Jan Chait

Fast Days Need Slow Consideration

It was Yom Kippur and I was in charge of the food for after the fast. As usual. I can almost hear my fellow Sisterhood members now: “We need to put somebody in charge of the food on a day we’re not supposed to eat. I know! Let’s let the diabetic do it!” Read More “Fast Days Need Slow Consideration”

Life After Insulin (Yes, There is One)

I read with interest the comments on my post about using insulin, particularly the ones about loss—the loss of jobs and the loss of freedom. Shortly after I started on insulin, I was fortunate to have a lot of support from my endocrinologist, who paid close attention to my numbers and told me what adjustments to make, and from my C.D.E., who taught me how to interpret my numbers and make adjustments myself. From a psychological standpoint, the early days weren’t easy. Read More “Life After Insulin (Yes, There is One)”

Knowledge Amid Chaos

Sonja’s office was a wondrous place. Not much larger than a closet, it was stuffed with a colorful mélange of items both whimsical and useful. Read More “Knowledge Amid Chaos”

Darned If I Can Think of One Reason…

As I was flipping through a magazine the other day, I saw a blurb saying that people with Type 2 diabetes avoid insulin therapy because they don’t want to give themselves injections. But hadn’t I read something recently that suggested just the opposite? Yep, I went back and found this quote from the June 14, 2006, edition of the Indianapolis Star: Read More “Darned If I Can Think of One Reason…”

Tendon-cy for Injury

I’m a klutz. No, no, don’t argue—I really am a klutz.

Somehow I managed to injure my Achilles tendon. I don’t know how. I just know that, all of a sudden, my heel hurt. Then, as I was painfully (remember the Achilles tendon?) going up the back steps to my house one night, I fell. How? I don’t know. One second I was on my feet; the next I was splayed out all over the steps. Luckily, I fell up the steps and not down the steps. Read More “Tendon-cy for Injury”

When a Camp is a Support Group

We—my husband, our grandchildren, and one of their friends—recently returned from our annual week at the lake with friends from here and there from across the country. It’s more than just a gathering at the lake, however. It’s a family gathering in more ways than one. That is, entire families come and, together, we form a larger family. We also have a couple of things in common. Read More “When a Camp is a Support Group”

Terrorist-Inspired Diabetes Terrors Weigh on Mind

When I sat down to write this, I was listening to breaking news of a terrorist plot to blow up airplanes on flights between the United Kingdom and the United States—and subsequent tightened restrictions on what could be carried aboard aircraft. (Which would be…practically nothing.) Ironically, I was checking airfares to Europe in anticipation of visiting a friend overseas, albeit not in the United Kingdom, when the news broke.

And what’s the first thing I thought when I heard the news? Nope, not that I needed to cancel my plans. More like: "Blasted terrorists! Betcha it’s going to get rough for people with diabetes!"

Everything I Knew About Diabetes, I Learned From My Grandmother

My name is Jan and I have Type 2 diabetes. Sounds like something you’d say in front of a 12-step group, huh?

Since I got the news on January 2, 1986, I’ve known I have diabetes. I just haven’t always known about diabetes. Perhaps it’s a good thing the other genes I inherited are good, or I’d be in deep trouble, because my control in the early years was nonexistent, and it isn’t always perfect now. Read More “Everything I Knew About Diabetes, I Learned From My Grandmother”

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