The Tay-Dar

As promised, today's post is devoted to my wonderful little sister. I also call her my "Tay-Dar."Autumn has saved my life in more ways that I can count, so I'll try to stick specifically with diabetes-related topics here.

I think her magnificent "Tay-Dar" ability began when she was about six or seven. I remember the day it happened--or most of it anyway. My grandfather was in the hospital so we were all up and getting ready to go visit him. Mom was either in the shower or she had run to the store. I couldn't get to her, wherever she was. I remember telling Dad I felt low and him telling me to get some juice. I went to the kitchen and started drinking orange juice straight out of the container. Autumn yelled at me for that, making sure she told me how disgusting that was. That's the last thing I remember before I passed out from being too low.

A while later I woke up in Mom's lap with pancake syrup all over me and my emergency kit was put together and ready to go. I had dropped so low that my meter wasn't even registering a number. Autumn was really freaked out that day and I believe that is why she developed her Tay-Dar. 

"Tay-Dar" is what I call her unique ability to pick up on every single change in my blood sugar levels. She is usually more accurate than my dexcom, and sometimes she is more accurate than my meter. She knows how I start acting when my sugar is too far off in one direction, but she has also been able to accurately recognize when my sugar is headed into a dangerous number. We've always been very close and we might be able to give partial credit to the Tay-Dar for that.

I can recall some times where she has used her ability to save me before I even noticed something was wrong. One time we were at church for a drama meeting, both in separate buildings on opposite sides of the campus, and she randomly showed up in my room. She demanded that I check my sugar immediately. I was quite low and I didn't even realize it. If she hadn't have come to tell me, I probably wouldn't have checked my sugar. She has woken me up in the middle of the night on several different occasions and demanded that I check my sugar. Always I am either too high or too low, and she has saved me from some of the complications that can cause.

Nowadays, we have even done this thing that we call "tsuino" or "twin brain." Her God-given ability has expanded to where we actually do think the same things quite frequently! (Poor girl...) Now, rather than just recognizing what my diabetes is doing, she can tell random things that I am doing or have done before I even tell her. For example, I volunteered us both for the fall festival at the local public library in October. Before I even got in the car she knew what I had done.

God has an amazing sense of humor. Through Autumn almost losing me, He has bestowed upon me the amazing gift of her. We are so much alike, and yet still our own people. She has saved me in so many more ways than just what was listed here, but especially in terms of diabetes she saves me almost everyday. God gave me Autumn, and Tay-Dar, to keep me safe and sane. I am very blessed with my little sister and her amazing gifts.