Weekly Update 06/20/26 – 06/26/26 (Retirement Investing, Space Exploration, DKA Recovery)

This week's update continues my ongoing Weekly Update series with progress at work integrating Providex PxPlus with web forms, rebuilding my retirement investments, expanding my interest in space exploration and investing, and reflecting on the one-year anniversary of my hospitalization for diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) and the technology now helping me manage my diabetes.

It's been a mostly quiet week. I'm continuing to make progress at work, making strides in developing access to web forms and testing tools to better understand how my interface from Providex PxPlus is working with the web forms.

I'm finally seeing progress toward rebuilding my retirement savings after having to empty my retirement accounts while I was looking for work and recovering from various medical issues. I now have a Roth 401(k) with a generous contribution from my employer, along with a personal Roth IRA that I'm funding myself.

Soon after SpaceX became available through the SPCX Exchange Traded Fund (ETF), and knowing that I've always been a space enthusiast, I purchased two shares (yes, TWO) of the fund, giving me indirect exposure to SpaceX, along with one share of Tesla (TSLA). I'm investing my Roth 401(k) conservatively while allowing myself a little more latitude with my Roth IRA to diversify into investments that I believe have good long-term potential.

As an investor, I'm looking forward to receiving shareholder communications, company announcements, financial reports, launch updates, and other information that helps me better understand the companies in which I'm investing.

On the space front, I have become a supporter of two YouTube channels. The first is What About It!?, a channel dedicated to covering Starbase, SpaceX, and other spaceflight activities with live coverage, expert commentary, and frequent updates on the latest developments in space exploration.

I also signed up to support Everyday Astronaut, a channel created by Tim Dodd (the Everyday Astronaut). He started the channel years ago by making videos about space while wearing a vintage pressure suit that became his trademark. Although he eventually retired the suit, he continues to produce excellent content and has developed remarkable access to industry leaders and personalities, including Elon Musk.

I like supporting this kind of independent coverage, and since it's only a small monthly commitment, I charge the subscriptions to my debit card. It also helps me reach IQ Credit Union's monthly requirement of 12 debit card transactions to qualify for the 5% interest rate on my checking account balance.

A year ago this week I spent most of my time in the hospital suffering from what is called DKA, or diabetic ketoacidosis. I had not eaten in weeks and lost more than 50 pounds in a few weeks. I have very little memory of that time. I know, for example, that Dawn spoke with David Hernandez, and that he spoke with me while she was trying to get phone numbers to contact my family, but I have absolutely no memory of that conversation.

The part that still seems truly strange to me is that, while I was quite ill and diagnosed with DKA, my medical records show my A1c was 5.6, which is at the high end of the normal range. The multiple blood sugar readings taken almost hourly while I was in the hospital were all below 190. That's certainly elevated, but not exceptionally high, at least from my understanding. When I discussed this with my endocrinologist, he explained that one of the medications I had been taking to control my diabetes (I have been diabetic since 2005 and have been on medication since then) can mask the severity of DKA by keeping blood sugar readings lower even while the condition exists.

Since being released from the hospital, I have worked hard to keep my blood sugar under control and have stopped taking the medication that masked the condition, all under medical supervision. I have been checking my blood sugar three times a day and am very pleased to say that I have consistently kept my readings below 140.

I have also been very impressed with the suite of iHealth Labs equipment and software that I use. I've owned an iHealth scale, blood pressure monitor, pulse oximeter, and their companion logging software for several years. Whenever I take a reading using one of the iHealth devices, the data is automatically uploaded, allowing me to review trends over time.

Before I left the hospital, I ordered an iHealth glucose monitor and had it delivered that same afternoon. It uses a separate free app, but it integrates nicely with the rest of my health information. Now, when I check my blood sugar, I can review both individual readings and long-term graphs showing how well I'm doing. In fact, my endocrinologist was very impressed with the information I was able to provide during my appointment.

My only wish is that iHealth offered a thermometer that integrates with the same application. I also appreciate that the iHealth apps share data with Apple Health, allowing me to keep much of my health information together in one place.

In May I started taking an injectable medication called Mounjaro, which is considered one of the best medications currently available for controlling blood sugar and is also known for helping with weight loss. After the DKA episode I was down to 180 pounds, but I quickly bounced back to 220 and have slowly increased to 240. I'm hoping to start seeing the weight-loss benefits of Mounjaro soon.

I hope you all have a great week!

— Odell Sneeden Hathaway III

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Weekly Update 06/13/26 – 06/19/26