Saturday, April 20, 2013

Live Out Loud with Purpose

"Live Out Loud with Purpose" he said and I typed it into my notes on my iPhone.  Those simple five words have stuck with me since I heard 'Sugar Free Shawn' - Shawn Shepheard speak in Woodstock on Thursday night.  I knew that I was in for something inspiring when I was invited to represent CDA at the health fair, but I had no idea I would be leaving with a decent sized note on my phone to examine and read aloud to people trying to spread the wisdom.

If there is something that diabetes has taught me it is to take every opportunity that is given to me. I say that because if you don't do something, if you say no, if you decide that you just don't have the time then you are missing something. You may be missing a life lesson, you may be missing a new friend, new experience and you never know where it could then have taken you.   Shawn cleared this up for me even more when he talked about first being diagnosed and being in a room full of type two diabetics. He already felt uncomfortable and like he didn't want to be there, and the first exercise, and it's always this way, they had to go around and introduce themselves.  Shawn said that he went first, and about half way down the line a woman stood up and asked why they were even here when they are just going to have complications and die.  Shawn said he never looked up he just kept scribbling, 'not me, not me, not me, not me, not me' and that lady was his life lesson.  He went on to say that everyone we meet is on purpose and has some impact on our life.  I believe in this. I believe that every person that has walked into my life has walked in for a reason and those that have walked out are those people that taught me as many lessons as they could and their last lesson was the moment they left.

So back to that first quote.  First of all, I think taking the opportunities that are given to you, or that you've chased down is an example of living life out loud.  Doing something with the opportunities gives it purpose. There is so much to learn out there from life, lessons beyond lessons. It's amazing what can be accomplished with just a few creative ideas and the willingness to get out there.  Shawn inspired me to keep doing what I am doing plus more. I want to do more, be more, try harder and really succeed.

I appreciate all that he said, and recommend anyone who gets the opportunity to hear him speak to do so.  I am sure you will all feel the same as I did.

Kayla

5 comments:

  1. You have gone from being slightly chubby to thin. You never really hit average, or did not stay there for long anyways. You look like you are bordering on underweight. Just be mindful of that. If you are exercising so much I do not think, you really have to worry about what you eat. It is easy to get obsessive about food and exercise when you’re T1

    You look as thin as the pictures right after you were dx’d. You must actually have ketones often judging from your rate of weight loss

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    1. Hi Anonymous,

      I have lost fifteen pounds in the past four months, and I am 140 pounds therefore, I am not underweight like you suggested.

      I am living a healthy lifestyle with exercising in moderation as well as eating healthy because that is the lifestyle that I have decided to live. My last a1c was 6.7 and I do not have ketones, but thank you for being concerned.

      I am very aware of my diabetes, I am very aware of my personal well being and my happiness.

      Kayla

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    2. It is not unusual to have ketones when you are losing weight from heavy exercise or low calories in relation to you activity. For people with and without diabetes. I went through a period of weight loss from heavy exercise and I had small ketones most of the time.

      I just uses the urine strips at the time, but you do look skinnier than when you were dx’d.

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    3. I was approximately 130 pounds when diagnosed, after losing 30 pounds. I am not at that weight, but I am going to take it as a compliment. I have been doing a lot of weights with cardio. I am not doing a lot of exercise per day - about 1.5 hours a day.

      I have tested for ketones and I do not have any.

      Once again thank you for the input and concern!

      Kayla

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  2. What kind of condition were you in when you were dx’d. Were you in DKA ? did you have ketones ? just wondering because it sounds like you family doctor was stumped by the situation and they made you wait at the office for a long time, and they thought it was safe for you to drive.

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