(Extra)ordinary

Chapter 37

Chapter 37

To say that I was utterly dumbfounded would be an understatement. Obviously, I wasn't expecting that.

I didn't know what to do. Heck, I didn't even know much about diabetes.

How do you cure diabetes? How do you care for diabetes? What changes must I make? How do I tell my boyfriend that I am diabetic?

I should have known that I had diabetes. The fainting. The numbness in my fingers. The increased hunger. How did I miss all the clues?

I snapped back to reality. Doctor Perkins was looking at me expectantly.

"Oh."

That was all I said.

He sighed. "Apparently you have diabetes related to obesity and heredity. Does any of your relatives have diabetes?"

I remembered my aunt Sophie having diabetes, which she died from. I cringed at the thought.

I nodded. "Yeah."

"That must be it. Anyway, the cure for your diabetes is through insulin. You need to check your insulin everyday, and if it's too low, you have to inject insulin into your body."

I stared straight at him, my eyes threatening to drop out of their sockets. What did he just say? Inject?

To my surprise, I was calm. Oddly calm. I didn't feel the years prickling my eyeballs, nothing. It's as if my body was numb, which includes the nerves and emotions.

It was as if diabetes was already a part of me.

On the other hand, my mom was bawling her eyes out. I have accepted the fact that I have diabetes, but she hasn't.

"Mom, it's just diabetes." I told her.

She looked up at me and sniffled. "Just diabetes? How can you say that? It's a disease, Anna. A disease!"

The doctor handed her a box of tissues. Oh, the irony. I was the one that should be bawling my eyes out. I bet that box of Kleenex was for the patients who have just learnt the ugly truth.

I gave up of comforting my mom. Suddenly, a million questions on diabetes begin sifting through my mind.

"But how do I manage diabetes? Like, what changes do I have to make and stuff?" I asked.

Doctor Perkins crossed his arms and cleared his throat. "For a start, exercise and a healthy lifestyle should be put into place. That means, vigorous activity for more than two hours a week, more fruits and vegetables in meals, less fat and oil. Don't stock up on carbs, keep it low."

I say there, speechless. The doctor just blew my mind.