Living life with type one or type two diabetes requires a lot of work. It’s amazing how we all deal so differently with that workload.
Some people stay in denial and don’t do a thing: don’t take their medication, don’t change their habits after diagnosis, do precisely what they know is damaging to their bodies, or fight every day to not acknowledge what living with diabetes takes.
Some people immediately take their doctor’s instructions to heart, learn all there is to learn, do everything precisely “right” and are probably their doctor’s star patient.
Some people learn quickly that routine is their best friend, and never vary from day to day: breakfast is food X, drink Y at time Z with insulin A at the same time every day. Any variance is a threat.
Some people think “I just have to do this until…” and some people think “I will be able to get off medication” and some people think “It’s no big deal.”
Some people change everything. Some change nothing.
Some people fight for their child: 504 plans, Americans with Disabilities ride passes at Disneyland, attendance at every JDRF event imaginable: Let’s Get Rid of This Horrible Disease.
Some people participate in clinical trials, some people see a physician once a year to get their insulin prescription renewed.
Some people live with diabetes, others are diabetics, some are persons with diabetes. Some are patients, some are advocates.
Some people tell everyone. Some people tell no one.
Some people see their diabetes as the hardest thing they’ve ever dealt with. Some people struggle every day.
Some people ask “why me?” Some people don’t care. Some only ask in the dark.
Some people won’t go to the grocery store without their meter. Some people don’t know where their meter is right now.
Some people can recite their past three years’ of A1cs. Some couldn’t tell you what the last one was, nor when it was taken.
Some people make charts and graphs. Some people don’t.
Some people go by how they feel. Some people can’t recognize a low.
Some people love their doctor. Some love their Diabetes Educator. Some can’t stand any part of a medical visit.
There are of course a lot of extremes and most of us probably wander between the extremes through the years of life with diabetes. Certain times of our lives will prompt greater focus on our disease, and some periods will necessitate greater distance in favor of a different focus.
It’s always there, always a part of us, no matter what we do.
It’s our diabetes.
