In the spirit of Thanksgiving, I’d like to give thanks for my endocrinologist. Yes, I am sure that sounds silly. But to me, an endocrinologist is one of the most important people in the life of someone with diabetes. Diabetes is a chronic illness. We tend to classify disease as acute or chronic; chronic literally means “constantly recurring” or “persisting for a long period of time”. Acute, on the other hand, tends to imply something that needs urgent attention. Chronic illness can have acute exacerbations, and diabetes is no exception to this.

Having a chronic disease usually implies that you have a medical professional overseeing the illness on a consistent basis (I understand this is not the reality for many with diabetes, and I will address that in another post). Finding an endocrinologist that you vibe with (and I’d imagine this is the same for any illness) is no easy feat. I’ll never forget when one of my first endos promised me that there would be a cure within five years (I was 15 at the time). I have never forgotten this promise. Even as a mature, 32-year-old woman that understands we’re years out from a cure, I cringe when I think of that unfulfilled promise. So many of us treat the word of our physicians as gold. It’s my personal belief that most providers do not fully understand the power that they have. Maybe they understand their prescriptive power or ordering power, but the impact they make on human beings is vastly under-recognized, in my opinion. I am certain the aforementioned physician has no idea what a lasting impact an ignorant statement like that had. To my point – it is difficult. 

My endocrinologist, like my therapist, knows things about me even the best of my friends don’t. There are numerous things that set her apart:

1. See above. She’s the opposite of what the second paragraph described.
2. She isn’t just an endocrinologist overseeing just my diabetes. From day one, she has looked at the entire picture. She starts off each visit with, How are you? Wanna know the crazy thing? I know she means it. She has been a part of significant life events – nursing school, a major break up, an infection, a serious family event, a new relationship, a bout of depression, a new dog, a marriage, you name it. She remembers all these things when we meet to talk about my diabetes. 
3. She knows that she is smarter than me, but she still acknowledges that I’m smart. She respects my knowledge, and she respects that I’m the one living with the illness. She doesn’t pretend to know what it’s like to have T1; ironically, that makes her more relatable. She always wants to know what I think. She fully understands that I (as does any patient) have to believe in the plan in order to carry it out once I leave her office. She respects my knowledge and backs up everything she says with evidence. One of my most favorite things that she does is go to the computer when I ask her a question – she always pulls up an article to answer my question and back up her answer. I love evidence, and she understands this.
4. She is hands on. She knows how to use my devices. Whaaaaaaat? Previous experience tells me this is not common. She interacts with my devices and with my data. She isn’t afraid to push buttons, ask questions, read reports, look at trends. She makes an office visit actually worth the time I take to drive 70 miles. She isn’t just running an A1c. 
5. She’s human. She knows she isn’t God. She isn’t dramatic. She’s confident in her practice, and that instills confidence in me. She isn’t afraid to say she doesn’t know something. She hugs me at the end of my visit, and I tell her I love her. She is an amazing physician.

Dr. McGarvey is the best damn doctor I’ve ever had. It’s an honor to have her on my team and to be able to share the intricacies of my disease (a.k.a. my life) with her.

Diabetes is a mother fucker, and some days I hate it. There are a few people that makes this daily, uphill battle a little bit easier, and I’m eternally grateful.