What is normal?

Next weekend I am very excited about a reunion of my t1 people, a support group that was started by the ACU social department, my freshmen year in college. We are celebrating November because it National Diabetes Awareness month! We are going to go bowling and meet some new families that live in and around Abilene. I am so excited to be in that kind of normal. When I say normal I mean that I get to be around other type 1 diabetics. When a person looks at a plate of food they see a plate of food, however when a type 1 diabetic sees a plate of food, they think about blood sugar what type of food it is, how many carbs, how much fat is in it and what it will do to you later. Most people do not think about changing sites and having something connected to you 24/7 or making sure you have fruit snacks or caprisun incase you go low. People do not think about why they feel shaky or sleepy. We understand why we are scared to go to sleep. These are things that Types 1 diabetic’s all have to think about. When we have a group of type 1 diabetics that are all together it’s different. We think about the same thing, we understand each other. The pains, fears, responsibility, being terrified, and so unsure while still having the courage and love to keep going and be that child, college student, or whatever person that type 1 diabetic is. We want to have that sense of normalcy and with those other t1 families I get to feel normal, no diabetes does not go away, but I am not alone I feel loved and understood. I do not have to count the carbs by myself, others remind me to do insulin, and check blood sugars. It is a different world that I get to live in for 2 minutes to a day. Those positive emotions that I am around broaden and build and bring a positive spiral of hope, love, and faith that show me I am not alone and I can be myself.

Media Issues

I get angry at the diabetic TV commercials; I want to flip off the tv set. The reason I get so angry is because they do not differentiate the 2 types of diabetes. What the media has already misinformed to the public has caused hurt and judgment on me, innocent children, and the parents of those children. Saying I have caused my life threatening, auto immune, chronic disease that it was my fault. That I ate too much sugar when I was little, saying I never exercised, saying I did not eat healthy, and saying that it’s all my fault. The looks I get in public while I am checking my blood sugar or even when I say I want to be a pastry chef. The looks other type one diabetic children get and their parents as other people look in disgust. We all know that we cannot be angry at people who have been misinformed, because it is not their fault, it is the media who do not say type 1 or type 2, they have been brain washed into believing there is only one type. That with type 1 it is my own immune system that destroyed my beta cells, that work in my pancreases to create insulin and without insulin DKA, coma, then death however what most of the pubic also does not realize is that we need insulin which is our life support however if we do not count carbs, calculate ratios, basal rates, check our blood sugars, know our bodies, and if we are not careful, even if we are and end up with too much insulin blood sugars would go low and then crash with a seizure. The worst is at night so many parents set there alarm clocks 12,2,4,6 am to check there children's blood sugar and even then they may not catch it in time. Dead in Bed Syndrome a terrible name also the most common death for type 1 diabetics. That is when you are sleeping and have a bunch of mini seizures and die and you do not wake up even being super careful it could happen to any type 1 diabetic. Type 1 diabetes is very different than type 2. My anger comes from my fears of people not understanding the seriousness of this disease, I am hurt by the looks I am given and so many others are, I become scared when mis-educated people tell type 1 diabetic children that they can grow out of this disease that if they eat health and get exercise, and lose weight that it will cure them. I become angry because I still see those commercials and knowing that if I did not know this disease I would be sucked into the same pattern of all those other misinformed people. I do have to say I continually feel loved when I see the people who love and care about me. Who learn, take time to understand, and support me though my type 1 diabetes. I know I am truly blessed with those people who care to learn and know the truth about type 1 diabetes.