sad news and a sigh of relief

i found out today that the Dr that saved my life passed away yesterday.  Dr Wulwik was our family doctor when i was a child.  he was the dr that diagnosed my Diabetes.  the first dr my mother consulted sent us away saying i was just skinny.  then we saw Dr Wulwik and he took my mother's concerns seriously enough to send me for bloodwork.  he hunted us down, the day the results came back and sent us directly to the hospital.  he saved my life.  yesterday his life was cut short. a massive heart attack.  he left behind his wife and two grown children.  he left behind a large busy practice.  he left behind a lot of people that were lucky to have known him.  he will me missed dearly.  God bless him, may he rest in peace.


today i had an appointment with a new specialist.  Dr Hanson, Nephrology

i had all the lab work done 3 weeks ago.  the tubes of blood, the peeing in a cup first thing in the morning.  i already new that my A1c had gone up by .7.  i knew that my LDL was slightly elevated.  and i also knew that there was protein in my urine.  what i didn't know was what that actually meant.

so the first thing they did was take my blood pressure.  not once, but 6 times.  i sat in a little cubicle with a  curtain, hooked up to the monitor and it just kept inflating the cuff and doing its thing 6 times!

then i was asked to sit in the waiting room.  i didn't wait long before the Dr. called me in.
first thing i noticed was his smile.  yup, that's right, i said smile.  he smiled, introduced himself, shook my hand and said it was nice to meet me!

he started by stating that he was going to ask me a load of questions.  and he did.

he asked about all the surgeries i've had.  he asked about my eyes, my hands and feet, he asked if felt tired, if i ever fell asleep mid-sentence or at stopsigns while driving.  he asked if i got up at night to pee or if i've ever peed myself!  i must admit that i laughed at that one!  so many questions.

then he went on to tell me how the kidney's work. pretty sure it was the Readers Digest version.  how they filter blood, and sometimes the filters open a little too much and they let proteins through.  if they open even more they will let blood through.   he said that right now i have twice as much protein in my urine as a "normal" person.  there were numbers mentioned but since i cant remember exactly what they were i won't try.  all i know is that he did say that they would have to be 10X higher than they are before he would really worry.

according to him, this is not something that i need to "worry" about.  i just have to continue to take my blood pressure medication, try to stay away from salt as much as possible, exercise a little more, and continue to do my best to keep my BG's in the normal range.

upon leaving his office, he told me that he understands how Diabetes is a full time job, and he congratulated me on a great job in doing my best to stay healthy.

i liked this Dr.  he made me feel comfortable and he made me feel as if i was working hard, and as if
i did know what i was doing.  and he didn't make me feel stupid or like i wasn't trying hard enough.

so i will have an ultrasound of my kidneys done in the near future and i will see him in 6 months.

i will keep doing what i do,  and be thankful for all the good doctors i've had on my side over the years.