People's Perspective
Friday, January 23, 2009 at 9:08AM Yesterday was a sick day. I was up all night as was my son. We were sick to our stomachs until morning came. It was a rough night.
My son had his last day of finals yesterday and said he could not stay home so he went to school and was fine.
I, on the other hand, could not get out of bed. I was drained and wiped out and still felt terrible.
Age? Diabetes? Both?
By noon yesterday I felt better. I was scared to eat but finally managed to have some soup. It soothed and made me feel better. Luckily it was an overnight thing and not a week long thing like I have had before.
But today something strange happened. I walked into work and co-workers started asking how I was. But I detected something different. It was almost as if they didn’t believe me at least, that was how it seemed.
Wanting to know what time George threw up, and what time I felt funny, and what did I eat, and why did I not go to doctors, and could it be my diabetes, and then my favorite statement of all…
“You need to take care of yourself.”
I think this is it. I think they think I don’t care about myself or my diabetes. I can almost hear them all talking in the lunch room about how much weight I have gained and how “down” I have been and they knew what happened the other night with my BG skyrocketing after my set got pulled out.
Is it just me or are there people around you who assume that any stumble, any complication you may have means you are not taking care of yourself? I know the real deal but honestly, we all want to take better care of ourselves. So those statements start to make me wonder.
So when I hear them say “You need to take care of yourself” and I just nod, smile, and blog their asses.
BAM!
Reader Comments (11)
people that make comments like that...get under my skin.....
they are usually the ones that believe the "white man myths" like on 30 rock LOL or the ones that believe all diabetes is curable with a little exercise and eating more veggies....
Maybe it's because being diabetic prevents us from getting simple colds and 24 bugs like the flu. Oh... wait...
No joke - word verification: antics!
Word.
Love the ending "then I blog their asses. BAM!" That's awesome man.
Honestly, it is really scary the lack of compassion and education out there.
Ugh. People just need to mind their own beeswax. You know, if it were just about any other disease, people would be extra sympathetic and understanding, but because we're diabetic, if we have any other kinds of problems or get sick, they get all accusatory and nasty. So annoying!
G-Ninja -
"BLOG SLAP" them big time !
k2
Sometimes, though, I have to admit, I use the phrase "take care of yourself" as well-wishing statement... or type of goodbye. Sort of like seeing your child ride his bike to a friend's house and you yell out "be careful".
My point is... that sometimes that phrase (at least in the South), is meant just to make sure you spend the time to get better and not push yourself too much... paraphrased... "be sure to keep your health and recovery a top priority and not being here at work which has little value compared to your physical health."
I've heard "Take care of yourself" as coming from the same context as ScW, and I'm not from the South. OTOH, fake solicitousness (?) about my health after a sick day... makes me sick.
It's not the "take care of yourself" it's the "You NEED TO TAKE BETTER CARE OF YOURSELF" as if I am not taking care of myself well enough.
That is what drives me mad!
The appropriate response: "I knoe ... do you have the name of a QUALIFIED doctor who might offer some assistance with that?!"
George-
Do what you're doing... blog their asses off. You can't educate the masses! As hard as you try, the dumb ones continue to exist. Trust me! I know. Hope you're feeling better after your fun tummy bug! Go George jr. for getting to school.
...I know exactly how you feel. I can not have an off day without my family members asking if I've checked my blood, is my site ok, or have I dosed for my meal yet. It's not as though I plan to get sick or feel bad....Gah...lack of education and understanding is so spot on.