Through Sickness and in Health...

So I don't really have ever talked about Brandon and my medical struggles from this past year. We both were pretty sick and were misdiagnosed and lived with being misdiagnosed for about a year each. My problems started way back in 2005 and continued to get worse until I went to see a doctor in January 2007. I had severe pain in my abdomen which I thought were female related. I went to a doctor at that time and he diagnosed me with Endometriosis. It was very painful and I missed a lot of work and could barely function at the time, but I thought at least now I have a diagnosis. He put me on birth control and told me to take Advil for pain. Because I didn't have a laparoscopy I was forced to accept that diagnosis but there was no way to say that was it 100%. I went for about another year still in pain. My job situation was crazy at the time so I was without health insurance for almost all 2007. In January 2008 I went to a different doctor Dr. Warren to get another opinion. She went through a lot of tests and an invasive ultrasound to come to the conclusion it was not Endometriosis. I was now back to square one. I then took a proactive approach and started doing research on my own. Together we concluded it was not female realted but rather bladder related. I was diagnosed with Interstitial Cystitis or Painful Bladder Syndrome. I was put on a treatment medication which caused the disease to go into remission for a while. I still struggle with the pain some but it's bearable now.


Ironically, as this was all going on with my body, Brandon was also having his fare share of health struggles. A year ago he began having symptoms that we thought were not normal. After a routine health screening his nurse saw his blood sugar levels as well as other levels were through the roof. We rushed to a doctor who told us he more than likely had Type 1 Diabetes. We went to the ER and they diagnosed him as Type 2. Even though he had no family history and was not over weight by any means they thought the best route to take was to put him on oral medication and to change his diet. To make a long story short, he went several months with a misdiagnosis and even thought he was cured from Diabetes for a while. No such luck. The symptoms came back worse than ever and he was the incredible shrinking man. It was very scary how much weight he lost dropping at his lowest to a shocking 126 lbs. Finally, a few months ago, he found a new doctor Dr. Bisbee, to listen to him. After more tests the original diagnosis of Type 1 Diabetes was concluded. Brandon has been on insulin for a few months now and is better than ever. I know that it is going to be a challenge being married to an insulin dependent diabetic. This became so clear to me this past Saturday. We invited my mom over to watch the Tech vs Texas game and Brandon was going to cook out. He was grilling outside and my mom were inside getting ready for the game to start. Brandon had brought in the food and seemed normal but he went back outside. I really didn't think anything of this but then I got a loud knock at his garage door. I thought it was him needing help with the door. I opened it and it was a lady saying she was driving in the alley and saw him stumbling and he fell off the grass ledge on the side of the house onto the walkway. I raced over to the side of the house and to my surprise an ambulance was there with Brandon. The EMS guys asked me if he was on drugs or had been drinking. Of course not!!!! I told him he was insulin dependent diabetic. Then it all made sense to them. They checked his blood and is was at a frighteningly low 22. Brandon was sitting up but very incoherent. I think he knew something was wrong because he got out his phone to call me even though I was sitting right next to him. So scary. They gave him a glucose injection and got his blood sugar up but it wasn't until then that he came to. He doesn't even remember going outside. It all happened so fast without warning but I'm so thankful someone called 911 and I was there to tell the EMS he was diabetic. I'm also grateful it happened at home rather when he was driving or something. I never want anything like this to happen again, but I know living with a diabetic will have it's challenges. I love Brandon with all my heart and accept whatever is to come. I will say those vows officially in March, but I think we have already made that commitment to ourselves in sickness and in health. I trust God has everything under control and he will see us through this. We have already experienced so much as a couple but I think it has only made us grow stronger and has reassured us of our love for each other and how strong our commitment is to one another. I love you Brandon, and I always will.