
What bothers me about diabetes is the complaining about the disease itself. I have found that many do not look at the disease as a gift. I did not always have that mindset, it took me almost twenty years to get to where I accepted my disease. What I have found is that once you stop blaming others or diabetes itself you begin to enjoy living your life with diabetes. Diabetes and life are not perfect, insulin pump sites go in wrong and don't work, you leave your cell phone on the roof of the car. Things happen, the important thing is to not let that moment bother you all week.
I have seen so many people stop living because of their diabetes, I will often hear "I used to be so active but now I can't because of my diabetes." The truth is and always has been that just because you have diabetes doesn't mean you can't do something. When I look at my diabetes and riding a bike I believe that I have a huge advantage over the other cyclist. To be able to ride at high level I need to put in the work as diabetic, I need to eat healthy, balance my blood sugar while racing, and make sure I have the right formula to have a blood sugar that is in range two hours after a race. It sounds like a lot of work but that work makes me better. I love when people come up to me after a race and ask me how I can do what I just did with diabetes. That opens the doors for me to promote how great the disease is and how it helps me. The secret to enjoying diabetes is to challenge yourself day in and day out. Don't let your diabetes hold you back, go out and reach your dreams and show diabetes who is in control!!