Ten years ago today I was diagnosed
with Type 1 Diabetes. My diaversary isn’t something I usually celebrate, but a
decade is a momentous and celebratory feat. I’ve come a long way since my
diagnosis in carb counting, bolusing, and life-living with diabetes as a piece
and not the focal point. I’ve pumped my
way through grade school, junior high and high school and I am now living a
near-independent life with diabetes as a college student. Diabetes is no
picnic. There have been countless tears shed and many punched pillows as a
result of the rollercoaster that is diabetes management. Despite all of the
difficulties diabetes has presented in my life- or maybe because of it- I have
a life I am proud to be living. My
family and friends who have stuck by my side through incoherent babbling while
low and senseless irritability while high mean the world to me. There are so many experiences I wouldn’t have
had if not for my diabetes. So many amazing people I’ve met might never have
been in my life were it not for my non-functioning pancreas. My passion for
advocacy, even my enthusiasm to major in political science may never have come
to the surface. Although I often blame diabetes for ruining my social life or
mood of the hour, it has also enriched my life in more ways than I can count.
So on my
ten year anniversary of my diagnosis I will focus on the many positives. I can
look back on the many advances diabetes management has made in a decade and
look hopefully at the next ten years. From that first night in the hospital, walking
around with my mom well past midnight, I know I would only let diabetes be a
reason to improve both myself and the awareness of the people around me. It’s
nice to look back and feel that I did- am still doing- just that. Here’s to ten
years.
