This month, DSMA asks… 

“Your pancreas is in a job interview and totally bombed the question about ______.”

My pancreas would do fairly well in an interview, until a certain question is asked.  It would have no problem working on weekends, in the evening, and would even be willing to be on call 24 hours a day, if needed.  It would give up vacation to work. It would not complain too much. My pancreas would be what any employer would want, until it is asked…

 “Do you work well under stress?” 

The answer to this question would go something like this…

“Stress? (insert neck roll here) Umm, actually I don’t work well under pressure.  If you want to see me cut down my production to practically zero, then you put me under stress.” 

(By this time, my pancreas would probably know that it didn’t have the job, so it would elaborate).  

“The last time I was under a lot of stress was most of 2010 when Doc P was finishing her dissertation. This woman put me under so much stress that by February 2011, I gave up.  If only she could have heard the things I said like, ‘Chile Please, you want insulin? Get it yourself, I’m out!’ 

“Sure, it took her a while to realize that I had taken myself on a much needed vacation, but when my vacation caused her to have one of her own in the hospital for six days, she understood then.  

“But I love that woman.  We’re mending our relationship now that she acknowledges my presence and appreciates all that I do for her.  I learned not to work myself to the bone like I did before, so I won’t be putting in as much as I use to.  She’s helping compensate for that by not giving me all those carbs to process at once and she even enjoys burning a little glucose for me by going to the gym a few times a week.

“No, stress and I don’t get along, ya see. If I have to handle stress to get this job, then you can keep it.”