This is the 8th annual Diabetes Blog Week, and my first. Until now my topics have always come from my distracted mind or from conversations with friends that spark ideas. I’m intrigued by the idea of writing on topics that I may not have thought of, or putting a different spin on things I think about every day. We’ll see how it all works out! Want to see what other bloggers are saying about today's topic? Find their links here.
Today’s topic:
Diabetes can sometimes seem to play by a rulebook that makes no sense, tossing out unexpected challenges at random. What are your best tips for being prepared when the unexpected happens? Or, take this topic another way and tell us about some good things diabetes has brought into your, or your loved one’s, life that you never could have expected?
I tend to be somewhat anal retentive and a little obsessive
compulsive about planning, so being prepared for every situation is something I focus on. So instead I’m
going to talk about the good things that have come about because of my Type 1
diagnosis. These are all unexpected
outcomes for me and great developments.
I’m not done, but I certainly wonder what’s yet to come.
The first and most obvious thing T1 brought into my life was this
blog and the desire to tell my story.
When I was first diagnosed I didn’t want anyone to know and
worked pretty hard to hide being diabetic.
Over the last 3 years I’ve gone from not telling people to screaming it
publicly on the internet. That’s a
healthy change – I’m still keeping it pretty quiet at work, but I feel a change
coming there too.
Why? Because I’m finding my
voice, a voice I didn’t realize I didn’t have.
Part of this is undoubtedly due to my advancing age, I’m sure. I worry a lot less about what people think,
and when it comes to T1 I worry less about it with every passing day. With that, being honest about my disease and
its realities becomes more important. It
makes telling my story important, and is helping bring me more out of the shy
shell I’ve lived in since I was a kid.
OK, so it took me over 40 years.
But at least it’s happening!
The last unexpected positive takes me in a different direction,
and is as personal as it gets for me.
When I was diagnosed I wasn’t just freaked out, I was scared about how
my parents would react. I actually tried
to figure out how I could avoid telling them altogether, which I realize now
would have been completely impossible.
Initially, we didn’t talk about diabetes much; I live a state away, we
see each other maybe 4 or 5 times a year, and it wasn’t consuming as much time
and effort at the start as it does now.
But as time has passed, things have progressed. I need more insulin as my body has pretty
much completely stopped producing any, I’ve added a CGM and started a blog, and
all of those contribute to much more discussion. That’s true with everyone, with both of my
parents, my sister and my friends. But
it is most noticeable and significant in how conversations have changed with my
dad. He asks more questions now than he
did originally, and we talk a lot more about how I manage T1 and what I do and
don’t struggle with. We talk about my
health and his health and have conversations we never had before. And of all the unexpected positives that
could have come out of being diagnosed with a lousy chronic disease none of us
ever wanted to know about, that’s one heck of an amazing gift. Thanks, Dad.
I love you.
I'm so glad you've joined in this year and I hope you have fun! You're definitely off to a great start because your list of unexpectedly good things is fantastic!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Karen. And thanks for hosting! I've been looking forward to taking a first shot at this for a few months, and I'm excited about the topics this week!
DeleteAww, your story is so familiar. I definitely kept hush about my diabetes until starting my blog. Glad you are finding your voice! And how awesome that starting a blog has improved your relationship with your dad! Such a sweet story.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Kelley. I'm glad I could tell the story and that my dad could read it today! Seems a lot of us take some time to find our voices.
DeleteI can definitely relate to being pretty quiet with my diabetes to eventually finding my voice. Welcome to dBlogWeek!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Frank. Just another thing that seems to be common in the T1 world. Looking forward to reading the rest of your posts this week!
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