Hi, my name is Max and I have diabetes. 

No, that sentence is not a death sentence.  It just means some extra work for my Mom,
but she says I’m worth it!  However, I guess I should start at the beginning.
Mom (Nan) and her niece came by the Humane Society in October of 1988. 
They were trying to find two additions to Nan’s family. 
Luckily, after Mom picked out my sis Sheba, I “persuaded” her to take me home also. 
So off she went with her two 8 week old babies. 
I became a big 18-1/2 pound adult (hey, I have BIG bones!) 
Anyway, when I was about 9-1/2 years old (in February of 1988) I started loosing weight. 
Mom thought it was just ‘cause I was getting older. 
She also thought it was good that I was drinking a lot and peeing a lot ‘cause it meant t
hat I didn’t have any urinary tract crystals forming.  Little did she realize that I had all the symptoms
of diabetes.  Well, one day she picked me up (not something that I like, so she doesn’t do it often). 
She made a gasp when she did and I knew she thought something was wrong.  We made a 
visit to the vet who said I looked really healthy.  Mom insisted they weigh me and when they did
they found out I was only 9 pounds.  Both the vet and Mom looked really worried.  The vet said I had
to come back for blood work ‘cause I might have Feline Aids or Leukemia –
neither of which sounded good to me!!

Well, they did blood work (not one of my favorite things) and the results were in. 
My blood sugar level was 574.  The vet had to show Mom how to give me shots and she cried a lot. 
I was on Humulin 70/30 when we started out.  We started out on 2 units 2x a day and 
eventually went all the way up to 13 units 2x a day. 

I stayed on it up until this last spring when Mom took me to a new vet that practices 
both eastern and western medicine.  The new vets (who are really nice) did a thing called a curve
on me and found out that it wasn’t working that well.  We switched to PZI and it has been 
doing a good job.  I’m currently on 6 units 2x a day and feeling pretty chipper.  I have to 
admit that we've been pretty lucky.  I've only had one hypo episode and that was 
due to anesthesia after having my teeth cleaned. 

So, like I said at the beginning – it’s not a death sentence, it just changes your life a bit 
(like no more French fries or popcorn).  I know there is a lot of support out there 
because Mom is always talking about her on-line friends/family and I thank you!

Max (dc dx 2/98)

Here are pictures of my family

Sheba (ndc)

Nan (our Mom)