Hello Everyone, Drew here. Gonna be a long one.
I know that we haven’t been posting here daily; while we’re sorry for that, it’s definitely not due to a lack of content material; it’s just been tough to keep up with things as they change. You could say our Hurricane has been a bit “F5” lately. David’s had schedule changes, both our jobs have required a bit more from us lately, and unfortunately now we have a new diagnosis within our family that has required quite a bit of our attention.
We are grateful to acknowledge the new diagnosis is not David’s – It’s mine.
I made a deal with Trista about a month ago, because neither of us have really practiced much basic self-care in some time. If I’m being honest, there’s a part of me that wishes I could blame it on being parents of an autistic child, but I can’t. My personal lack of concern for self is roughly as old as I am.
Anyway…
The deal was, if Trista took time and found a General Practitioner she liked, and made an appointment for a physical and checkup, I would too. It’s only been, oh, roughly 15-16 years since I’ve seen a doctor.
For anything.
“Ignore it long enough, it’ll go away” has been my mantra for well, basically everything.
So, true to her form, Trista followed through. She follows through with everything. Sometimes that annoys me, but that’s because it shines a light on my ability to justify my tendency to start things I don’t finish. It’s really one of her most endearing qualities, and one I truly admire about her.
But now I had to follow through too.
Now, if you don’t know me, you might not understand why I was reluctant. The truth is, I have a long history of taking absolutely terrible care of myself. Imagine the worst someone can disrespect their own body and mind. I was probably worse for a while. But, I did quit smoking 13 years ago, I rarely drink to drunkenness, I even went through phases where health and fitness were my focus… briefly.
But boy, can I cook. And eat. And mix. And drink.
So, I was looking down the barrel of being 41 years old, over 300 pounds, and hadn’t seen a doctor in a decade and a half – and I had several issues that I’d been ignoring. I was not looking forward to this, but I was also curious – to just how bad it’d gotten. I was expecting to hear “lose some weight, eat better, you’ll be fine.”
What I got was an urgent message from my doctor.
“Andrew, unfortunately your labs came back showing overt uncontrolled Type 2 Diabetes. You need to come back in so we can get this under control ASAP.”
Yes, I just wrote that from memory. I’ll never forget it.
Type 2 Diabetes is a precursor to a wide range of further issues; issues that have plagued the families of both of my parents. Heart disease, heart attacks, and all kinds of issues that a parent of a child with special needs absolutely can NOT have hanging over their heads.
Every one of us feels like we need to live forever.
So, my new journey begins. Our new journey begins; because this effects everyone in my home. I’m eternally grateful for my wife’s commitment to supporting me. I realize that I can’t live forever – and my doctor did confirm for me that there isn’t a med for that yet. But, he also confirmed for me that there’s no reason to believe that this will shorten my life – as long as I commit to being healthy – and follow through.
So, that is my goal.
I’ve learned a lot in a few short weeks. A lot about my new diagnosis, a lot about what I need to do about it, and a whole hell of a lot about food and what it does to our body. I intend to use this knowledge as I go, and to share with people what I learn, in hopes that maybe I can help someone avoid the situation I’m in – or even work their way out with me.
I had a conversation with my mom about this, as difficult as it was for me. You may remember, she recently had a heart attack and had to have emergency triple bypass surgery – well I’ve been talking to her about what she puts into her body while neglecting my own. Something she said to me made me realize the power behind what I know now. She said “this is going to be hard, you’ve always been our ‘food guy’ for cookouts and family get-togethers! We always look to you for what we’re going to eat and how we’ll make it! What will we do now?”
Well, I still will be. I’ll always be a “food guy” – it’s just going to look different now. I’m excited to share with you all the things I learn as I go, and the things I’ve already found out.
So, we’ve decided we’ll be adding another dynamic to our page; health. Overall, dietary, mental, physical, the whole picture. It’s just as important for David as it is for the rest of us, so we’re excited to share this with you as well!
Again and always, Thank you ALL for being here!
#HurricaneHeffners #BeatType2WithDrew
Hurricane Heffners 