Alright, I'm going to go ahead and admit this beforehand: this page has given me quite a lot of license to rant. So prepare yourself. :P
Lacy FAQ's:
Lacy FAQ's:
My name is Lacy Elizabeth Ball.
I have really long hair.I have been told that I look similar to Dakota Fanning and Amanda Seyfried.
My epitaph will be this: "Though my soul will set in darkness, it will rise in perfect light;
I have loved the stars too fondly to be fearful of the night."
The craziest thing I have ever done is a toss-up between jumping off of a 40-foot cliff because my friends were doing it, and intentionally pouring copious quantities of melted cheese all over myself.
My job is party entertainment. I am a clown, princess, face painter and balloon twister.
Type 1 Diabetes FAQ's:
I have Type 1 Diabetes. No, this is not the kind of Diabetes that your grandmother has. My diagnosis did not come from my lifestyle. My pancreas simply stopped working properly. Feel free to ask questions or check out some further resources.
Basically, my having Diabetes means that the beta cells in my pancreas do not work properly, because my immune system attacks and kills them. Beta cells are what makes insulin in the body. Insulin, in turn, allows the food that you eat to be broken down into energy. So, putting two and two together, you have now reached the conclusion that my body cannot make insulin. This conclusion is correct. Without insulin you cannot survive. This is because of the fact that if your food cannot be broken down into energy, 1. Your body starves itself and 2. Your blood sugar gets very high. Thus if I did not treat my Diabetes, I would die rather quickly.
The symptoms of Diabetes include rapid weight loss, intense thirst, constant urination, and heavy fatigue. Prior to my Diagnosis I was drinking water at all times, using the bathroom over 20 times a day, collapsing while running and weighed 99 pounds. Don't ask me why I didn't find any of this the least but suspicious. The human body is constantly coming up with conclusions to answer the unusual. I finally did learn that I had Diabetes after two days of the worst possible hell on Earth imaginable, a trip to the ER and a blood sugar of 1050.
Basically, my having Diabetes means that the beta cells in my pancreas do not work properly, because my immune system attacks and kills them. Beta cells are what makes insulin in the body. Insulin, in turn, allows the food that you eat to be broken down into energy. So, putting two and two together, you have now reached the conclusion that my body cannot make insulin. This conclusion is correct. Without insulin you cannot survive. This is because of the fact that if your food cannot be broken down into energy, 1. Your body starves itself and 2. Your blood sugar gets very high. Thus if I did not treat my Diabetes, I would die rather quickly.
The symptoms of Diabetes include rapid weight loss, intense thirst, constant urination, and heavy fatigue. Prior to my Diagnosis I was drinking water at all times, using the bathroom over 20 times a day, collapsing while running and weighed 99 pounds. Don't ask me why I didn't find any of this the least but suspicious. The human body is constantly coming up with conclusions to answer the unusual. I finally did learn that I had Diabetes after two days of the worst possible hell on Earth imaginable, a trip to the ER and a blood sugar of 1050.
Thankfully I am feeling much better now and, contrary to common misconception, yes, YES I can eat sugar without it killing me. I can have a slice of cake. I can *gasp* eat a candy bar. And if you try and tell me otherwise, I will personally ensure that whatever heresy it is that you said to me never comes out of your mouth again. It is carbs that I have to watch and count, because carbs are broken down into sugar. Seeing as nearly all things from potatoes to milk have carbohydrates, this means that I am so good at counting carbs that it would make most math professors proud. I take insulin to cover all of the carbs I eat and the insulin will keep my blood sugar at the correct levels. No, I should not eat a dozen donuts a day, but then neither should you.
I will drink my Diet Soda. You will not say anything to me about it. You will not assume that it is because it is due to a weight-conscious issue. You will never, ever steal my Diet Soda.
... Or my snacks.
Please do not treat me like a snob because I refer to all of the carb counts in foods, especially at restaurants. My life sort of depends on it.
If you think my giving myself shots and testing my blood sugar in public is gross, please note now that your preference towards needles is really of no concern to me. I won't let it get in the way of giving myself treatment. If you don't want to watch, turn away. Simple as that.
I am not perfect. No Diabetic is. Sometimes, no matter how hard I try, I simply cannot keep my blood sugars at the correct levels all of the time. Such is the price of having to act as your own personal pancreas. Please do not think that just because I have the occasional 250 or 333 BG that I make no effort to take care of my Diabetes. Taking care of my body and my Diabetes is a 24-7 thing from which there is no break. Diabetes is like a full time job without pay, a job where you hate all of your coworkers and your boss is an evil monster. So don't knock it until you try it. Which, I hope that you never have to.
I will drink my Diet Soda. You will not say anything to me about it. You will not assume that it is because it is due to a weight-conscious issue. You will never, ever steal my Diet Soda.
... Or my snacks.
Please do not treat me like a snob because I refer to all of the carb counts in foods, especially at restaurants. My life sort of depends on it.
If you think my giving myself shots and testing my blood sugar in public is gross, please note now that your preference towards needles is really of no concern to me. I won't let it get in the way of giving myself treatment. If you don't want to watch, turn away. Simple as that.
I am not perfect. No Diabetic is. Sometimes, no matter how hard I try, I simply cannot keep my blood sugars at the correct levels all of the time. Such is the price of having to act as your own personal pancreas. Please do not think that just because I have the occasional 250 or 333 BG that I make no effort to take care of my Diabetes. Taking care of my body and my Diabetes is a 24-7 thing from which there is no break. Diabetes is like a full time job without pay, a job where you hate all of your coworkers and your boss is an evil monster. So don't knock it until you try it. Which, I hope that you never have to.
Type 1 Diabetes is not curable but it is treatable with Insulin Therapy. I currently treat my Diabetes with Multiple Daily Injections as opposed to an insulin pump. MDI's are basically what they sound like. I give myself multiple injections of insulin a day, ranging from as "little" as four to as many as 6 or 7 times a day. Daily I check my blood sugar at least 4 times, give myself insulin injections before every meal, and another insulin injection before bed.
With that said, let's summarize by dispelling some common Diabetes myths:
- I didn't get Diabetes from eating too much sugar. The exact cause of Type 1 Diabetes is unknown.
- No. I'm not fat.
- I can and will eat sugar.
- Diabetes is not contagious. Unless you get me angry... rawr.
- I will not grow out of my Diabetes. It is a chronic disease.
- Type 1 Diabetics cannot just "wean themselves off of insulin", no matter what some stupid celebrities might say. Without insulin, we will die.
I want to believe that some day there will be a cure to Diabetes. Maybe there never will be in my lifetime, but so long as I live, I will never stop telling myself that while I may live with Diabetes now, I will not die with it.
With that said, let's summarize by dispelling some common Diabetes myths:
- I didn't get Diabetes from eating too much sugar. The exact cause of Type 1 Diabetes is unknown.
- No. I'm not fat.
- I can and will eat sugar.
- Diabetes is not contagious. Unless you get me angry... rawr.
- I will not grow out of my Diabetes. It is a chronic disease.
- Type 1 Diabetics cannot just "wean themselves off of insulin", no matter what some stupid celebrities might say. Without insulin, we will die.
I want to believe that some day there will be a cure to Diabetes. Maybe there never will be in my lifetime, but so long as I live, I will never stop telling myself that while I may live with Diabetes now, I will not die with it.
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