Słodkie życie dla córeczek

There's a thirstiness no matter what time of year it is and sleepiness after every meal.  This has plagued me always.  All my life I had to carry a bottle of water and a mid-afternoon nap was always the norm.  There was nothing unusual about my behavior, both for myself and my closest family and friends.  Until...  when I was nine years old, I lost my balance and lost consciousness.  I went for a doctor's appointment, he did a few tests and then I was redirected to the local hospital.  You know how it is with children:  They are rarely concerned about a future situation.  I never took into account that something bad could happen.  There was never a moment when I was not accompanied by my parents.  I wasn't concerned. 


It started. I received needles with medication about 6 times daily. In addition, I had to add 8 more needle pinches to test my blood sugar levels. With pharmaceutic precision, every meal was carefully measured.  I received many delicious food packages while in the hospital and I promised myself, that once I get out, I will get a chance to try all the goodness.  In retrospect, I did not understand that from that point on, everything that I would place in my mouth, I would have to partition into selected carbohydrates and the inject insulin according to these amounts.  I was a calm child.  I was never scared of any needles or that I would not be able to eat something.  I lived in hope that once I leave the hospital, everything would return to normal.  Nothing return to normal.  I spent a year in the hospital:  that is how long it took to stabilize my sugar levels in my body.  I hardly understood any of this.  

 

It was at home when I realized the severity of my disease, when I had to balance my meals accordingly, the nurses would come to check my sugar levels and my mom delicately injected my insulin.  Food became a source of punishment instead of pleasure.  Before every meal, carbohydrates and fats had to be carefully calculated before intake and portioned equal to the amount of insulin to be taken.  It was my childhood living nightmare.  The blood sugar tests before and after meals made me cry and angry with my new lifestyle.  I just wanted a normal childhood.  Many years past before I understood that all of these rituals were for my own good, health and well-being.  You could say that I learned to live with diabetes...


In 2004, my life changed.  I became pregnant.  My stubborn sugar levels at this time began to jump dangerously with some sugar levels are high as 400.  I was scared for my baby's life.... She was born healthy- this was my greatest success.  A year ago, when I was blessed for the second time, thanks to the WOSP organization,  I received an insulin pump for the time up to the baby's birth.  Thanks to this pump, I could precisely inject insulin and control my blood sugar levels.  For the first time in 20 years living with this disease, my glycated hemoglobin (the average glucose level in the last 4-6 weeks) was 5- almost as you would find a healthy person.


Unfortunately, the pump provided to me was needed by another pregnant mother and I had to return it.  From this time on,  I cannot stabilize my sugar levels.  As a result of not using the pump for half a year, my glycated hemoglobin reached a level of 8 and grew higher with every following test.  This is can result in chronic side effects.  Using a pen insulin can never match the precision of an insulin pump.  If sugar levels fluctuated dramatically over a long period of time,  it can have an effect on eye sight, kidney function, slow healing foot wounds, and can even lead to amputation.  

My daughters are the sunshine in my life.  I understand the importance of my motherly role in their lives.  I have to live a full health life for them and to take part in their adult lives, watch them grow up and see my grandchildren.  Because of my age,  I have no chance of receiving the pump from NFZ.  The cost of buying the pump is just too high for us to afford.  We do not have the budget for this time of equipment.  Agnieszka needs our help.  We cannot let the precious beauty of everyday living be ruined by this disease. Lets help out Agnieszka to buy her necessary "lifesaving pump".