When I was diagnosed with diabetes 15 years ago, I felt so alone… I had been added to this club I didn’t want to join – like a pesky, lifelong WhatsApp group – and I didn’t understand the rules.
All I wanted was somebody to say to me: “This sucks. It’s so hard! It will get better one day, I promise…”
Pretty similar to what I wanted to hear while I was grieving, actually. Because a diabetes diagnosis can be cause for grief – the loss of the carefree, eat-anything-you-like life, the constant presence of chronic illness.
Except, there’s more to it than that. When we started @sweetlife.org.za it was to show the ‘more to it than that’ side of the story. Diabetes isn’t just about long-term complications and dietary restrictions. With the right information and support, you can live a perfectly happy, healthy life.
And that’s what this community has offered me – and so many other thousands of South Africans with diabetes. Support. People who understand the frustration of high blood sugar that won’t come down, or the discombobulating fear of a 3am low. Who get what it’s like to consider what you eat before you eat it, every time, and try to make the right decisions – every day, forever. (Clearly this is not possible.) Those who understand the highs and lows of 24/7/365 diabetes.
I am so grateful for this community, and so proud to be part of it. That’s why this year we want to share Sweet Life with anyone who needs it – those living with diabetes, or caring for or working with people with diabetes. Anyone who’s interested, in fact.
If you know anyone who might want to join us, please send them this invite. Everyone is welcome! 💙
#diabetesza
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