Monday, May 9, 2011

A Face

Type 1 diabetes doesn't look like anything. At one time, yes diabetes made a person look ill. You could see their bones and knew that they were unhealthy and near death, but now type 1 diabetes has no face.  The most evident way to prove this is to gather in a room with type 1's and if you can find a commonality between all of us despite the fact we have type 1 - good luck.

Type 1 doesn't have a hair colour, some blonde, some red, some brown, some black. It doesn't pick an eye colour, some hazel, some brown, some blue, some green. It doesn't pick a body size, skin colour, height or weight - type 1 doesn't look like me nor does it look like any of the women and men I spent the weekend with.

Our identify is unique from one another and despite people trying to make links towards weight, height, etc. there doesn't seem to be anything truly visually telling.  I remember during the CIM scavenger hunt in Toronto a older man told a group of us type 1's that we were supposed to be tall - clearly a lot of us are NOT even close to being considered tall.

As diabetics we are so used to be different from everyone else on a daily basis for the most part regarding carb counting, checking blood sugar, giving insulin in fact this is what makes us for the most part unique.  However, when you are in a room full of type 1's and you are asked what make you unique  - you are forced to think about other unique qualities that separate you from everyone else.

The truth is though, we have tons of different things from one another, we are not the same despite our daily routines that often match up. We are unique in every single way and concerning our diabetes story for the most part.

Type 1 doesn't have a face.

Kayla

No comments:

Post a Comment