What I wish I’d known before my life changed, permanently…
Before it happened, I guess I would have preferred to know it was coming at all. Less of a surprise. Least of all a birthday surprise. Picture this. You’re 14 years old. Full of life. Full of energy. Christmas had just passed, and you hadn’t put on weight. You’re not fat, but not an athlete either. You should have gained weight. Weird, right? Keep picturing. You’re 14, a day away from turning 15. Huge. But you’re not at home. You’re in hospital, having been diagnosed that day. You wake up the next day and your life has been changed forever, and the first words you hear in the hospital come from your younger brother. “Ha-ha, what did Rob get for his 15th birthday? Diabetes”.
Happy birthday
So yeah, upon my 15th birthday I woke up to the reality that I was now a type 1 diabetic. Saying that though, it took me a day to accept it and move on with my life, with this now in it. Though I knew nothing of it before this time, I wish I had been educated more on it in school. And I wish I was told it’s not that bad, because it isn’t. If you control it, which you can quite easily, you will be okay. Like me. It isn’t ideal, no, but it is one of few conditions that is actually self-managed and possible.
Can you eat sugar?
Perhaps the one thing I didn’t realise before I was diagnosed was that literally no one understands it. At all. “you can’t eat sugar, can you?” is something I still get asked today. It’s not an allergy. Sugar is not poisonous, I just have to use insulin alongside it.
You’re not fat
Thanks. You don’t have to be to become diabetic. You do, however, have to have a pancreas that will tell you to do one and then cease functioning. So I’m not fat, but I don’t have a normal functioning body. Swings and roundabouts really.
Can I have a go?
*sighs* If you must. But your reading will be normal. Oh it’s high? Wait, you just tested 5 minutes after eating 2 donuts, a bag of Haribo and a packet of crisps. Obviously it’s high, you tool. Apparently playing with a glucometer is fun, to non-diabetics at least. I don’t mind letting friends use it, but it does get tedious.
Other diabetics
One thing I wish I did understand before I was diagnosed,was that there were a lot of people either in denial or just in total disregard of themselves. That truly baffled me. Like I said, it took me a day to adjust and get used to checking and injecting. Other people I know would drink regular coke, eat sweets, and not inject. Or others would have a blood sugar of 30 (supposed to be between 4–8mmol), yet be upset because I called them an idiot, rather than sorting themselves.
Sugar tablets
Jesus Christ, no you can’t have one. You’ve had 2 already. I need them. I PAY for them. I wish I’d have known about the extra expenses before I was diagnosed. Luckily, I live in England and don’t have to pay for my equipment. There is a LOT. So there’s something I don’t need to wish for- the NHS. If I were American, I’d be f*cked.
Few thankyous
I do wish, overall, that I knew how good the support would be from the start. Be it from parents, doctors, or my diabetes team who absolutely love me, it’s incredible. I wish I didn’t have diabetes, but it’s a given. At the end of the day, I could complain about my condition. I won’t though. I’m not the type two.
With thanks to Conor Walsh
