Jan 12 2009
Embarrasment Stings; Diabetes Kills
Today, my wife asked if it was okay to put some measurements of me online (I’m looking for a gently pre-owned Utilikilt). I said it was okay, but wasn’t sure why she’d felt the need to ask. She wondered if I’d mind that the world know that I have a 38″ waist.
This got me thinking.
One of the peculiarities about the human condition is that things which should be simple statistical facts often come with stigma. The come with pride, too, sometimes but in the end, things like weight, height and proportion are just numbers. Numbers that change at that.
I appreciate her concern and don’t fault her for asking. Most people would consider such a thing a personal detail and the sort of thing that one should be able to control access. But some things I can’t afford to be shy about.
There are numbers that I might endanger myself if I ignore or try to hide, like my blood glucose and my weight. They are nothing about which I should be ashamed; I take responsibility for them, but I don’t think that they are comments on my character. The numbers only matter inrelation to other number, really, so why should I worry about them?
I’m 5′7″, 200-210lbs. My last A1C was 5.7 and my blood sugar this morning was a glorious 88, the lowest number it’s been in months. I fear none of these numbers and even when they have been higher (except for height, which pretty much just stays there) I have never felt that they were score or that somehow indications of failure. They are just numbers. Saying them aloud will not hurt me.
Keeping them to myself, though? That just might.
