georgia, Author at Diabetes Counselling Online

Tis the Season

December 16, 2014 by georgia Leave a Comment

It’s a given, around Christmas time to experience a rollercoaster of emotions. For some it is the most dreaded time of the year, for others it’s the time they love most – then there are the majority who are plonked in the middle of the scale and just go along for the ride.

People are grumpier, busier, stressed, complain about money, complain about family. It’s a difficult holiday that is growing more and more materialistic each year.

One thing that people don’t express enough is the gift of giving. Sure, that’s all Christmas is – giving, giving, giving – then complaining about money. However most are not giving for the right reasons, it becomes an obligatory gift, one that lacks sentimental value and love.

So I may have spoiled my loved ones this year, to be honest I couldn’t help it and as my friend explained to me the ‘Languages of Love’ how everyone expresses their love in different ways, I was told my way was to give generously. I thought this was a beautiful thing and it got me thinking about giving and love.

At work we did a Kris Kringle, ironically me (the trainee) got the boss, go figure! I was stumped at what to get her with a $10.00 budget. Then I remembered a gift I had received for my 21^st, it was a ‘breakfast for the school’ on me in South Africa, a country that I have a love affair with.

So, this year for my Kris Kringle, I got my boss a $10.00 voucher from Oxfam so that in her name – a family will receive water for a whole month.

This year, my message to you all is if you are giving – make sure it is sent with love, it doesn’t need to be overly excessive in cost but if the meaning is there, they will see it and it will be cherished a whole lot more – I can assure you.

Another thing is, take some time to reflect on not just your life, but what is going on in the world, all the major moments we as a world have gone through, from the missing Malaysian Airlines to the sadly lost Cricketer Phillip Hughes, we as a world have had many heartaches this year and continue to do so. Think of all the families Christmas Day that will go without food and water.

It is time to start living more outside our own immediate lives, start thinking about what else is going on in the world and if there is anything you can do to help. After all we are one world, undefined by walls and should start living a more ‘community’ based life. This Christmas, wish your neighbour you never speak to a happy New Year or tip the struggling busker and give back to our world.

And if you are struggling for gift ideas, the Oxfam shop has lots of ideas where you can give two gifts at once!

Until next time,

Georgia

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Those cloudy days with diabetes

November 28, 2014 by georgia Leave a Comment

Yesterday it rained.

It’s the time of the year where we should be stripping off, not layering on, but every rule has it’s exception. It’s the middle of November and it’s raining.

It reminds me of having diabetes, you get a streak of good BGL (Blood Glucose Level) readings then BAM out of nowhere and for no good reason a storm hits, sometimes it’s just a light drizzle in the morning or a few clouds in the afternoon yet others, as they say ‘when it rains, it pours’ and those sunny days seem long gone.

At least with the weather, it’s forecasted. There’s no such luck with having Diabetes, you can do everything right, administer the right amount of insulin that you worked out by doing the BGL:Carbohydrate ratio and still have a gust of wind blow you off track.

As much as Diabetes is about science, without being hooked up to a machine 24/7 there is no formula that can work every time – it’s forever changes and like science there are unaccounted factors that come in to play, except instead of being in a lab hovering over a microscope you’re at school, or your day job and have to juggle everything all at once.

Sometimes it feels like I’m working two jobs.

However you do get the opposite happen, and lately my days have been a bit cloudy – it’s the typical no matter how hard you try, everything and anything that can go wrong – will go wrong, good old Murphy and his laws!

At the moment, the sun is shining for me (not at the moment – I’m watching the rain drizzle down my window) but I’m having one of those lucky days, where my diabetes is cooperating with me.

Not many people understand the ongoing frustration of juggling everything to get your levels right – only those who share the pain (literally) of injection after injection and test after test. So when those sunny days come – embrace them. And when those rainy days come – dance in the rain because you are doing as much as you can do – before you know it a sunny day is just around the corner (well it’s stuck behind a cloud).

No matter what the weather, stand tall and we can get through this together!

Until next time
Georgia

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World Diabetes Day 2014, raising awareness

November 14, 2014 by georgia Leave a Comment

by Georgia Hall

On the weekend I went up to our holiday place on the river with a couple of my friends, it was the first time I went up without my parents and it surprisingly went well and was drama free.

We spent the day hanging out as it was a bit too cold for water sports. It was what I needed, even though I was surrounded by my closest friends it was an independent step for me, mum and dad weren’t around the corner (well they were but it was an hour and half away).

I was in good company and had zero worries. Of course I prepared for my mini trip, but going to a place I know makes it more comfortable anyway and every one of my friends would do anything if I needed them to.

Which brings me to Diabetes Awareness month. November is a time to raise awareness of diabetes as there are still so many grey areas no one knows about. Before I got diagnosed, if someone asked me what diabetes was or what it entailed I would have no idea, let alone the daily chore and endless monitoring and lifestyle changes it brings.

Awareness is important not only for the safety side of things, in case someone has an emergency or requires immediate attention, but also for the mental stress of every person who is living with diabetes.

There’s no thorough understanding on how it feels when you’re low or how it affects you when you run high. The worst thing about having diabetes (well, one of) is when my mood changes depending on what blood sugar level I am running at.
I can’t describe the frustration I get at myself, I can’t help the way I am acting and it’s moments like those where I wished I never had it, I either lose energy all together or gain a different type of grumpy mood I didn’t know I had.

I remember one time in high school, someone in my class stopped talking to me (I found out later it was all just a joke, how I don’t miss high school at all) but this affected me majorly. I turned into a different person, I got moody and emotional, I kept asking her what it was that I had done, and asking anyone to tell me how to fix things (turns out there was nothing to fix, just a high school girl, being a high school girl). It got to a stage where I was almost in tears from this when she finally cracked it and said ‘gosh it was just a joke, stop being so annoying’. At that moment I resented having diabetes.

Not too long after that I became a youth ambassador for Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation and realised voicing my story and all the different situations could not only help people like me but also raise more awareness to all the other factors that are caused by having diabetes.

Sure it’s a rocky road, but it’s one I have no choice but to travel so I figure I can either enjoy all the bumps along the way or can get caught up at every pot hole.

I choose to enjoy it, because at the end of the day that road will bring you to many, many rewarding destinations and I am a sucker for adventures!

I am thankful, for every person who has been there and those who are there for me no matter what and accept me for everything I am.

So happy Diabetes Awareness month, promote the awareness and support each other!
Until next time,
Georgia

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