This book discloses the story of how my first husband and I met the urgencies and complications of his Type 1 diabetes. He was, as it turns out, a brittle diabetic, meaning that insulin reactions (hypoglycemic attacks) came upon him without warning. Once his blood glucose (sugar) began to drop it plummeted, and he became like a brainless, irritated, confrontational drunk!
It was the 1960's – no cell phones, no aid cars, no urgent care centers, no simple ways to test blood sugar levels. We, like other 20-somethings in that decade, headed to California to chase our dream. That's where this story began, and where the commitment for survival was extremely tested. Throughout the urgencies of life-threatening events, we stood strong. We held jobs. We had hobbies, We traveled a bit. We went fishing. We went hunting. We built a cabin in the woods. And, along the way, we had dogs we loved and who loved us back.
My husband's health concerns started in the late 1970s – continued low-blood sugar attacks, fem-pop surgeries, a bleeding ulcer, congestive heart failure, amputation of one leg and the other two years later. I served as his caregiver, striving always to maintain his dignity. In 1992, I became his widow. Somehow now, 31 years after those challenging years of marriage, the good memories remain!
May this memoir give insight and hope to those on a similar journey. And please note, the management of diabetes is very much better now than it was in the 1960s-1990s. ~ Helen Gregory ~
“By page three you won’t set this book down – you will hang on for a ride you never imagined.” ... Mike Dolan, ID
“[This story] is … an ode to the caregivers who carry such vital and unrecognized burdens.” ... Judith Kirscht, author, WA
Available at Amazon.com ...
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Trade paper (6x9, 396 pages, $17.99) eBook ($4.99 or free?) (sometimes Amazon has the trade paper version on sale)