Saturday, October 19, 2013

I am Lucky

Finding a person who will understand your diabetes can be hard.  Often times type 1 diabetics are getting asked questions that we have to swallow down our frustration and answer like, 'Can you eat that?' or, 'Will you grow out of it?'  There are just people out there that don't get, don't want to get it or just aren't willing to deal with diabetes and I read messages from people all the time that run into this issue.  My first response is, 'those people aren't worth it!' and it's true but it is hard to take that in because we know as people living with type 1 diabetes, that it isn't going to go away and if that one person (who is once again NOT WORTH IT!) isn't accepting your diabetes, who will.  The answer is a lot of people.

I have had a few younger teens message me or talk to me about friends not accepting their diabetes.  I think for the most part, people don't understand type 1 diabetes and fear it.  They don't want to see needles, see blood or have to worry about what to do when you go low.  I get it. We come with a lot of instructions, but for the most part we take care of ourselves pretty well, and if you don't like seeing the tiny drop of blood that swells from our finger tips, look away.  

I am lucky. I am lucky because my diabetes made me and my friends closer.  It also truly has given them an idea of the importance of living life to the fullest because they know that I wasn't expecting anything health wise to go wrong in my late teens - but it did and it could happen to anyone at anytime. I am also lucky because I found a man that understands and buys me candy, because he knows I can eat it.  He is so fascinated by diabetes and hasn't stopped wanting to learn about it.  He makes me so proud when he uses words like, bolus or endocrinologist.  I feel like he truly cares about my diabetes.

I hope that for the most part people living with diabetes have had someone close to them really engage in their diabetes and want to know more. It is such an important part of personal acceptance and motivation. I am fortunate to live with another type 1 diabetic this year and our three other roommates are always engaging in questions about diabetes and want to truly learn.

Kayla 


3 comments:

  1. Hi Kayla, greetings from Northern Ontario. I'm just stopping by to say how delightful your blog is. I have recently found your blog and am now following you, and will visit often. Please stop by my blog and perhaps you would like to follow me also. Have Hugs, Chris

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  2. I just had my 35th high school reunion, which I had to miss. But i included in my response to it that I will be "celebrating" my 50th anniversary of having juvenile onset (type 1) diabetes in 2016. And that I have no complications. I know that I will receive a lot of emails from fellow classmates who did not realize I was a diabetic. My best friend knew as did my two other good friends. I let my teachers know, but it wasn't something that I let rule my life.

    When I was younger and I was in an insulin reaction (hyper/low) I was mean. I actually beat up one of my friends because she was trying to get me to eat a candy bar. She remained my friend. She didn't tell people I beat her up. She knew I was a diabetic would sometimes act differently. That is a true friend.

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  3. LRM,

    First of all, congratulations on being healthy after fifty years of type one! THAT is awesome. I just "celebrated" my 17th a few months ago.
    Also, your story about beating up your friend over the candy bar made me laugh out loud. I've had a similar experience.

    Kayla,
    That's awesome you found someone who could accept you for you. I dated a girl in high school that acted as if my Type One Diabetes was a obstacle that -she- had to deal with. She also said she was afraid of having kids with me because she didn't want them to have Diabetes! I found someone a lot better and married her. Hang on to your guy; He sounds like a winner.

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