Part 2: The Breaking Point and the Double Loss

 

I guess I have to go back to 2023 when the changes started happening. I had been working for a company for almost 20 years in technical support (this can be draining when working with the public), and one day I wasn't feeling well. I had been feeling sick on and off for a while, I'd had my good days and my bad days, but that day was completely off. Unfortunately, I had called out of work too many times and couldn't just call out again at the risk of being written up, so I thought I'd toughen it up and go in. While working, I just felt worse and worse. I decided at that point to tell my supervisor I was logging off and going to the emergency room.

​I went to the emergency room, and after several tests, they told me that I was diabetic and I needed to follow up with my primary care provider. I had tried following up with my primary care provider at the time, only to find out that this provider, whom I'd been with for several years, had up and left the practice and someone new had taken over. I never got any type of notification.

​At that point, I don't know what happened or how it happened, but I decided to quit my job that day. Luckily, my husband's job was hiring and I was able to get a job with them. A lot less stress. It was just days away from my full 20-year anniversary. Everyone told me I was crazy. The thing is, the company had just been bought out by another company, and the words they were throwing around didn't make me feel at ease; the workplace seemed more toxic than ever. Being told I had diabetes was the final straw. It told me, “You know what? This job is not for me anymore.”

​But this is where everything started, which seems like the never-ending grief. The grief started early in 2024. My husband and I had four ferrets. Unfortunately, our one ferret, The Prince of Cuteness (the one my husband absolutely adored), passed away. He would follow my husband around like a dog and loved to sleep next to him. My husband would be playing Xbox, and his little ferret would be at his feet, lying next to him, or laying on the back of the couch near his head. Watching him lose his battle with what the vet said was adrenal disease (still not 100% sure on that) was heart wrenching. We fought long and hard, getting up every couple of hours to give him his medication.

​Unfortunately, about a month later, we lost another one. This was our female ferret who was bonded with our male ferret that just passed. We lovingly referred to her as the Princess. She became sick with what we were told was adrenal disease, and she went quickly. The frustrating part was that we knew we were losing this battle, and while we were waiting to see a ferret specialist, she passed away one day before the appointment.

​You would think that's it, what else could go wrong? As mentioned above, I was diagnosed with diabetes. I didn't realize how bad it was, and I was getting the runaround from my primary care provider. I kind of gave up at that point, frustrated. Plus, I had lost my health insurance when I quit my job. It was not something I had fully considered. But in the beginning of 2024, I ended up with a really bad infection. It showed up overnight! It was just crazy. I had health insurance by that point, thank goodness, and decided to go see a new primary care provider. This is when I was diagnosed as being severely diabetic.

Read Part 3: The Nightmare on the Bathroom Floor