{"id":37722,"date":"2015-04-07T10:59:31","date_gmt":"2015-04-07T14:59:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?post_type=feature&p=37722"},"modified":"2016-01-11T09:13:10","modified_gmt":"2016-01-11T14:13:10","slug":"63-years-after-a-type-1-diabetes-diagnosis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=37722","title":{"rendered":"63 Years After a Type 1 Diabetes Diagnosis"},"content":{"rendered":"

Mac Mackenize has had type 1 diabetes for 63 years. When he was diagnosed as an 11-year-old, in 1951, the doctor told him that his life expectancy was 25 years. Mac says type 1 diabetes has never stopped him from doing the things he loves. But he says there are a couple of reasons he\u2019s so healthy, and his wife, Lois, has a lot to do with it.<\/p>\n

What do you remember about your diagnosis? <\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

I was in seventh grade. Thin to begin with, I was losing weight. It was an effort to walk up to the second floor in grammar school, I was so out of breath. I ended up in the hospital for three weeks\u2014the diagnostic tools weren\u2019t what they are now. When I came home, at first my mother gave me my shots. The syringes were glass and the needles were 25 gauge. We had to boil and then sharpen the needles on a stone. We\u2019d take a fine wire and clean them out. Back then the insulin was made from pigs, it wasn\u2019t so pure.<\/p>\n

How did you manage your diabetes at that time? <\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

There were no meters, you didn\u2019t know what your sugar was. The only way to know for sure was to test your urine, which was three hours behind. So I paid attention to the signs, I could tell when I was high or low. I remember that I\u2019d eat something\u2014a candy bar or a pint of ice cream\u2014and I would run three or four miles. When I was dating [my now-wife] Lois, I\u2019d know my sugar was high so she\u2019d drive my Austen Healey Sprite behind me while I ran. She came close to running me over more than once! I did this running up until probably 35 years ago.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s been the biggest technological advance in managing your diabetes? <\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

One of the best things invented was the meter. I got my first one 20 years ago. And then eight years ago I got a pump. My A1c is 6.5. I can regulate my sugar so quickly, and it\u2019s so much safer. I test a lot, I change my [ratios] all the time because every day is different with stress, being sick, exercising.<\/p>\n

\"63<\/a><\/p>\n

What other ways have you kept yourself safe and healthy all these years?<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

I never kept my diabetes from anybody. I would tell everybody, including at work, so people knew the signs, knew if I got irritable with them or would argue they would get me juice. Hiding it would have prevented me from getting help if I needed it.<\/p>\n

What role has your wife, Lois, played in your care?<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Lois is incredible. Without her I don\u2019t know where I\u2019d be today. We\u2019ve been married 53 years. Sometimes it\u2019s easier for the person who has diabetes than the person who is around them. Lois can tell you about that \u2026<\/p>\n

Lois, when you were dating Mac were you concerned about a life with someone who has diabetes?<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

I was 16 when Mac and I started dating. One time early on he came to call on me and needed food and was shaky. We were holding hands and he was getting clammy. Even after drinking juice he was still shaky so my mom and I called to get his parents and they came to pick him up. A few days later he told me he had been coming down with a virus, that he had to keep eating to cover the insulin. After that happened I was a nervous wreck, but he told me, \u201cThis is my life, this is a part of me, this is who I am.\u201d So I never looked back. I cared for him. I started picking up on clues, I knew when he needed food or juice.<\/p>\n

Did you ever experience a hypoglycemic episode with Mac?<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

If you know someone well, diabetes can make them do a 180 on you, like Jekyll and Hyde. There was one time he was in a bathroom and I knew he needed something to eat. He was in there a while and I tapped on the door. I said, \u201cUnlock the door!\u201d He said, \u201cNo, I won\u2019t, I\u2019m fine.\u201d I knew he was starting to slide, he needed something to eat and I couldn\u2019t get food to him. Mac\u2019s father and I [we had been visiting Mac\u2019s parents] started to remove the hinges from the bathroom door with a screwdriver and hammer and, as time passed, I knew this was turning into a bad situation. Mac finally unlocked the door, came out and was adamant about being fine. I gave him juice and snapped, \u201cDrink this! You need this!\u201d I held his hand around the glass. He drank it and in 10 to 15 minutes he came around to the person that we know. Later, he said, \u201cSorry I put you through this, I don\u2019t remember.\u201d \u201cDon\u2019t worry about it,\u201d I told him. I was in control when I had to be, though I was shaking inside. It does chisel a little away of you, but you deal with it. You move on, go back to your life. If we couldn\u2019t have taken those hinges off the door, if Mac had stayed in there, I probably would have broken the door down like Superwoman.<\/p>\n

Another time we were visiting Mac\u2019s parents at their place in the mountains and, when I joined them for breakfast, I knew Mac needed juice. He was white and shaky. His parents got him some juice. They gave him a glass. Well, he dropped the juice and that\u2019s all they had. He was really low\u2014they should have held his hand around the glass. I thought of the emergency kit. This was the only time I had or have ever seen Mac like this. He was going into convulsions. I asked his father to grab him, so he got him on the floor. Mac was convulsing and foaming around his mouth. I got the [glucagon] out. I turned my back to Mac so I could concentrate on the situation, prepare the syringe and then I injected him. In 6 minutes he was coming around, long before the ambulance came\u2014we had called 911 and it took them 45 minutes to arrive. Mac was fine. He even wanted to take a walk up the mountain in the backyard. Of course, I was falling apart inside.<\/p>\n

Is there anything you\u2019ve done through the years to help you deal with Mac\u2019s diabetes?<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

They used to have a diabetic support group at the hospital\u2014this was before the Internet. We would get together every month and tell stories and ask questions. A wife or husband would say, \u201cWell, this is how I handled so and so\u201d or \u201cThis is scary blah blah blah.\u201d It let me know there are other people dealing with diabetes from my perspective. Also, the pump has made Mac\u2019s life and mine so much easier and \u201cnormalish.\u201d Before, if someone would ask us to go out to dinner after 6, we\u2019d have to tell them, no, but we\u2019ll come and have coffee or dessert. Mac had to eat at a certain time and people didn\u2019t understand. We tried, but it would screw things up for the whole day after\u2014it didn\u2019t work out. We had to maintain such an eating regiment.<\/p>\n

Also, Mac\u2019s personality helps. He\u2019s very calm and he keeps his sense of humor. When he has lows I know that isn\u2019t Mac, it\u2019s the diabetes. Mac can tell you more \u2026<\/p>\n

\"63<\/a><\/p>\n

Mac, how would you say diabetes has changed how you\u2019ve lived your life? <\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

I have done everything in my life I ever wanted to. Lois and I have traveled so many places\u2014vacationed in the jungle, fished the pacific, skied and hiked all over, gone places where the only access was by boat. I\u2019ve done all these things with the support of Lois and many friends who would carry juice, or help how they could. With diabetes you really need support.<\/p>\n

Life is pretty good, isn\u2019t it?<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Actually, it\u2019s very good.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

There were no meters, you didn\u2019t know what your sugar was. The only way to know for sure was to test your urine, which was three hours behind. So I paid attention to the signs, I could tell when I was high or low. I remember that I\u2019d eat something\u2014a candy bar or a pint of ice cream\u2014and I would run three or four miles. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":36,"featured_media":37738,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"image","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":[1435],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n63 Years After a Type 1 Diabetes Diagnosis<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Mac Mackenize has had type 1 diabetes for 63 years. When he was diagnosed as an 11-year-old, in 1951, the doctor told him that his life expectancy was 25 years. 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