How Other People React to My Diabetes – Part 4
This is the fourth in a series of how people react to my diabetes. The good, the bad, and the neutral (not ugly) from strangers and friends. There’s lessons to learn and some silver linings. If you haven’t already, please check out Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3 of this series.
We Can Wait as Long as You Need
At my job I was going out into the field for a full day. We were walking and surveying a creek looking for tadpoles and toads. I didn’t do this field work very often, but I always looked forward to it. Wearing waders and going on toad-seeking hikes sound like a great day to me!
I was going with a coworker who does these surveys all the time. He knows these creeks and knows all the toads and frogs we’re likely to see. And after I told him, he knew all about my diabetes and that I would need to keep checking my sugar number and taking sugar when/if needed.
We’re walking along and I begin to feel faint… my blood sugar is dropping. Without saying much, I walk out of the creek and onto the bank and sit down. He follows me and makes sure I am okay and sits with me until my blood sugar number goes back up. He’s incredibly patient and supportive of me and what’s going on.
He never made me feel rushed or that we were going to mess up the survey. I cannot say how grateful I am for him and his reaction. After some time, I’m able to get back up and continue with the survey. We complete the survey without any other issues.
I am left behind
My brother and I are hiking up a mountain, and we are almost to the top. To get to the top we have to scramble up some rocks, it isn’t a regular hiking path. As I start climbing up, I notice that I’m shaking. I check my blood sugar and realize that I’m low. I have to stop, take some glucose, and wait until my number goes back up.
While this happened, my brother left me there alone so he could make his way to the top of the mountain. I was not happy about this and didn’t want to be left alone while I was low. In the past (at the time of this story and before), my brother was not the best at making me feel secure while I was low.
I was tired, sweaty, shaking, low, and a little afraid of the height of the mountain top. This is not when you leave someone alone. For anyone out there traveling with a diabetic, do not leave them during this time. It is safer to wait with them until their number goes back up.
Your CGM Will Not Ruin Anything
I’m a bridesmaid in my friend’s wedding and we’re getting ready to take some bridal party photos. Everyone is wearing sleeveless or short sleeved dresses, and everyone’s arms are out. Sun’s out, guns out!
It’s time to take bridal party photos! During the photo taking I realize that the way we’re standing my arm with my CGM is facing the camera. I stop what we’re doing to ask the bride if I should switch sides so my CGM isn’t in the photos. Her response is, “Emily, why would you ever ask that, who cares if it’s in the photo.”
This made me feel bad for asking, because she’s right. Why would it matter if my CGM was in the wedding photos. This made me feel better and that I know how to pick my friends! Good job me!
Old Friend Not Knowing I’m Diabetic
I ran into a friend I hadn’t seen in 15 years at San Diego Comic Con. It was so serendipitous to see him randomly at an event that brings in hundreds of thousands of people, and for me to remember his name. (I’m terrible at remembering names.) After we both got over the shock of running into each other like this, we started to catch up.
I got to meet his wife and learn where he was living and what he was doing. I got to share what I was doing and what I have been up to the past 15 years. We cannot begin to tell you how amazing this was, it made both of us so happy!
While we were catching up, I mentioned that I had to check my blood sugar or inject myself. (I can’t remember exactly but it had to do with my diabetes.) This is the first time he realized that I had diabetes. This was such a shock to me because I swear that I had told him before. I am not shy about sharing that I have diabetes, but I guess I don’t always mention it.
Sometimes I Need to be Reminded
Sometimes life gets distracting and I get locked in on something and don’t think about my diabetes. Maybe this makes me a bad diabetic, but from what I’ve seen on social media this doesn’t just happen to me. There are too many things and stimuli happening all around us that make it increasingly difficult to take care of yourself.
One of the things that I usually like is when my friends remind me to check what my blood sugar number is or ask if I injected for a meal. Now if they did this ALL the time, I would probably get annoyed. But every once in a while, is nice. It’s nice when someone else is thinking about my diabetes and helping me take a break from it all.
Diabetes is an all day, every day disease. You never get a day off. So, when your friends help out every once in a while, it’s appreciated.
