If you don't tell your story, someone else will.

This morning started like any other. I got to work, painfully made my way to our office Keurig to get a cup of coffee (since I slept through my alarm and didn't have time to make any at home) and then slowly made my way back to my desk. I pulled up my email, replied to a few work inquiries and then, naturally, hit new tab and typed in Facebook.com to see what the latest buzz was. (For the record, I manage my company's social media and am expected to post on recent events so this is totally a work requirement..... ). 

Within seconds, I see my alma mater, Old Dominion University, as the very first "Trending" topic. Normally, I would be surprised. Yes, ODU is a decent size, public university here in Virginia, but most people outside of the state have no idea who we are. Okay, let's be honest... not even everyone in Virginia knows who we are. My sister, an avid Hokie fan/alumni, is going to laugh at me for saying this... but we're no Virginia Tech in the eyes of the greater American public.

(p.s. Jen, spellcheck definitely just told me that Hokie is not a word so...)

Today though, I was not surprised in the slightest to see ODU trending, considering the events that have transposed in the last 72 hours. 

The One I've Been Waiting 23 Years to Write.

"Most of our lives are a series of images, they pass us by like towns

on a highway. But sometimes a moment stuns us as it happens

and we know that this instant is more than a fleeting image.

We know that this moment, every part of it, will live on forever."

Lucas Scott, One Tree Hill

Two weeks ago, I had one of those moments.

I was sitting at my desk, mind-numbingly editing a 64.1mb Adobe Illustrator file... Don't get me wrong, I absolutely LOVE my job, but this particular project required me to edit a very detailed map illustration of the entire Southeastern Virginia region. Remember those old Rand McNally road maps your parents kept in the car? You know, before Google Maps and iPhones? Yeah, that detailed from Gates County NC to Richmond, VA... every single street (most with street names...) state park, airport, school, military installment... Yeah, you get the point.

I was practically counting the minutes to 5:00pm because my vision was start to blur and because I was suppose to go to an afterwork event that included free food/alcohol (which is always a great idea). Just a few minutes to go and my phone began buzzing. When I looked down, I saw the all too familiar 953- prefix that is the Naval Medical Center Portsmouth. I'll admit, normally I screen these calls because it's always an appointment reminder, and I can't stand that automated robot women telling me what time I'm suppose to be at the hospital. But this call was different. This call I was expecting.

This call, this moment, was going to change my life.

I'm picking up good vibrations.

Say hello to my new best friend, my Animas Vibe insulin pump with built in Dexcom G4 CGM.

For those of you that don't know, I am an insulin dependent diabetic. I was diagnosed with Cystic Fibrosis Related Diabetes (CFRD) shortly after my fifteenth birthday and I got my first insulin pump just before I turned eighteen. 

CFRD is a direct result of my cystic fibrosis ...hence the "CF related" part. Approximately 30-40% of individuals with CF will develop diabetes, most during adolescent or young adult years. CFRD is a rather peculiar disease. Doctors aren't 100% positive why it develops or what causes it to happen in some but not all patients, but the general idea is that it develops after years of pancreatic scarring. Some believe that genetics, outside of the those that cause CF to occur, can influence the outset of CFRD but who knows? 

Often, when someone says "I'm diabetic," people will ask are you type 1 or type 2? Let me just say, you get some really funny looks when you reply "Neither." Neither? How is that possible? Allow me to explain...