These past few weeks have been a bit sparse in terms of posts, and believe me when I tell you it has not been a holiday. I was sick for a while, first with a cold and then with the stomach flu. Then, this week I was thrown a curve ball that I was not prepared for in the least.
Monday evening, I went to visit my fiance at the restaurant where he works. Just as he had been for several days, he was feeling tired, had a lack of energy, was having difficulty focusing, and still could not satisfy his thirst no matter how much he drank. While we discussed when would be a good time to see a doctor, his boss was especially concerned and suggested we go to the emergency room that night.
We set off on what was a terrifying fifteen minute drive because the closer we got to the hospital, the further my fiance got from lucidity. It turns out his boss may have saved his life. When the triage nurse tested his blood sugar, it was so high the meter wouldn't read it. A blood test sent to the lab revealed his blood sugar was 878. With that, the ER doctor welcomed him to the world of type two diabetes.
My fiance spent two days in the hospital getting his blood sugar back under control. He took the news much better than I did. He has a family history of diabetes, so while the diagnosis was unexpected, it wasn't too surprising. However, since I do all of the cooking, I couldn't help but feel somehow responsible for this crisis. Also, while the four large Powerades my fiance drank trying to quench his thirst were almost certainly a contributing factor to the frightening blood sugar levels, the snoball I brought him likely sent those levels through the roof. For those of your unfamiliar with snoballs, it's shaved ice drenched in flavored syrup. So it's sugar plus sugar multiplied by sugar to the second power.
He's been back at home for a few days now and is feeling better than he has in a while. He's gotten his energy back, which in turn has lifted his mood and has made him a more enthusiastic person. However, we are still learning, experimenting, and figuring out what works and what doesn't. I cooked for the first time since all of this happened and he lived to tell the tale.
Truth be told, I've been afraid to cook because I feel so much pressure to get it right. Especially after the other night and an incident involving a box of sugar free pudding and me screwing up royally. In an effort to make the pudding more creamy, I used fat free half-and-half. I consulted the label and saw it only had a few grams of sugar and carbs per serving. Perfect! Except that a serving size is two tablespoons. "Honey, you might want to put down that spoon..."
Needless to say, I'm no expert. In fact, no one that I know of in my family has diabetes and I've never really been around anyone with it. I know very little about the intricacies of the disease or how to live with it. But since I'm the cook in this relationship, I'm going to have to learn. Quick.
The hospital signed us up for a diabetes education course next Thursday, which I'm looking forward to. In the meantime, I welcome any advice, tips, thoughts on good diabetes cookbooks, etc. Anything to help me get a handle on this situation.
I still have a few posts on the back burner, and then I'll be posting some different fare. Healthy fare. Diabetic-friendly fare. Wish me luck.
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