Eleven: Friday the 13th 2009 vs. Friday the 13th 2020

Friday the 13th, it’s a familiar day, because it was Friday, March 13th 2009 when I was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. 

Most people know my diagnosis story, I’ve been blogging about it for eleven years. The eerie part has been that it was a Friday the 13th.  The emergency rooms were full of craziness, which is likely what it’s like right now eleven years later during this pandemic.     As Mike joked yesterday, “world is shut down, just like your pancreas.”   Hopefully the world can get back on its feet just like I did.  

Gift from Mike & Nixon 

To add some positivity to what seems like a daunting Friday the 13th.  I wanted to highlight three things that I am grateful for having been diagnosed with type 1 diabetes.   Seems wild to see the positive in something that can be stressful, taxing and difficult - but I always try to find the good.  

1. Friendships Made 

 I am so incredibly lucky that my diagnosis introduced me to people (globally) that I would have not met otherwise.  Friends that I can vent to, laugh with and know they they truly understand. I’m so thankful for every single one of them. 

1. Timing of Technology

I’m very familiar with the technologies or lack there of before I was diagnosed. Never did I have to boil syringes to reuse them like my Great Grandpa did, or did I have to pee on a stick and wait for the results to know what my blood sugar was.  The technology has surely progressed in the past eleven years ten fold and I’m grateful for that. 

1. Empowerment & Growth of Who I Am

I’m not sure where I would be today had I not been diagnosed. I am not sure what my profession would be, if I would have found an outlet for my hobbies like writing,  or if I would have travelled as much as I have been lucky to do so.  What I do know, is who I am today is greatly shaped by type 1 diabetes.  I admit that I have really thrown myself into these opportunities (I realize that you don’t get to just travel the world as soon as you’re diagnosed) but having a story to tell and the confidence in my craft of writing, public speaking and leadership has allowed me to pursue these opportunities. Type 1 diabetes has empowered me to show that I can do whatever I set my heart on, with hard work  (pregnancy for example) it is possible.  

Thank you to all my friends & family for being there for me for the literal and metaphorical highs and lows.  

Kayla