2021 Volume 41 Pages 305-312
Purpose: To phenomenologically describe the experience of living with diabetes based on the narrative of a person who did not record diabetic indexes.
Methods: A phenomenological approach was employed, which describes the world as it appeared to the person. This article is based on the narrative obtained from an unstructured interview of a participant the author met during a diabetic logbook development project and found that she was not keeping a record of her diabetic indexes.
Results: After experiencing a huge earthquake Ms A, due to her various concerns for her loved ones and business, spent more time worrying about them without really paying attention to her own illness of diabetes. As her condition worsened, she was required to get a regular injection which she decided not to do herself but to get from a doctor. This made her become kinder to herself. This change of attitude was derived from the way she perceived her time and the way she cared for herself.
Conclusion: The experience of the rejuvenating time generated from the rhythm of caring for herself by regularly seeing the doctor was also representative of her recovery from the disaster. Ms. A, who chose to care for herself by relying on the doctor and valuing the conversations with him, may not have needed to self-monitor the indexes. Her case suggests a new way of self-caring that does not necessarily require self-monitoring.
