts to write about each day.  I would have to say that that is probably the main reason.  The first time I took the challenge it was because I had seen it on a friend's blog and figured, why the heck not?  I think I wrote a blog about why I decided to do it come to think of it.  This second time around I took the challenge because I had fun doing it last time and a lot of my friends told me that they enjoyed reading my blog...that they were learning so much.  Personally, I like it when people leave comments for me to read! 

I write about my health because it is easier to write about it than talk about it.  When you talk about things, there isn't a backspace and you can't take things back so easily.  When I write about things, I can take all the time I want in order to form a sentence.  When I talk about it, I'm concerned that I'm boring who ever I am talking to, but when I write about it, the reader can stop reading at any point and they don't have to feel obligated to have to read what I am writing.  No one is forcing anyone to come to my blog to read what I am saying.  In fact, I have very little knowledge of who is actually reading this.

I write about my health because it is a type of therapy.  I can think things through this way.  I can learn more about myself and others can learn about me and what is going on inside my head.  It feels good to get it out. 

I write about my health because I like to inform people.  This is what it is like to be me.  If you care to learn what it is like to be me, then you can read it, if you don't care to learn more about me, then you don't have to read it. 

I write about my health because it is such a huge part of who I am, but I don't like to make it look that way on the outside.  I am Allison the Diabetic, but mostly I just like to be just Allison on the outside.  Writing about it, I can be Allison on the inside, who has hard times being diabetic and has normal times being diabetic, who has great times being diabetic.  There isn't a very long period of time that goes by where I'm not penetrated by the fact that I'm diabetic, but people can't see that on the outside.  I don't want to have that blaring in people's faces, but sometimes it is nice to be heard. 

I write about my health because I think that sometimes I can be funnier when I'm writing.  I can also express deeper feelings and thoughts when I'm writing.  I've been told that when people read my writing, they can totally hear me in it.  It makes me happy that I am what I write. 

Has it been 15 minutes yet??

I write about my health because everyone has health.  Everyone has some sort of health problem, and if they don't, they will some day.  We can all relate to the pain and suffering of having health issues.

I write about my health becauseI hope that it will help someone with their own problems that they are going through.  Or that it will help someone better understand someone else and be more compassionate towards that person. 

I write about my health...because I want to. 

Superpower

Superpower Day. If you had a superpower – what would it be? How would you use it?

Man, since I love traveling, I think that teleporting myself anywhere instantly would be fantastic.  I mean really...come on, who doesn't want to be able to do that?  Or to be able to freeze time like Evie in Out of This World...wait...did I just date myself?  Youtube it.  Half alien girl who can freeze time.  You will not be disappointed. 

Speaking of dating myself...I'm a full 6 years older than the girl at work today who was complaining about being old...I think I just threw up a little in my mouth. 

Hmmm...but seriously, I think that the superpower of being able to heal mental, physical and emotional infirmities would be what I would like to pick.  That is totally a superpower worth having.  Really...you can have all the money in the world and if you don't feel well, you have nothing...or you are willing to give up anything just to feel good again.  It sounds so cliche, but true.  When you have a loved one who is in any sort of pain, you just want to be able to take it away.  My superpower would be to take that away.  Don't get me wrong, I don't want to take away death or anything, but it would be nice to feel 110% all the time! 

How would I use it?  For the good of man kind...and possibly to put doctors out of business?  Hmmm.  Make having health insurance obsolete...fabulous...I hate having to deal with health insurance!  Sounds like i'm going to ruin the economy even more...

Bail out, anyone?

The Health Activist Writer’s Month Challenge 2012 (#HAWMC)

Inspired Much?

Quotation Inspiration. Find a quote that inspires you (either positively or negatively) and free write about it for 15 minutes.

So, I had this roommate in college, Shauna, (who is still one of my best friends) who loved motivational quotes and such.  I aways made fun of her for this and found this for her one day:

I am very lucky that she put up with me, and that she still puts up with me!  Now don't get me wrong, I do enjoy the motivational quotes and such, but I kinda like the demotivators even better...they are usually a lot more funny.  Anyway, so I didn't really have any sort of favorite quote today to blog about.  I tried to google "diabetes quotes" (I wanted it to have to do with diabetes so it would make it easier for me to come up with something to talk about for 15 minutes, but they were all pretty depressing.  So I googled "funny diabetes quotes."  I clearly didn't look for very long, but this is the first one that made sense:

"Laughter is the best medicine - unless you're diabetic, then insulin comes pretty high on the list."

