Lovin' It Low Carb

Christina and me, July 2010

 

My Thanksgiving post this year is
A Tribute to My Brother Westley, My Sister Christina,
who died this week.

 

Westley Robertson Denton
Christina Jasmine Denton

April 3, 1956 – November 20, 2010

 

Childhood

My oldest sibling was born Westley Robertson Denton on April 3, 1956, in Reno, Nevada.

He grew up in Claremont, California, excelling in everything academic. Especially math and science. He received a Bachelor’s of Science from University of California at Davis in microbiology and bacteriology.

 

Professional Life

After graduating from UC Davis in 1979, Wes went to work for the City of Hope National Cancer Institute developing radioimmunoassays, or RIAs, which are a type of diagnostic lab test that uses radioactive isotopes to help determine the levels of different substances in patient samples.

In 1980, he took a job at Diagnostic Products Corporation developing the same type of RIA diagnostic tests.

After several years of developing diagnositc tests, Wes changed jobs to become a technical writer for the same company. He worked on product labeling and instructions for use, and learned about typography and desktop publishing.

It was in 1991, that Wes began his full time transition to become Christina. As a Male-to-Female Transexual, Christina built a new persona as a vivacious, high heeled shoe-loving, fashion-savvy shopaholic.

Professionally, Christina made one more career change, still at the same company, though Diagnostic Products Corporation was bought out by Siemens Healthcare Diagnostics in 2006, so the company has a different name now.

She moved from Technical Publications to IT, and became a Database Administrator, where she remained until her death. Christina was well regarded by her colleagues as one of the top experts on many matters, even those that were not her direct responsibility.

 

Christina in Ketchikan, Alaska, July 2010

 

Creative Pursuits

Christina loved the finer things in life. Food. Wine. Art. Music. Literature. She was an avid reader. She dabbled in many artistic disciplines: photography, piano, oil painting, and more. Most recently she began writing an epic story about a teen suffering from gender confusion, but conquering all through the magic of love.

She published her initial attempts at this work on Amazon Kindle:

• She’s an Angel
  At 13, Jimmy Robinson has no friends. He’s seeing a psychologist to understand why he doesn’t fit in, but deep inside he understands that life would be different if he were a she. His only friend knows him as Jamie.
• How Can I Love Her?
  Near the end of Freshman Year, Devon wants to go to the high school prom, but he can’t talk to girls. One day early in the summer he meets a girl who captivates him. She is the one, he is sure. But she’s tough. Every time he’s with her she drops a bomb that blows him out of himself, and finally the explosion is too much to handle.

Christina’s “magical things” are things that increase when you give them away. Like love. The more love you give, the more you have. As you spend it, it just multiplies. The only way to lose a magical thing is to hoard it and keep it to yourself.

Christina had discovered many magical things, even negative ones. She believed that hate and violence were magical too, in the sense that the more you hate and do violence, the more you perpetuate more hate and more violence. The way to stop hate and violence is to not give any away.

Christina was a person of peace, passion and optimism. It was her desire to be a positivie influence in every encounter with another person.

 

Diabetes and Diet

Christina was diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes in her 40′s, and took the oral medications without any significant modifications to her diet.

At that time, the common wisdom seemed to be that blood sugar and insulin could be balanced by simply increasing insulin to balance out the sugar in the diet. So, her dosages of these medications were increased more and more over time in a vain effort to keep her blood sugar under control.

Through my research on low carb blogs, and reading many books, Christina and I learned that high levels of insulin are just as bad as high blood sugar. Over the last few years, Christina regained some of her health and energy as she changed her diet to one lower in carbohydrates.

In April 2009, at the age of 53, she suffered a life-threatening episode of high blood sugar and was hospitalized well on her way to a diabetic coma. She emerged from the hospital a week later an insulin-dependent diabetic.

The dietary component of her life became all the more important to her as she became an avid supporter of carbohydrate restriction as the best means of controlling blood sugar. She also continued taking insulin injections and walking every day.

She had a wonderful time on the 2010 Low Carb Cruise, which we learned about through Jimmy Moore’s Livin’ La Vida Low Carb blog and podcast, and she hit it off with many of the other low carb cruisers, many of whom she has maintained contact with through email and Facebook.

 

Christina’s Birthday, April 2010

 

Christina’s Last Days

Christina lived life in one gear: full speed ahead

In June we went to the Twilight Triple Movie Extravaganza and saw Twilight, New Moon and Eclipse. In July, we went on a wonderful cruise to Alaska.

She was writing, planning cruises, having a beautiful gown custom-made for a December cruise formal night, and this year’s holiday parties. And, of course, the perfect shoes were acquired as well!

Christina elected to undergo cosmetic surgery, to have a tummy tuck and liposuction on November 11. A few days after surgery, there were some complications with her blood sugar level, and she was hospitalized to get it under control. A few hours after being released from the hospital, Christina collapsed unexpectedly and could not be revived. She died of a pulmonary embolism, which is a blood clot that gets lodged in the lung.

Christina is survived by a brother and a sister (that would be me!).

 

Condolences

If you knew Christina, or have been touched by her story, and would like to offer your condolences, please consider making a donation to The Nutrition and Metabolism Society in Christina’s name.

We desire that any donations made in Christina’s memory go to an organization that supports what she believed in:

• carbohydrate restriction
• healthful consumption of natural saturated fats
• researching real answers to our metabolic diseases of civilization (rather than merely partnering with pharmaceutical manufacturers to make “better drugs”)

The Nutrition and Metabolism Society is working to prevent and reverse metabolic disorders, to find and demonstrate the true causes, and to educate the world about how to avoid and reverse the metabolic diseases of civilization. They will put your donations to good use to further the good work that Christina believed in.

 

The Nutrition and Metabolism Society has created a webpage in memory of Christina, where you can make donations.

You may also go straight to the NMS Secure Donation Page. Please designate “in memory of” in the dropdown, and then type in “Christina Denton”

 

Checks may be mailed to
Nutrition and Metabolism Society
Attention: L. Cagnassola
24 Spruce Ct.
Bedminster, NJ 07921

Please write “Christina Denton” in the memo line.

 

Other Nutrition and Metabolism Society Links

homepage – statement on diabetes – statement about Low Carb Diets

 

 

Giving Thanks

Those of us who knew and loved Wes or Christina must celebrate her life in our hearts. In the U.S. we are celebrating Thanksgiving today. I am thankful I knew both Westley and Christina, and I will celebrate that love even in the midst of my grief at her sudden passing.

 

Health and peace to you!

Lovin’ It Low Carb
Ramona Denton

disclosure

 

 

I expect to pass through this world
but once…

Any good thing therefore that I can do,
or any kindness that I can show

Let me do it now,
for I shall not pass this way again.