As always the conversation turned to my cycling and running and how I use that to manage my diabetes. As I gave her the Readers Digest version of my past with diabetes and events of late I could see her view of me change. Obviously everything in my life has made me who I am today. I've seen and done so much to myself that I know I shouldn't be alive, that is no secret. When I started a new job I forgot that not everyone knows that about me and what they do see is a guy that loves life and has fun no matter the situation. They don't see the man that is a motivational speaker when it comes to diabetes or the guy that cries whenever he runs more than ten miles.
The truth is you can tell a lot about someone when you sit back and watch them for a while, when it comes to diabetes however you can not see the effect it has on someones life. People can see the insulin injections and the blood sugar tests, they can see when your attitude changes when your blood sugar is out of range. They can't see the twenty four hour work that it takes to live a great life with diabetes. They don't see the 2am blood sugar test because you don't feel right.
This may sound like a little pity party for those living with diabetes but someone that does not have diabetes has their own things in life. I don't know what my boss does or faces once she leaves work. That is the point, yes diabetes is a never ending job but it's called life. I love sharing my story about diabetes and my life, it lets people know the real me. Diabetes is my life and as always I owe my life to diabetes, without diabetes I don't know what my life would be like and I'm ok with that. If I had the choice I would choose a life with diabetes over a life without diabetes any day of the week!!