Diabetes Support Group

I wanted my blog to be a photo essay of my life here at the ranch and I wasn't prepared to write a lot of text. But life throws you a challenge every now and then and here I am, faced with computer issues, including being unable to upload photos to my blog. I have a lot to learn and all will get resolved, but until then -- text it is. This morning, I went to my diabetes support group. I've had Type 1 diabetes for almost 20 years. Eve, the nurse/educator who runs our group, has done so for 15 years on a volunteer basis. She travels across the country to attend every major meeting associated with the disease and then brings us all the latest information. She is wonderful, and it's pretty remarkable for a small town to offer a support group like this. It is very well attended, including perhaps as many men as women. Today, the guest speaker was a local audiologist who spoke on the subject of hearing loss in diabetics. We all know the gruesome complications of this disease, but hearing loss? It never occurred to me. But according to a new study, there was indeed a higher loss of hearing in those with diabetes compared to those who didn't have the disease. For me, it was most interesting to learn how the ear works and how we hear. The reason for hearing loss in people with diabetes has to do with damage to the nerves of the inner ear. I have an accent when speaking English, and today I learned that it is harder to hear and understand people with accents when you have some hearing loss. I also found out that one partner's hearing loss can be cause for serious marital discord. Understandable, but really sad, I think. All in all a great lecture! Then I had to laugh out loud: After the meeting, I went to have my hair cut. I have an accent and my hairdresser is from Columbia, so we both have accents and both of us were going: "What, what did you say," over and over again while she washed and cut my hair. I didn't tell her what I had just learned, but I was wondering if I should be a bit concerned. Have a great day and keep that music down low!