I find it difficult to avoid reflecting on events when an anniversary approaches. Sometimes, that reflection is very positive!- many great things have happened in my life. Sometimes, it's less positive and it's difficult to avoid wondering "what if..."
What if I wasn't diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes on my 8th birthday in 1984? How different might my life have been? Pretty deep questions and I imagine many of you have asked yourself the same. It's a pointless thing to do, of course, because we can't change what has been and each time I allow myself to ponder the impossible that is quickly where my thoughts finish. Acceptance is a massive part of living with diabetes and probably many other conditions and disabilities. With no cure in sight, it's important to play the hand that life gave to you. If you're still in the game then you haven't lost even if life dealt you a hand that looks like a foot. A diabetic foot? No, let's not go there!
Acceptance is where I am with my T1D. It's given me a kicking, robbed me of various things not least some of my eyesight, yet I don't feel anger or upset towards it. I've been through the grief and it's a very normal thing to experience when you're diagnosed with a chronic illness and any complications from that - if you're going through that then please don't feel that it's wrong or weird. Hopefully, you'll get to the stage of acceptance and playing your foot of a hand as best as you can.
Acceptance is now, of course. I'm 45 (at the time of publishing) for one more day but who knows what 50 will look like? Will complications strike and leave me a bitter, yet young looking, 50 year old? Considering the future is a very middle aged thing to do, I think. Considering the future when you've had T1D for almost 4 decades brings up many different thoughts alongside the sports car, leather trousers and inappropriate relationships with women 20 years your junior. It's easy to slip into thinking the worst but maybe the focus should be on the possible good, if not great, things that the future could hold. Diabetes tech has exploded in the last 5 - 10 years. I write this blog post, today, with the most stable T1D that I've ever had thanks to technology, largely and peer support. There is no reason why that can't continue or even improve further. There is no reason for me to not be here in 30 years, 40 years or more, assuming I don't get hit by a bus or develop a terminal illness. That might be disappointing for some of you on social media but the same applies to you too. Life with T1D is improving all the time and while we might not witness a cure, I think we can still live full, exciting, wonderful lives if we embrace the condition and do what we can to manage it - that will differ from person to person, I know.
Young adult me didn't care about acceptance of T1D, teenage me preferred to ignore it and the 7 year old me who was desperately ill on this day 38 years ago just wanted to stop drinking water and peeing every 5 minutes, to play with his Star Wars toys.
Perhaps peer support is the key in helping others to find acceptance. I try to offer support to others when I can. I've mentored, created areas for others to talk, promoted community, written articles, spoken on podcasts and radio shows and jumped at the chance of helping my friends and peers when the opportunity has presented itself. That might seem like a lot if you're juggling your family life and a full time job. It is! Sometimes, my day is full of work and diabetes advocacy from waking until I sleep again. I'm not complaining, I have taken far more from talking about diabetes than I have repaid. Talking about your diabetes is what you can do to support your peers. By doing that, you're normalising the condition and all the little annoyances, major traumas, sleep losses and victories which you experience. Talk honestly, use your own words and terminology - there is no wrong way to talk about your diabetes.
Thank you so much for reading this blog. I do appreciate your visit and your support. As you might know, I LOVE COFFEE! So I've teamed up with a thing called Buy Me A Coffee. If you enjoy my content and appreciate the time it takes to create such things then you can buy me a coffee! If you leave your Twitter @ name when you buy me a coffee, I will personally thank you. If you'd rather be anonymous then that's totally cool. Thanks for the caffeine!
