Gary Hall, Jr. has decided to retire.

He is such an inspiration to every single diabetic out there (including me!) When I heard he got diabetes in 1999, I felt bad for him. But I also knew that diabetes can strike anyone, regardless of health or fitness level. I was plesantly surprised to see Gary talk openly about the disease and even more pleased that he has started a foundation to help raise awareness.

Here he was a while back talking with Diabetes Life:

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For this episode of Putting a Face on Diabetes, we talk to Diane Lau. Diane is an author and marketing communication specialist with a busy family life and lots of hobbies. I especially like her “Affirmations and Advice for Diabetics.” See if her positive attitude doesn’t inspire you as well!

Enjoy this interview:

What type of diabetes do you have?

Type 1, but it was adult onset. I’m a really unusual case in that way. When I was 38 my pancreas just started dying, and no one knows why. It was some sort of auto-immune problem, but what set it off is a mystery!

When was it diagnosed, and how?

14 years ago. I noticed that for the past few weeks I had been always hungry, eating a lot but still losing weight, thirsty all the time and peeing constantly. It didn’t take a rocket scientist to recognize I was diabetic! I made an appointment with my doctor and told him my suspicions. He tested my blood sugar and it was over 600.

This doctor gave me a prescription and told me to come back in a month. I went home thinking this was a pretty blasé way to handle a new diabetes diagnosis. So I called a different doctor and told her what happened. She told me to go right to urgent care so they could put me on an IV for dehydration, and then had me hospitalized so I could be started on insulin.

My experience just goes to show how absolutely essential it is to take charge of your own care! Over the years I have on more than one occasion figured out a doctor had given me bad advice. I guess they just can’t know what’s going on as well as you do. So I rely on my health care team but I’m also proactive about getting information and making my own choices.

While I was running high blood sugar-wise, I developed mild neuropathy in my fingertips and toes, as well as blurred vision. I made a full recovery from these symptoms after a few weeks on insulin. I think the fact that my high sugars had started to affect my body was one reason I have always tried for good control: I know what happens if you don’t!

What’s the biggest challenge in managing your blood sugars?

The fact that sometimes my body doesn’t react the same way to exactly the same regimen. I think all diabetes learn that soon enough! You can be eating nearly identical foods, exercising the same, sleeping the same, etc. etc. and still suddenly your blood sugar is running 100 higher than it should. That can drive a person crazy!

I really don’t mind being diabetic too much because it really beats just about any other incurable disease a person can get. With moderate effort and thought, you can truly live a normal and healthy life. The only time I really don’t like it is those occasional lows that for some reason hit you really hard. My blood sugar will go below 40 at least once a week, but for some reason every couple of months I have a bout of insulin shock that is really rough, physically and emotionally, even though it’s not unusually low. I’m not sure why that happens—I really haven’t encountered this phenomenon in my reading—but I’m sure I’m not the only one to have this experience.

Tell me more about yourself. Hobbies? Favorite way to spend time? Family life? Etc.

I’m married with two grown daughters, live in a suburb of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and work as a marketing communication specialist for a company that sells machine parts. My other vocation is a little more interesting: I write romance fiction as Diana Laurence. My series of sensual but tasteful romance anthologies, the “Soulful Sex” books, are quite popular,

as is my recent vampire romance novel called Bloodchained.

I invite your readers to visit my website at www.dianalaurence.com if romance fiction is their thing!

Writing is my life, but family is even more important to me. Our family is very close and we do things together socially all the time, especially going out for dinner or drinks together. As far as my hobbies and interests, here’s the “short list”: polymer clay, jewelry making, web design, graphic arts, gourmet cooking and mixology, Neil Gaiman, C.S. Lewis, the Chicago Cubs, science fiction movies, Broadway musicals, John Williams, “House M.D.”, “Survivorman,” and cats.

How has your life changed (if it indeed has) since you got diabetes?

Getting diabetes was my first experience with not having everything in my body (except my vision) work properly. It was a big leap to come to terms with not being able to stay alive without constant treatment. I was suddenly very grateful to have been born when I was, considering only three generations ago it was a death sentence!

I always took good care of myself, eating right, exercising, etc. But being diabetic taught me to pay even more attention to my health care.

But I think the greatest benefit of this experience has been learning that health challenges are not as scary as they once seemed. For example, when I first was diagnosed, I was absolutely terrified of having to take insulin. I quickly learned there is nothing at all to it. Dealing with diabetes prepared me for facing other health challenges with less fear and anxiety.

What keeps you motivated to stay positive?

Really, after the first few weeks, I’ve always been positive about being diabetic. All I have to do is think about what a great time in history it is to have this disease. Only a few years ago, blood sugar testing was difficult and inaccurate, needles were painful and inconvenient. Meanwhile, there are still people alive who were diagnosed just as insulin was discovered. I think about them, and how they narrowly escaped premature death, and thank my lucky stars. I’m hopeful that very soon research will develop a convenient, affordable, and accurate way to measure blood sugar constantly; when that happens, it will be possible to completely eradicate diabetic complications—we will have all the tools we need.

Anything else you’d like to add?

Well, I’ll just throw in my list of Pithy Affirmations and Advice for Diabetics:

1. Information is power (as well as peace of mind).
2. Be proactive about your own care.
3. When in doubt, get another opinion.
4. Diabetes never quite makes total sense, so don’t sweat it.
5. Never forget you are lucky to be alive and well! (Diabetics who take care of themselves are, after all, WELL!)

Oh, and one more thing: I’ll throw in a plug for my own blog, www.eroticawithsoul.blogspot.com, where I write weekly my “musings on the healthy and spiritual experience of the erotic.” If you enjoy romance, psychology, pop culture, relationships, human sexuality, or all of the above, you should find it interesting.

Thanks so much, Cherie, for letting me share with your readers! We diabetics need to support and encourage each other.

Amen to that, Diane! Thank for your sharing your story.

Images from Diane, aka Diana Laurence.

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