~Jasper Carrott
 
I don't know who Jasper Carrott is, but pretty sure this is true.  Laughter is the best medicine.  It makes me feel so much better when I have a good laugh, especially when it comes a long with a good chat with one of my best friends...you know, when you talk and laugh for hours and say over and over again "I can't remember the last time I laughed so hard"?  Yeah, I live for times like that.  I'll smile for a while after leaving that type of situation.  I love it.  The way it makes your whole body feel good.  That and sneezing...a good sneeze can just make you warm and fuzzy insdie.  Insulin comes right up there as well, as Jasper says.  A good old shot of insulin can take you from feeling like crap to not crap...after a while.  It can take you from having to pee all the time, to not having to pee all the time.  From feeling like you are going to throw up, to feeling less like you are going to throw up...to feeling normal again.  Granted, it can also go the other way...all things in moderation of course...like too much insulin will make you want to cry, make you feel like you are going to die, make you feel like you want to die, make you sweat or think that you are losing your mind.  But we can overlook that and remember the fact that it makes me feel better, makes me healthier and keeps me alive. 
 
This clear liquid in a small vile keeps me alive...every day. 
 
Yeah, Jasper, insulin comes pretty high on that list.
 
The Health Activist Writer’s Month Challenge 2012 (#HAWMC)

Time Capsule

Time for the 30 Post in 30 Days again!  You all excited?  Probably since I have been MIA basically since the last one ended...mostly because life got crazy after being let go at work....stupid economy.  Anyway, I'm going to try to stick to the promps this time:

"Health Time Capsule. Pretend you’re making a time capsule of you & your health focus that won’t be opened until 2112. What’s in it? What would people think of it when they found it?"

Hmmm....a Health Time Capsule?  Clearly my health focus would be diabetes...I'd probably throw in a blood tester, insulin pump, syringe, insulin...you know...the normal stuff.  Then I'd also clean out my purse and dump the millions of used blood test strips into it as well.  It could be like packing peanuts or something?  I'd probably then throw in some fruit snacks...those will be pretty nasty when they open it up in 100 years, but that's usually what I eat when my bloodsugar is low.

I'm sure when people open it up on 100 years they will think how crazy and huge everything is, because by then there will be electronic implantable pancreases that do everything for you.  It will kinda be like how we react when we see old time cell phones.  HA!  Blood sugar testing will be obsolete, so they will think I'm slightly weird for throwing in all those old bloody strips. 

The Health Activist Writer’s Month Challenge 2012 (#HAWMC)

Survey

I just took a quick survey about the information that is missing from the online diabetes community and chose a diabetes organization to receive a donation.  Join @WEGOHealth and me - identify important topics for the community and contribute to diabetes research!  https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/diabetesinfogaps 

If you haven't taken the survey yourself, be sure to do so - we want to hear your thoughts too: Diabetes InfoGaps Survey

The Last Post - 30 Health Posts in 30 Days

Wow.  I'm impressed that I actually was able to do 30 post in 30 days.  Well, I guess I ended up doing 31 posts when we found out about Kyra.  I don't think that I have ever blogged this much or even talked about diabetes this much in such a concentrated time in my entire life!  I really appreciate all the support that has been given in writing all these things.  I'm just actually impressed that anyone read all of that writing.  Geez.  I think that it was really good for me to get it all out.  I'm not one to talk about these things so it was kinda therapeutic to express the good, the bad and the ugly with what I have to deal with all the time.  In my blogging, I have also been able to read other diabetic's blogs and see that my sister and I aren't the only ones who feel this way.  That you can take a time out for a pity party and go back to life as normal again.  I've had times when things were rough and I was told to just suck it up, so seeing that every diabetic has their ups and downs has been very nice.

The night Kyra was diagnosed I emailed Ashlee and Carrie to let them know what was happening.  Their responses were words of comfort and I appreciate their friendship.  Carrie mentioned something that I thought was interesting as well.  She said, " What I think is interesting is that you've been doing your awesome 30 blog posts in 30 days all about diabetes and your experiences... not a coincidence, I think!"  I agree.  The Lord has his hand in everything and we just need to trust what he has in store for us.  If Lisa and I were both given diabetes in part to be a support to Kyra, then it has all been worth it and all plays into having that faith that can get us through any trial in life, to make us the people we are, to help us return back to our Heavenly Father.

Thanks for taking the time to read my rantings about diabetes.  I hope that something was learned!

Oh, and Merry Christmas from me and my sisters! ;)

This post was written as part of NHBPM – 30 health posts in 30 days: http://bit.ly/vU0g9J