Dear Diabetes

Dear Diabetes:

You can take my pancreas - I don't care. I didn't know what it was before anyways or even where it is located now.

You can take the smoothness of my fingertips away - give me scabs and red dots - go ahead.

You can remind me of you every moment of the day - with your lows and highs and beeps - I can handle that.

You can poke my body - fingers and belly, hips and thighs - you can leave traces of your presence, red dots, bruises and scabbing.

You can label me as a 'diabetic' as part of your clan - the one you got a hold of and won't let go. Throw a bracelet on my wrist to remind me and place a pump on my hip to disrupt me.

You can wake me up at night or force me to eat when I am not hungry.

You do all these things and I am okay with that because what has come from this is all worth the handicap pancreas, rough fingertips, reminders every day, pokes, labels and wake up calls.

Kayla