Seat 12 A

I’m not a big fan of flying, even though I do so several times a year. It’s not because of a fear of crashing or having engine trouble, it’s mostly because the change in altitude makes my blood sugar drop. (Plus, 9 out of 10 times, the people you sit next to are not fun). But one leg of my trip to Kansas City was one of the best flights I’ve ever been on because of my seat — 12A.

The flight was full so I had to stash my bag toward the back of the plane which resulted in me doing a salmon interpretation to get back to my seat. As I squeezed past the gentleman in seat 12C, I smiled and apologized for having to climb over him. As I took my seat, he made a joke about my swimming upstream to find my seat, and I laughed, thinking maybe this guy wouldn’t be so bad to sit next to for an hour and a half. Little did I know… God had put me in seat 12 A for a reason.

The gentleman, decked out in Iowa Hawkeye gear (any football fan is good in my book), asked if I was from Chicago, so I politely explained I was only passing through from Alabama to Kansas. We chatted back and forth as polite as travelers do, but I knew the “question” was coming. The “what brings you to Kansas City” question. Sure enough, a few pleasantries later, he asked, and the exchange went something like this:

“Well, actually, I’m visiting some friends. About 25 of them,” I answered.

“Oh wow,” he responded. “And they all live in Kansas City?”

“Well, not exactly,” I explained. “I met them online. We are part of a blogging community, and one of us lives in Australia. He’s coming to America to meet us, so we all traveled to a central location to join him. He’s doing the same thing in LA and New York.”

“That’s pretty cool,” he said. “If I may be nosey, what do you guys blog about.”

And like a record, I started my spiel about being a patient and health blogger regarding type 1 diabetes. I explained about the Diabetes Online Community and said how we all come together, learn from one another and lean on one another for support and encouragement. I even explained that Simon had given up when he found us, but realized there were others out there just like him, and now is doing fantastic with his control and diabetes management.

Cue the crickets.

I looked at my new friend who had a blank stare on his face. “You’ve got to be kidding me,” he said.

Before I could answer, he abruptly said, “I have diabetes and I don’t take care of myself.”

So picture a scene in a movie where the angels sing in unison, “Ahhhhhhh,” and the light beacons from behind the scene as if a heavenly lightbulb just went off. (Or picture Jacquie’s blog photo). I realized instantly, this was a moment to make a difference, to help someone. I smiled, and said, “Oh boy, can I share some stuff with you.”

“I bet you can,” he said, laughing.

So for the next hour and a half, we talked about his health and about mine. I shared other bloggers — including type 1s, type 2s and type 1.5s, as well as parents and spouses. I tried not to overwhelm him with information, because I know I can do that sometimes. I told him I didn’t believe in being the diabetes police and that if he was going to change his lifestyle, he had to “want” to or otherwise, it wouldn’t work. I also told him to take baby steps because if he tried to change everything at once, he would overwhelm himself and give up too easily.

I wasn’t entirely sure what to say to be honest. I mean, I knew what to say about diabetes, but I wasn’t sure what to say to not scare him away. I have a wealth of knowledge about diabetes, but someone like my new friend doesn’t need to know all of that. He needs to know he has a cheerleader, someone in his corner to cheer him on. Someone to say they understand and to say it’s OK if he slips sometimes.

I shared my personal struggle with food (like how I can refuse a brownie any day of the week, but if you put some french fries with some cheese in front of me, it’s over). He laughed and said he was a lot like that, too. It was carbs, not sugar, that was his struggle. I told him to find motivation, something that would drive him to do something about his diabetes care. For me, it was children. I’m not married, and I don’t have children, but some day, I want a family of my own. And because I’m 29 years old, I’m taking care of myself now so when that time comes, I’m good-to-go. My new friend said he’s a father to three girls. Instant motivation. 🙂 I talked about how the tighter control I have, the more freedom I enjoy. I know that sounds like an oxymoron, but it works for me. I don’t eat ice cream or cupcakes if I’m high, so that’s a motivation to keep a close watch on my numbers. He seemed to understand the method to my madness.

I showed him my continuous glucose monitor, to which he replied, “I want one of those.” And then I showed him my insulin pump, to which he replied, “I don’t want one of those,” and I said, “then take care of yourself” followed by an actual wink. >> 😉

I also gave him some examples on easy ways to cut back, like wrapping a burger in lettuce instead of the bun or removing half the bread. Before boarding my flight in Chicago that day, I grabbed lunch. It consisted of a (very airport expensive) turkey sandwich, popchips and a banana. The sandwich was one of those giant concoctions with super fancy bread where you can see the actual grains (or birdseed bread, as I like to call it). It was already cut in half, so I pulled off half the bread and slapped the sandwich together. I still had the protein (and the good stuff) in the middle, but half the carbs. I balanced out the chips (popchips are also healthier chips) with a banana and washed it all down with water.

As we kept talking, he admitted he never took his medicine, which was prescribed for twice a day. So I asked him to make that his first baby step.

“Take your medicine,” I said. “Once you get that down, work on something else, and then so-on and so-on.”

I’m definitely not a medical professional by any means, nor am I a dietician or even a diabetes educator. (Re: disclaimer) But I am a human with diabetes. I know I can’t start walking if it’s all uphill at first glance so I gave him the best advice I knew how to give, which was real and honest. And I prayed for my new friend that night when I laid my head down. I will continue to pray for him and his journey toward a healthier life. I hope he’ll have the strength and support he needs to take each step each day, and I hope he’ll reach out when he needs a hand. And without using his name, I shared him with my women’s bible study group which means about 20 others are praying for him, too. I really liked my new friend, and I want him to be around for a super long time, for my benefit, but mostly for the benefit of his three girls.

While celebrating with my own diabetes encouragers later that night, I got this email from my new friend:

“So I went out with the boys and got the sandwich I wanted however pulled off half the bread! Super happy I ran into you today.”

Right place. Right time. #Simonpalooza