#DiabetesLooksLikeMe

#DiabetesLooksLikeMe.

I talk about diabetes a lot (have you noticed?!) but I don’t often share the personal side of what it’s like for me to live with diabetes. I think that’s because I feel as if I have it easier than others… I was diagnosed at 25, so I was old enough to recognize the lifestyle changes I had to make. I’m able to afford medical aid which gives me access to CGM and the latest insulins. Most of the time, diabetes doesn’t take up too much space in my life.

And yet.

I still think about it constantly. I never get a break. It’s with me 24/7/365. And if I’m entirely honest, the reason it doesn’t take up too much space in my life is because I’ve altered my life to make diabetes easier to manage – in ways I perhaps wouldn’t have if I didn’t have to.

I eat the same thing for breakfast and lunch, because then I don’t have to worry about blood sugar for much of the day. I am exceptionally organized, because that way there’s less risk of something going wrong or me being unprepared if my blood sugar goes high or low and I need to deal with it. Just last night, I decided what we would eat for dinner based on what time I wanted to go to bed and how my blood sugar would react to the meal – because diabetes never leaves me alone, even at night.

Having diabetes hasn’t stopped me from doing anything: I’ve travelled the world, walked 500km of the Camino de Santiago, scuba dived, gone on numerous multi-day hikes, birthed two healthy children, written books, have a successful career.

And yet. It’s always there.

And there is an intense loneliness in the fact that my most loved ones can never fully understand what that’s like.

#DiabetesLooksLikeMe is about dismantling diabetes stigma. Bringing all our stories of diabetes into the light so that our invisible chronic condition becomes a little more visible. I’m honoured to raise my voice for diabetes today 💙