The other day as I was responding to a writing prompt that asked what seven things would I put in a time capsule that would be opened in 100 years. As a person with diabetes is it surprising that this chronic disease influenced my list? A glucose meter was one of the seven things I put on my list.
Here’s what I wrote:
Health is another big concern for people today. The population in the United States is getting older. Chronic diseases have become common. There is an epidemic of diabetes. The World Health Organization estimated that at the beginning of this century 33 million people in the Americas had diabetes. And they estimated that number would more than double by 2030. Diabetes is a disease that requires constant attention-taking medicine, carefully choosing what to eat, exercising regularly, and watching for complications. The device I’m including here is called a glucose monitor. It is used by someone with diabetes to keep track of his blood sugar levels. The person pricks a finger, puts a drop of blood on the test strip and the device reads the strip and gives him a number telling them if his blood sugar is high, low or normal. As someone who has diabetes, I can tell you it’s rare to have a normal reading.
What would you put in a time capsule to represent your experience with diabetes?