Not An Added Chapter

Hi, I'm Erica!

I am Beautifully Fighting and learning as I live with this big new part in my life and the life of so many others. In 2014 I had started a new job that I was over excited about with great pay, location and benefits which was perfect for me being a single mom. My daughter was 13 and my son 23. We had moved into a new place less than 9 months before so that chapter of my life was going great. In August I decided to put my good medical benefits to use to get control of my Hypertension, which I had been dealing with since I was pregnant with my daughter so I was really happy about getting that under control. So during that visit (Mid- August) I had to get blood work done since this was a new doctor for me and I was a new patient. I had a follow-up within 2 weeks and that is where the new chapter was just thrown in. Disregarding the chapter that I had already started in my life that was going pretty good I might add.

As I waited for my doctor to come in I was thinking about what I would do with the rest of my day off. She entered the room with her great energy so to me all was well. We talked for a moment about some other things I had done during that visit and then she informed me about my labs, it show that your A1C is very high. Me looking lost really did not know what that was so I questioned and she stated that you have Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus. All I heard in my head replaying was DIABETES with muffled sounds of her voice and everything else from the background. This lasted for a few minutes. All that kept playing in my head was when I was a little girl growing up back home and seeing a great many of my family members injecting insulin and sticking their fingers and sometimes getting sick... Gloom came over me at that moment I felt that I would die.. I'm not strong enough to do all of that. I can't live like this and just like that.... my life had ended. It was too late for me. I failed everyone. I would not make it to 37. I always felt my mother died so young at age 40 and I would not even make it that far I honestly started thinking about my funeral...
After my appointment I went home and did not go to Goodwill like I had planned. All I wanted to do was lay down and cry.

My aunt called to see how the appointment went and I told her and she just was like ok. Now you just need to make some changes. You will be fine. We talked more and afterwards I went into the diabetes investigator mode. I started researching as much as I could as fast as I could. I was determined to fight this. I wanted to live. I have 2 beautiful children a granddaughter and family that loves me. I had never been on a vacation and I wanted to go. During my research I seen people living very normal lives with Type 2 Diabetes. WOW.. It's possible to actually live. I don't have to die. This is not an added chapter that ruined my life. This is just adding to the chapter that I had already started. I am learning everyday. I am educating every chance I get and Beautifully Fighting to make a difference.

Even though I grew up surrounded by family with diabetes I really did not know what it was like. I thought that it was a death sentence but it's not; it's a life sentence of learning, educating and living like you are actually living.