A letter to Mrs. Hypoglycemia

Hypoglycemia: From hipo-, "low" and glycemia, "blood glucose level."

Feminine/medicine: abnormal decrease of sugar in the blood.

Merriam-Webster Dictionary.

Most Despicable Hypoglycemia,

It took us a while to get to know each other. Perhaps 11 or 12 months after my diagnosis; that time frame sounds about right. What happened is that for many months before meeting you, I had only "had the pleasure" of meeting your twin sister, Mrs. Hyperglycemia.

I am writing these lines to confirm how incredibly annoying you are to my life. I am writing this letter to inform you of how inconvenient it is to have to deal with you day in and day out, every night, hour after hour. I am voicing my complaint about your inexplicable insistence on accompanying me everywhere, uninvited. With these paragraphs, I make it clear that you have been declared persona non grata and are not welcome in my daily routine.

You are particularly unpleasant when you make your nocturnal appearance. You love to dress up, powder up, and arrive – unexpected and unwanted – at inconvenient hours before dawn. Since you are treacherous and elusive, you like to extend your dangerous tentacles when sleep and fatigue force me to lower my defenses. While you frequently manage to intimidate me, on other occasions you become a pathetic bother that simply needs to be minimally attended to and forgotten.

Sometimes I must resort to the presence of other people to ignore yours. As soon as your proximity around the corner becomes an undeniable and forceful company, I must decide whether I will need to interact with someone else to satisfy your unpleasant demands. Not even the sweet treat that often accompanies your insistent arrivals can soften the disrespect you so enjoy displaying. Treacherous as you like to be, you occasionally intrude into my thoughts; what's worse, you invade my mental processes. How unpleasant it is to have to have to yield to you when I stumble over my own reasoning, when I begin to speak a little faster than usual, when, still embraced by your treacherous influence, I manage to become aware of your influence enough to push you aside, take a breath, and continue the conversation; all this after the obligatory corrective action that will clear the situation after your negative and confusing influence.

Mrs. Hypo, you are a malevolent and harmful being, but I understand that your elusive apparitions are necessary so that I can value and enjoy your absences. Know that I am winning the battle to conquer that middle ground, that neutral territory, between you and your unforgivable sister. That beautiful valley, full of possibilities, that we call "Time in Range" is materializing more and more, leaving you two ignored and scorned, dislocated and annoyed.

Since you follow me like a shadow, everywhere and all the time, I have learned to appreciate how incredible it is to be alive and to enjoy. It's that simple, to enjoy. A walk, a bit of exercise, a get-together with friends, a meal - yes, even a meal. Your unbroken constancy lets me know that life isn't forever, that every hour, every minute, every hug, every run, every word, every breath is incomparable. Your mother diabetes, and particularly you, despicable Hypoglycemia, have given me the joy and motivation to truly live, to seize every new opportunity, to live with greater depth, knowledge, enjoyment, and appreciation. The irony is that thanks to you, I have experienced countless instances in which wonderful people have had the kindness, the conscience, and the courage to stand between you and me and to tear me from your arms. I owe each of them an eternal debt of gratitude.

For you, I have nothing but contempt. In the future, I will formulate similar lines for your less-than-distinguished sister, Mrs. Hyperglycemia. They will not be friendly; they will not include praise or accolades. They will be as harsh in their honesty as these I address to you today. A pair of letters to two sisters, daughters of the same malicious mother, who rudely changed my life forever.

Without the slightest appreciation,

Carlos