Dr. Doom

  The doctor (actually CRNP) who has been following me since the onset of my health crisis is an interesting fellow. And by interesting...I mean he is not the most bubbly optimistic person I have ever met. Nope, he is quite the opposite. I refer to him as "Dr. Doom".
  On my first visit to him, I had just been discharged from the hospital. I wasn't feeling too bad...in fact, I was surprised that I had been kept overnight for observation because my only sensory symptom at the time was a rapid heart rate which I thought was anxiety.
  As he assessed me I told him that I wanted to figure out how to change my lifestyle so I won't have to be dependent on medications. "Oh, you are definitely going to be on medications for the rest of your life" was his candid reply. Then he stated that I should be on insulin and made no bones about how "unhealthy" I was. At my very vocal resistance, he settled with doubling my blood sugar medication and kept me on the other 3 that I had left the hospital with. He ordered an ultrasound on my thyroid and sent me on my way.
  Within a few days, I began to experience cold symptoms including a fever, my period started, and I developed an infection in my arm from the IV site. Another trip to Dr. Doom added an antibiotic, steroid, and narcotic pain reliever to the regimen. He informed me that the ultrasound showed a cancer (yes, he said the "C" word) indicator and ordered a biopsy. My body was starting to react to all of the medications in a not so good way. I was weak, dizzy, nauseated, and couldn't walk across a room without nearly passing out. My heart would pound so loud I could hear it in my ears and see my chest pulse. My arm hurt so bad that it woke me up at night. I was sicker than I have ever been in my life, and now, I was worried......
   I had already been making MAJOR changes in the when, how, and what I was eating. I was monitoring my blood sugar and my vitals, and being compliant with the medications. I was praying like crazy. It took about 3 weeks before I finally stared seeing normal numbers. Then my energy levels began to return and last longer each day. I dropped almost 20 lbs over the course of 4 weeks. Then came the call from the radiologist who was to perform my biopsy...... I didn't need it.... There was no reason for him to do it. (Huge sigh of relief).
   I visited Dr. Doom a few days ago....proud of my progress. He looked over my labs and informed me that I am still diabetic (my blood sugar was 128....down from 391). My A1C which gives a picture of blood sugar levels over a 3 month span (normal is around 5) had dropped from 9.5 to 7.7 in 30 days time! My weight had dropped again to the lowest it has been in 23 years. Dr. Doom finally admitted that I had been making some good strides, but I could still hear the cynicism  in his tone.
  I am determined to prove him wrong. I am continuing with the changes and am down from 7 medications to 3. I am seeing normal blood sugar levels (without the insulin he was insisting upon) ..and every time I see those numbers, I think to myself..... "My hope is NOT in medical opinion.....My hope is in the One who made me.......Take that, Dr. Doom!!!!"