During the last 13 years I have rarely had any interactions with other Type 1 diabetics. I know there are support groups and just groups of type 1's that get together but I have never sought out any of these groups for many different reasons. Mostly I think I just didn't want the label of "diabetic." I am so many other things and I felt that hanging out with or joining a group of other diabetics would further increase my association to the disease ... a disease that for the longest time I wanted nothing to do with.
While having dinner with my family after my sister's college graduation this weekend, two of her friends joined us, one of which is a type 1 diabetic. He walked up to the table, introduced himself, and said "Oh I see you have a Dexcom too," and pulled his out to show me. At this moment all of those years of pushing away any association I wanted to have with anyone else with type 1 diabetes washed away and I couldn't help but want to sit and talk with him forever about our shared experiences. We both use a continuous glucose monitor and when he identified that this piece of machinery sitting on the table was a Dexcom meter (since most people think it's a cell phone, pager, or don't know) made me not feel like such an outcast after all. It took this one encounter for me to actually realize that I am not the only one who knows what this feels like.
We got a chance to talk about the Dexcom meter and our shared frustrations and experiences. (Wow! Someone who actually knows what I am talking about!) He also uses the Omni Pod insulin pump that I am in the process of trying to get. I found myself enthralled in conversation about something I am not usually extremely interested in or all that comfortable talking about. I can't believe how ultimately therapeutic this experience truly was. And while I truly appreciate having my family and husband to share my feelings with, they will never know how it truly feels physically and emotionally to be a Type 1 diabetic. It felt nice knowing that I wasn't so alone in this journey.
In my first blog post I mentioned that the day I was diagnosed was one of the most isolating feelings I have experienced. For the first time in a long time, I don't feel so isolated anymore. Although I doubt I will have several Type 1 diabetic friends in my life. I am glad to have had the experience this weekend to have found a fellow diabetic who I could easily open up to. I am really looking forward to continuing to build relationships with others who can relate to this world that I live in.
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