It was an average school day. I was about 9 years old and on my way to class. (I say normal, I used to go home for lunch so my mom could inject and feed me. I didn't live far away and I'd be back in time for the 'end of lunch' bell to ring.) We sat down for our science lesson, which just so happened to include watching a video about diabetes and the history of pig insulin. The presenter made a false statement about 'diabetics being overweight'. My classmates looked at me and sniggered. I was a chubby 9 year old. I felt awful. I was heartbroken and I was ashamed. At nine years old, I was ashamed of being me. I was ashamed of living with an illness I couldn't control. From that day on, I've had to defend myself about my diabetes. I've had to defend my food choices, my life choices, damn it, even my style choices. "Can you eat that?" - Eye roll. "You don't look diabetic?" - Try again tomorrow. "You're old, you must be Type 2" - Sorry, even the cutest of toddlers have to grow up one day. "That shirt looks awful" - Damn, you're right. It all falls back to lack of awareness and mis-education. Which is why the diabetic community constantly try to raise awareness. And today is #WorldDiabetesDay, a day dedicated to sharing our stories, world-wide. Reality. Sugar didn't cause my diabetes. I have eaten cake for breakfast. Cinnamon won't cure my diabetes. I uncontrollably snap at the people I love most when I'm having a hypo. I'm moody for hours when a bolus doesn't go right. Headache lasts for days after a hypo. Headache lasts a lifetime when you have to count carbohydrates. I cry if I need a snack after exercising. Burnout is real. Burnout sucks. Perfect basal reductions can happen, exercise is great. Pre-bolusing can be delightful., food is great. Being part robot is sexy, pumps are great. Diabetes is hard and you're killing it. I'm okay with being me. I'm okay with having diabetes. If you want to know more about living with diabetes, please take the time to check out my blog or any of the other fabulous blogs out there.
Happy World Diabetes Day, everyone!
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