Guest Post // Diabetes Awareness Month // Remember Me Images

Ahh- November is here. It’s time to spend time with family, eat TONS of turkey, and be thankful for the many blessings we have. It’s a slow transition from fall to winter. The time to break out our fall boots we’ve waited ALL summer to wear!

Something many people do not know it that November is also Diabetes Awareness Month. It’s not one that is talked about often really unless you or a loved one has Diabetes. It doesn’t have awesome catch phrases, it’s not sexy, and it doesn’t involve sports or boobs, but it is a time to be thankful that you or your loved one still wakes up in the morning.

Diabetes is categorized by type: Type 1 or juvenile, where the body’s pancreas no longer produces insulin (which is needed to get energy from the foods we eat) and Type 2 , where the body produces insulin, but the body is insulin resistant.

I have been Type 1 diabetic since 1997! I had no idea what they were talking about when I was 7. Dia-what?? I can’t eat candy? Crap, my birthday is coming up. Does that mean no CAKE?! Over the years I have learned that all that is wrong. Most of what people thought about Diabetes was wrong. And don’t get me started with the things people would ask me! Can you eat sugar? Oh, you can’t have this can you? I would always get sugarless this and sugarless that from kids at school. Thanks guys- I’ve always wanted candy that tasted like I’m licking the bottom of someone’s shoe.

Type 1 diabetes is not from eating too much sugar or candy. And no – there is NO cure. Trust me, no amount of dieting or cinnamon will cure it – yes I was told that once. We have to poke our fingers multiple times a day. We take multiple shots a day to literally keep us alive. It’s that vital.  When we get sick, stressed, or even grow, it will affect our diabetes. The tiniest thing affects us differently than a normal insulin producing body.

In all honesty- it sucks. I’d love to tell my Diabetes to go take a hike. Too bad that’s not how it works. We just accept it. We learn to adapt and live one day at a time. Would you know the signs of diabetes if you saw them? A low or a high? I encourage everyone to expand your minds a little and do some research. You could actually save someone’s life. This is a disease that I’d never wish on anyone.

Please take some time to get informed. Simply go to Google or Bing and type in Diabetes. You’ll uncover a whole word you might not have known. Please visit Project Blue November on Facebook for more facts about Diabetes. And, if you’re feeling generous, ’tis the season, there are many ways to donate to help find a cure! One day, I would LOVE to say that I HAD diabetes.

-Katelyn of Remember Me Images