Cherise (aka Khaos Faerie)'s Page

I'm 25 years old. I've been married to Mitch since July 26, 2007. I'm a freelance web/graphic designer. I'm also going back to school for continuing education in graphic design.

I was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes at age of 16 (October 2000), junior year of high school, week of homecoming. I also have bipolar disorder on the depressive side, diagnosed January 2007. It actually used to be more manics than depressive moods but it has shifted. I was diagnosed July 2008 with diabetic peripheral neuropathy.

Since 2005 I have had no insurance. I lost mine after my mom's ex-husband decided that my diabetes was too expensive for him to have on it. Its not like he was paying for my supplies. I was working and in college when I was 18. My mom and grandparents paid for them until I was 18. None of his money went towards it. Anyways, I have been finding different ways to get my supplies, including buy pump supplies a few at a time, but now I can not do that. I now am enrolled in three different programs and soon to be four, one for Humalog, one for Lantus, one for Neurontin and soon one for Symlin which I was told would greatly help my control. The other medications that I am on are cheaper. I have two different meters that have cheap test strips. One of which I use a card that makes them cheaper and the other is the Reli-on brand from Walmart. So I am surviving that way. Doctor's appointments are a little hard. I actually need to see a neurologist but I have not found one that is sliding scale or takes payments. I see a regular doctor and not an endocrinologist. I did for awhile, but the amount I owed got stacked up and I couldn't afford to go anymore. The payments were getting too high. We do only necessary blood work and I make payments on those. I do have a lot of hospital bills from 2007 and 2008. I have had a total of 4 episodes of DKA. Three of them were in those two years. The last one was the worst and also when I was diagnosed with the peripheral neuropathy. It started so severely and sharply no one was for sure that it was that until they started testing it. I still have flare ups that make things like attending school and doing daily things incredibly hard.

I don't tell these things to everyone to get sympathy. I tell people to educate and help.
Blessings
Cherise

~Magickal Graphics~