{"id":34248,"date":"2013-10-23T08:32:51","date_gmt":"2013-10-23T12:32:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=34248"},"modified":"2015-12-27T15:45:51","modified_gmt":"2015-12-27T20:45:51","slug":"no-diabetes-in-your-eyes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=34248","title":{"rendered":"No Diabetes in Your Eyes"},"content":{"rendered":"

I was walking to work the other day and I couldn\u2019t read the familiar green street signs.<\/p>\n

Where was I?<\/p>\n

97th<\/sup> Street? \u00a098th<\/sup>?<\/p>\n

I didn\u2019t know because I couldn\u2019t see. My vision was blurry.<\/p>\n

I cleared my eyes with my hands, squinted, and moved closer to the sign. 99th<\/sup> street.<\/p>\n

By the time I got to work, I could see a little better, but still not perfectly. I wrote the AIM on the board: \u201cWHAT-IS-THE-COLOR-WHEEL?\u201d I walked to the back of the art studio to set up materials for the day. When I turned around to see the board again, I had trouble reading the words I had written just minutes earlier.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve always had good vision. I wondered why things were suddenly unclear. I remembered playing with Maya the night before. As babies do, she kicked and waved her arms in fun. At one point, she poked me in the eye. I hadn\u2019t thought much of it, but maybe that was the reason for my blurry vision.<\/p>\n

Then I thought, I haven\u2019t been getting enough sleep lately.<\/em> Maybe that\u2019s the reason.<\/p>\n

Or, Maybe I got shampoo in my eyes.<\/em><\/p>\n

The Why My Vision is Blurry <\/em>list went on and on, until I thought of more serious possibilities, like Maybe I have diabetic retinopathy<\/em>, or Maybe I\u2019m going blind<\/em>.<\/p>\n

And then my first period class walked in. Thank goodness.<\/p>\n

People with diabetes are told to get regular eye exams because we are High Risk for Everything. I\u2019ve also heard that pregnancy can be a stressor on the eyes. Since I was pregnant not too long ago, you might assume that I\u2019ve had an eye check in the past year.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately that is not the case.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve been negligent. I haven\u2019t been to the eye doctor in over two years. The last time I went, things were status quo. No glasses. No diabetes-related eye problems. I was on my way.<\/p>\n

In fact, after all of my prior exams, my doctor has always said these five words: \u201cNo diabetes in your eyes.\u201d That sentence has always made me feel secure.<\/p>\n

But I didn\u2019t feel secure anymore. My vision was indeed blurry. I worried that diabetes had made its way into my eyes after all.\u00a0<\/p>\n

I finally made an appointment.<\/p>\n

My mom drove me to the office since I was having my eyes dilated and I wouldn\u2019t be able to drive home. Maya came along, too. I heard her babbling in the waiting room. Such a supportive little babe.<\/p>\n

The doctor examined my eyes and he found a small scratch on my right cornea. I guess baby play is more dangerous than I thought! He handed me a sample of over-the-counter eye drops and he said it would heal in a week.<\/p>\n

Then he tested my vision. After several E-S-V-N-Us, or whatever the letters were, he determined that I needed a mild prescription for glasses. So mild that filling the prescription was optional.<\/p>\n

I chuckled to myself. How nice to be diagnosed with something to a mild degree. So unlike diabetes.<\/p>\n

The exam wasn\u2019t over yet. Though the scratch combined with needing a mild prescription probably accounted for the blurriness, the doctor still had to look for potential diabetes damage. He took out his ophthalmoscope (I hope I spelled that right), and he brought it close to my face. He told me to keep my eyes open wide.<\/p>\n

He stared into the black abyss of my dilated pupils. Looking, looking, looking. It seemed to be taking forever! Where were those five words I had come to cherish?<\/p>\n

And then.<\/p>\n

Casually, he said, \u201cNo diabetes in your eyes.\u201d<\/p>\n

It was nothing to him. But it was everything to me.<\/p>\n

It felt like a small victory. Diabetes has been with me for 18 years; but it isn\u2019t in my eyes.<\/p>\n

The doctor handed me the prescription for glasses to fill or not fill at my leisure. Then he said, \u201cSee you in a year. We\u2019ll send you a reminder.\u201d<\/p>\n

My mom was sitting anxiously in the waiting room. I told her everything was okay. She smiled with relief. We walked to the car and strapped Maya into her car seat; she fell asleep as soon as the engine turned on. The car was quiet on the drive home. I reflected on what the doctor had said \u2013 the words I\u2019ve been lucky enough to hear after every eye check-up \u2013 \u201cNo diabetes in your eyes.\u201d<\/p>\n

The more I thought about it, the stranger it sounded. Diabetes is insidious. It creeps into every crevice of my life. How amazing that it\u2019s not <\/em>in my eyes.<\/p>\n

Anyway.<\/p>\n

I felt thankful.<\/p>\n

I put on my sunglasses, shut my eyes, and joined Maya in her nap.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":53098,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1501],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nNo Diabetes in Your Eyes<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"After all of my prior exams, my doctor has always said these five words: \u201cNo diabetes in your eyes.\u201d That sentence has always made me feel secure.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=34248\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Jennifer Jacobs\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=34248\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=34248\",\"name\":\"No Diabetes in Your Eyes\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=34248#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=34248#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/ASL-Social-Big-Square-3.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2013-10-23T12:32:51+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2015-12-27T20:45:51+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/#\/schema\/person\/d345b98b080639b460021d2dacec52a8\"},\"description\":\"After all of my prior exams, my doctor has always said these five words: \u201cNo diabetes in your eyes.\u201d That sentence has always made me feel secure.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=34248#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=34248\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=34248#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/ASL-Social-Big-Square-3.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/ASL-Social-Big-Square-3.jpg\",\"width\":1280,\"height\":1280},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=34248#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"No Diabetes in Your Eyes\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/\",\"name\":\"ASweetLife\",\"description\":\"The Diabetes Magazine\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/#\/schema\/person\/d345b98b080639b460021d2dacec52a8\",\"name\":\"Jennifer Jacobs\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d5b32e4f8abe434d6e9c2b35f4057413?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d5b32e4f8abe434d6e9c2b35f4057413?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Jennifer Jacobs\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?author=15\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"No Diabetes in Your Eyes","description":"After all of my prior exams, my doctor has always said these five words: \u201cNo diabetes in your eyes.\u201d That sentence has always made me feel secure.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=34248","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Jennifer Jacobs","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=34248","url":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=34248","name":"No Diabetes in Your Eyes","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=34248#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=34248#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/ASL-Social-Big-Square-3.jpg","datePublished":"2013-10-23T12:32:51+00:00","dateModified":"2015-12-27T20:45:51+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/#\/schema\/person\/d345b98b080639b460021d2dacec52a8"},"description":"After all of my prior exams, my doctor has always said these five words: \u201cNo diabetes in your eyes.\u201d That sentence has always made me feel secure.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=34248#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=34248"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=34248#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/ASL-Social-Big-Square-3.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/ASL-Social-Big-Square-3.jpg","width":1280,"height":1280},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=34248#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"No Diabetes in Your Eyes"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/#website","url":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/","name":"ASweetLife","description":"The Diabetes Magazine","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/#\/schema\/person\/d345b98b080639b460021d2dacec52a8","name":"Jennifer Jacobs","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d5b32e4f8abe434d6e9c2b35f4057413?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d5b32e4f8abe434d6e9c2b35f4057413?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Jennifer Jacobs"},"url":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?author=15"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34248"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=34248"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34248\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/53098"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=34248"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=34248"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=34248"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}