I am 42 years old. I have had type 1 diabetes for 27
years and 7 months. I have no complications, and everyone from my eye doctor to
my students (I am a teacher) say that they would never know that I had diabetes
if I did not tell them.
From the age of 14, when I was first diagnosed, until
about age 26, I fought the idea of having diabetes with every fiber of my
being. I then went through a "giving up" phase. Luckily for me, my
mix of genes allowed me the freedom/option of traveling these paths to freedom.
Here is my freedom. I "have" diabetes, but it
does not have me. I am NOT diabetic, as that would have the disease encompass
my whole being, which it does not. I use a blood test machine and two [insulin]
pens to control the disease, rather than the reverse, it controlling me.
Diabetes still surprises me, and, unfortunately, my
husband, in the middle of the night, or late afternoon, usually; but the
surprises are usually used as learning experiences. I do not "cope"
with diabetes, as that would imply it having power over me. Rather, I live my
life as fully as possible, taking a bit of extra time to make sure that I do
not have to "cope" with diabetes, but that diabetes has to
"cope" with me.
Thank you for reading my story. I hope that I have encouraged and challenged
anyone with diabetes to fight and -- at least tie -- the disease that has
"touched, with a large and heavy hand", our lives.
I pray for all of us, as I pray for those searching for a
cure. I plan on living to one hundred years of age, with a high quality of
life, and I pray to be diabetes-free for the second half of my life. :)
Kristen N, 42
Santa Rosa, CA
132838