Monday, April 23, 2012

Highlights Do Not Equal Enlightenment

So I went to the hairdresser for a touch up on Saturday morning - Not the way I wanted to spend a sunny Saturday morning, but I had no choice.
For those of you who don't know - Going to the salon isn't for the faint of heart or for those short on time. But the gray streak I've been covering up since I was in my late 20's was once again rearing it's telltale stripe and that shit had to go!
As I sat there catching up on all the magazines I hadn't read in the past month with what appeared to be mud on top my head, (and partially streaming down my face,) but was in actuality, hair dye, my insulin pump decided to make itself known by sounding the low reservoir alarm.


BEE -BOB- BEE screeched my pump loudly and for all to hear. I glanced down at my waist, moved my smock over and unclipped my pump from my black yogapants ( I always wear black when I visit the salon - just in case the dye mud gets on my person) I saw the visual reminder that I had twenty units left.
Seeing the 20 units left always makes me sigh a sigh - because it reminds me that I need to fill up soon - and that always bums me out a little.
Suddenly, the woman next to me whose head was covered in foil wraps glanced over and said: Nice email alarm. .
Me: Oh, this isn't my cell, it's my insulin pump - It's my electronic pancreas!
Foil Head: Insulin pump?
Me: Yep. In a nutshell, it gives me insulin whenever I need to get some. I have Type 1 diabetes, so I don't make my own.
Foil Head: Oh.... Well you look great -You'd never know you were...sick. Really, you look great. You don't even look like you have diabetes.
Me: Actually, people with diabetes come in all shapes and sizes - And we work VERY HARD to be/stay HEALTHY. We're really quite the good looking bunch.  Except it's not really the norm for all people with diabetes to walk around with their heads all covered in all this crap on a daily basis, only when we visit the salon. But I guess that's the price of beauty we must pay- broken pancreas or not..

Foil Head smiled uncomfortably and promptly went back to reading her US WEEKLY.
I didn't mention the price of stupidity or ignorance (diabetes related or other wise,) or the fact that no amount of foil wraps could enlighten someone who wasn't willing to learn something new, no matter how much they were willing to pay to have their extremely dark roots highlighted. Though that irony wasn't lost on me - AT ALL.
Brains, much like beauty is only skin deep with some folks.
Lucky for Foil Head, my timer went off and I was whisked off by the shampoo girl to rinse the crap out of my hair. But you know I was thinking about it!

3 comments:

katerina said...

Well today was my lucky day I had 3 different @#$@ comments from three different people. It is a miracle that my head has not exploded! First: pure insulin cannot make you hypo it is only pills that do that. Second: you should test max 2 to three times a day, doctors orders for all type ones! three: If you eat too much sugar you will get diabetes. I barelly survived!

RLASKEY said...

I get the, "oh, well you look so healthy" ALL THE TIME. I've thus far been spared the other additions you mentioned, though by context I guess they're there.

Diabetes isn't that easy to explain to people, too, especially if they don't have any background knowledge. Kudos to you to try and spread the knowledge. I've mostly resigned to, "it's complicated but you learn to deal with it quickly enough."

Mike Hoskins said...

Advocacy, even in a hair salon! Nice job on trying to spread the good word, even to Foil Head Lady.