Moving Forward

In my experience, there are a lot of negative stereotypes related to Type 1 Diabetes, including the biggest of them all: the potential negative affects to one's health. From the first day I was diagnosed, doctor's have used the same scary speech about proper blood sugar care in order to avoid potential health problems in the future, ranging from eye complications (glaucoma and cataracts) to foot complications (nerve damage and amputation) to heart disease and high blood pressure, just to name a few. The list of POTENTIAL complications is long, scary, and overwhelming yet completely avoidable with proper care.

And while my care routine is stellar and my blood sugar control is that of an "A+ student," according to my doctors (Go me!), when additional medical problems do arise in my life it's hard not to ask the question, "Is this related to diabetes?" And while my team of doctor's swear up and down and side to side that what is happening has nothing to do with diabetes, I still can't help but replay the last few weeks of blood sugars in my mind. Was it the high blood sugar I had in the middle of the night? Did that unexpected low cause this? All questions I have posed with the response of "Not at all!" from my doctors.

So while I appreciate the reassuring comments that my diabetes control and management is not a factor, and I feel like I should be proud of that fact, it leads to even more disappointment, frustration, and questions. 14 years ago I was handed a diagnosis that changed my life forever, in every way possible. I grappled with feelings of not being normal, asking "why me?", and feeling like my body's normal functions had failed me. And yet again, these feelings have overwhelmed me and taken over my brain and my conversations this week.

Just like the reason I got diabetes in the first place, I may never know what caused this. But thanks to my supportive and positive team of doctors (and of course the family and friend support around me), we're moving forward to find treatment. I've overcome a lot of hurdles with diabetes and found a way to make it work successfully. My brain is already wired to succeed and be strong, so I am hoping to use that to move forward with this. Just like diabetes there will be days of anger and sadness, but in the end I am hoping that the result of this journey will bring joy, happiness, and hope to many.