I Can’t Get Over How Lucky We Are

July 27th, 2012 by Amy Gonsalves Leave a reply »

I don’t see enough gratitude around here when it comes to life with diabetes these days.  I mean it; thirty years ago we were better off than thirty years before that, and thirty years before that (1922) a diabetes diagnosis was a death sentence for almost all patients.  Why are so many people missing this?

Today, we aren’t so much patients as we are amazing individuals capable of and doing amazing things.  We have little teensy blood glucose monitors that we are encouraged to use—not test tubes or urine strips with 40 mg/dL ranges.  The teensiest one I’ve seen is about the size of a watch—no joking. 

We are so lucky right now, today!

I use tools that most people can’t see when they meet me, which enables me to choose how much I involve others in my disease.  I am strong and fit.  I have a great education.  I have had absolutely amazing experiences in the world.

I credit much of this to my diabetes, and particularly to being diagnosed when I was.

Insulin pumps went from something sick people lugged around on a cart to something on my waistband frequently mistaken for a pager or garage door opener (yeah; that’s my favorite one) that I run marathons with. 

I wear a little gadget that tells me and shows me what it thinks my blood glucose levels are 24 hours of the day.  If he’s irritating me, I can turn him off or tell him to shut up for a few hours.

Absolutely amazing, AMAZING tools when you think about it.

I don’t want to get too Pollyanna on you, here, because of course I’m still mildly irritated that my insulin doesn’t work quickly enough to tackle some foods appropriately, and I’d love a fail-proof catheter for my insulin pump.  I’d love to never wake up with my tongue telling me I’m way past 250 and have a long morning ahead of me.  I’d love to eradicate my dawn phenomenon that means my insulin needs are about twice as much from 8a-noon than they are the remainder of the day.  I mean, I’m a picky demanding type one—I have a list of what I want to see. 

I don’t focus on the things on that list, though.  I’m too busy making my life what I want it to be.

And, if I never get any of those things (many of which I really think are just a matter of time), I’m still way ahead of those who went before me, each of whom were and are pretty amazing in their own rights.  I’m way ahead of people whose bodies work without them thinking about it—because I don’t think they truly value what they have, or what they are capable of.

I’m a type one diabetic in 2012 and I have the world at my fingertips, just waiting for me to reach out.  Pretty cool.

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