What I Wish for People with Type 1 Diabetes
I wish you never had to know the pain of four finger pricks a day.
I wish you never had to know the pain of four daily injections or more.
I wish you never had to know the anxiety of going to your routine endocrinologist appointments and having your A1C “tested” and blood sugars carefully nitpicked, then being scolded shortly after instead of getting compassion, informational therapy, and empowering lessons for a sustainable recovery.
I wish you never had to know the fear of going to bed at night and not waking up from low blood sugar.
I wish you never had to know the fear of stepping on a treadmill or running a track race and wondering if you’d drop so low, you’d fall and hit the wall.
I wish you never had to know the fear of a romantic partner leaving you because type 1 diabetes is “too dramatic” or “too much” for them.
I wish you never had to know the doubt of feeling you’re too hard to love.
(You’re not. Not at all.)
I wish you never had to know the feeling of constantly questioning if you’re a burden to those around you.
I wish you never had to know the frustration of battling with health insurance over which prescriptions you need to be covered.
I wish you never had to know the fear of entering a New Year and wondering how you will get your next vial of insulin, or where it will come from, and how you will prepare to pay for it or if you can at all…
I wish you never had to know the stress of filing claim after claim with your health insurance only to be denied time after time in tears.
I wish you never had to know this disease, but you do.
I do too.
Type 1 diabetes is a cruel disease with no breaks in between these moments, but as much as this disease causes us grief, it teaches us so many valuable life lessons early on that others aren’t exposed to until much later in life, if at all.
Life really is what you make it, and these wishes are under another wish — renewed perception for this disease and your self outlook in the New Year.
I wish you will get access to better healthcare and technology in the New Year to better manage your disease without the trials and tribulations of finger pricks and insulin shot injections.
I wish we will vote in leadership that helps us thrive with this condition and helps us gain access to affordable healthcare we so need, we so direly need.
I wish you will find a doctor who empowers you and doesn’t tear you down for a high blood sugar streak, one that works with every part of your health to promote it overall.
I wish you will find a doctor who understands your pain and works to make it better with a compassion and knowledge base to guide you in harmony and health.
I wish you will gain access to a Continuous Glucose Monitor so you will always know the status of your blood sugar levels whether you’re eating, exercising, sleeping, working, or are doing something else.
I wish you sustainable peace of mind and body.
I wish you find the love you seek in others in yourself as to attract the right person and show them how you should be treated. How you treat yourself shows others how to treat you, and you are not too difficult to love. You are not a burden.
I wish you will find the whole, supportive, and empathetic love you need from your family, friends, and romantic partner.
I wish you will never ever give up on yourself.
I wish you will always understand you are worth the 24/7 fight.
Even in our lowest moments, people with type 1 diabetes know that you never stay down too long. The next high is right around the corner, sometimes literally. The best thing we can do as people with type 1 diabetes is adapt and evolve and be kind to and patient with ourselves and our journey.
This journey should be handled with grace, optimism, and dignity as we go so that we can truly live our most whole and positive lives. People with type 1 diabetes can become enlightened early on in their lives on the road to adulthood.
We are taught what it means to slow down, to live in the present, and to cherish it with our whole hearts, sometimes at just 10-years-old or less.
Type 1 diabetes is a difficult condition, but it can never tear us down completely. For every complication we manage daily, and trust us, there are many, there are at least two life lessons packed next to it.
Gratitude is a great gift we offer ourselves in spite of this disease.
For every cruelty, this is the lesson, and I wish you will take the time to acknowledge it, give yourself credit, give yourself love, and cherish every moment you have.
This life is beautiful. Type 1 diabetes or not, there is so much to be happy about and grateful for…
I wish you ample health and happiness in 2020 and beyond. Type 1 diabetes is one thing I’ve constantly wished to go away over the years, yet I value every life lesson it’s given.
I had been battling with health insurance over various type 1 diabetes-related claims since May 2019. I am not one to give up, but after many calls, paperwork, denials, and tears, I started to believe I wouldn’t get the outcome I was looking for, but last night, I saw my persistence pay off (literally), and after these months of frustration, I was so happy I persisted and never gave up on myself.
I finally signed my reimbursement checks last night.
I wish you will realize the same as me at this moment I had last night. I had come to this conclusion before but perhaps hadn’t lived it as solidly until I signed these checks last night, fittingly with this*.
Change is possible.
I wish for so much positive change for this community in the New Year and way beyond, and I will do my part to not just keep fighting for myself, but everyone in the community too.
I wish for the world we envision to come to fruition as people living with type 1 diabetes in the New Year.
I wish that whatever comes our way, you will never put down your self-value next to this disease.
