Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Alike


Still, I find myself thinking about that meeting. Why it made such an impact one me I do not know. I do not suffer from an addiction (unless we consider how much diet pop I drink...) and I do not really know anyone that suffers from addiction personally.

Yes, we have all seen intervention and we just find it interesting how a person cannot stop - and still I have no idea what type of challenges they face. Yet, I find myself taking more than anyone can ever imagine from that meeting last night. More than I can describe - and let me tell you how glad I am that Michelle came, because she truly understands what I mean by this indescribable experience.

Now, it is true, no matter how hard we try to put ourselves in other people's shoes we will never know. Unless you have gone through the exact same problem, obstacle or hurtle - you will never know how it felt. But, since we are empathic humans (most of us at least) we can understand and believe in what that person has to say.

With that said, no health professional, nurse, professor, parent, best friend etc. will ever know how a diabetic feels. Yes, of course they can empathize and maybe come incredibly close to what that diabetic feels, but truly only other diabetics can know what it feels to walk in that person's shoes.

Why? Well, even though these people may be in our life constantly and may have been the biggest support you have ever had, being a diabetic or anything for that matter is something that only a diabetic can know. It is easy to give it a name, tell the symptoms and treatments, but it is impossible to feel what it is like to live that life.

This same view is shared by alcoholics in fact... which makes me really think about the connections humans make. Humans are diverse and many of us have friends of different upbringing, backgrounds, ages etc. yet, we probably have that one person or many people that are just like us or have gone through a similar situation.

I can hardly wait till I am in a room of fifty diabetics who knows exactly how I feel. Know what I mean when I say things like, "I hate when I have to prime my pump or sometimes I guess my sugar instead of actually checking it and usually that seems more accurate..."

Kayla


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