Monday, March 12, 2012

He Gets it!

Diabetes is one of those things that it takes a lot of time to understand, if you are not living with the condition. With all the terminology, it's easy to get confused with that insulin does and doesn't do.  So, if my sugar is low, I need food, and if my sugar is high I need insulin.   Even though it seems simple to those that are having to treat these, it isn't as simple for those that just watch it happen.

Explaining diabetes to a person you just met is simple, you basically just tell them you have type 1 diabetes, they nod their head (sympathizing for you) and then they just begin to ask you a billion questions (all questions you have heard before).   After that, you hope you taught them a thing or two about type 1 diabetes without giving them the impression that they might have struck a cord with you when they asked if you can eat sugar? or will have diabetes forever?

It's a little more difficult to explain diabetes to someone that is going to live with you or be with you a lot - because it's not like you can give them all the quick answers a stranger would want - you kind of have to just have them learn through experience.   When I started dating with diabetes I thought about this.  When do I say I have diabetes? When do I say I have a pump?

However, it just sort of happened as I told Vince the first night I met him that I had diabetes - and frankly I cannot remember what he said, but he seemed pretty interested and has shown today that he is still in fact interested in learning about my diabetes.  He is always asking questions, and wanting to hear my speeches.  A lot of the time he has no choice as I ramble on about all the things I have been up too, but for the most part he is getting involved and learning.

Last night it sort of hit me that this boy sure does 'get it.' First, he asked me if I had googled why I had blood in my site (a couple weeks back) and after saying no I hadn't he began to say..."well you know..." he then admitted he had looked it up to see what it meant - and he found the answers! Secondly, he wanted to listen to my speech from the JD Camp.  It was 30 minutes long, and as I was getting bored with it - he insisted we keep watching.   After that he gave me great feedback, and we began to look at the Diabetic Meme page I created on Facebook.  (For those who don't know what memes are - google it!)

I don't really think those who don't know much about diabetes would understand the concept of Diabetic Meme's as appose to University Meme's that are pretty general, but Vince couldn't stop laughing.  He totally got it! He knew what was funny about having to ask the waitress several times if the drink was diet, and the whole idea of the insulin pump swinging wildly after falling out of a pocket.

After that we were sitting on the couch and I couldn't stop thinking about how supportive he truly was and most importantly, how much he really understood it.  I blabbered out, "I love how supportive you are.." and of course he asked why... and I listed off all the reasons why I feel that he is supportive.  It made him smile, just as much as it made me.

I realized that letting the people that love you the most learn about your diabetes through experience, is the best thing to do, and most importantly to make sure they know you appreciate how supportive they are being.

Kayla

Click Here: Diabetic Meme Page

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