Time for My A1C Test

Plus, I participated in another Great Backyard Bird Count and take a quick look at a northeastern Oklahoma county.

Feb 19, 2024

I had blood drawn for my quarterly A1C test

This Monday morning, it'll be time to see my doctor again for my quarterly A1C test and checkup. I added Ozempic to my other medication last year, and I’m anxious to see if my A1C has stabilized below 6.5.

The hemoglobin A1C test measures your average blood sugar levels over the past three months. The higher the A1C level, the more likely you are to have diabetic complications. A1C results range from below 5.7 for normal, 5.7 to 6.4 for prediabetes, and above 6.5 for diabetes. My last check was 6.5, but before that, I averaged 7.

I’ve been able to control my blood sugar levels with medication and diet. Yes, I need more exercise, and my computer professional desk job isn’t helping. Oh well, I’m getting by.

My health insurance covers the Ozempic, and my other medications are all generic, so my costs aren’t through the roof. But they really could be. Without health insurance, there would be no way I could take Ozempic. This is true for many diabetic medications, including insulin. I don’t have to take insulin, but I have acquaintances that do, and it’s quite a dent in their wallet even with insurance.

There is just no reason for the high cost of many of these medications. Politics, special interests, and outright greed keep these prices abnormally high. Legislation like the Affordable Care Act helped a little, but it wasn’t enough. Here I am adding politics to a health update, but you need to pay attention to who you vote for. There are those elected who would get rid of the ACA, Medicaid, Medicare, Soonercare, and all those programs and laws many of us rely on just to live. Remember that when you go to the polls in November.

The Great Backyard Bird Count

The Great Backyard Bird Count was this weekend. This annual four-day event engages bird watchers in counting birds to create a snapshot of where the birds are around the world.

I participated again this year, and unfortunately, it was a wash. Saturday was overcast, cold, windy, and snowing. Sunday, however, was a very nice day. Even though I could hear birdsong all around me, I couldn’t see any birds from my vantage point overlooking my backyard. Well, at least I got to enjoy a few hours sitting in the warm sunshine.

I’ve included the audio of the birdsong from my backyard. Do you think you can identify any of the birds from their song?

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Update. Those cheeky devils. As I was typing this up in the late afternoon on Sunday, two mourning doves decided to roost in the tree outside my second-floor home office window. Well, the jokes on them, I’m counting them. So, the weekend wasn’t a wash after all. Ha!

Mourning dove on a branch outside my home office window.

In The News

A look at some of the latest headlines from around Oklahoma and beyond.

About Oklahoma: Delaware County

Welcome to Delaware County.

Delaware County is in the northeastern part of the state on the Missouri and Arkansas borders. The county was formed at statehood from the Delaware District of the Cherokee Nation and named after the Delaware people.

Jay, Oklahoma, in the center of the county at the intersection of U.S. Highway 59 and State Highway 20 is the county seat. Grove, Oklahoma, in the northwestern part of the county, is the largest city in the county by population.

Other notable towns include Bernice in the northwestern, Colcord and West Siloam Spring in the southeastern, and Kansas and Oaks in the southern parts of the county.

The county is home to the Grand Lake O’ the Cherokees, Grand Lake State Park, the Shangri-La Resort, and one of Oklahoma's tri-state markers.