My name is John, and I was diagnosed with diabetes when I
was 18 months old.
Some of my earliest memories with the disease were when
my mother would give me injections in my buttocks with a glass syringe that she
would boil in water to sterilize it. I also remember when she would call me
into the house when I was playing with my friends to do a urine test using
glass tubes and little pills to measure [my blood sugars] by the color we ended
with. And, then, I would need to eat my lunch as fast as I could to get back
outside to play with my friends.
As a child, the worst thing was when Halloween came and
my parents had me stay home to hand out the candy to other kids so as to keep
an eye on me, so I would not eat the goodies.
As I got a little older and knew what I had, I coped with
it. I was afraid to tell anyone that I had diabetes for fear I would be treated
differently or that people would not invite me to activities with their kids. I
still remember when I would go out to places and everyone would get a cola to
drink, I could only get water, because at that time no one had diet drinks. As
I got older and started looking for a job, I never told anyone I was diabetic
for fear of losing my job.
Eventually, I got a job working in a local hospital
working in food service where I learned that there were a lot more people than
me with diabetes. I already knew what exchanges/ serving sizes were. In turn, I
got to know more people with the disease by getting involved in diabetic
support groups. As time went on, I would go visit other young people with
diabetes and learned that most kids felt the same as I did.
Time has moved on since then, and I have worked in other
hospitals around the country. Diabetes is a disease that can be a real monster
to anyone at any time; so, as a diabetic for forty-six years, with a loving
wife for 19 years, and seven children (none with diabetes)...I cope everyday
and do the best I can.
John N, 47
Marshall, TX
132838