The Writing Life
Today is World Diabetes Day. As a Type 1 diabetic, I always take a time out from the usual content to do – what else? – write about diabetes. I decided to write a letter to my younger, pre-diabetes self after reading Christel Marchand Aprigliano’s letter.
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Since today is World Diabetes Day and I’m diabetic, I thought I would share some of my story. We’ll return to the regular schedule tomorrow.
I don’t talk about diabetes very often, even though I am diabetic. Before I’m asked what type, I’ll say it: I have type one diabetes, which used to be known as juvenile diabetes until adults started to be diagnosed with it (hence “juvenile-onset” and other terms). I like to be clear about which type I have. Mine can’t be controlled through a strict diet and exercise. Those things help me to manage it and to be a healthy person, but they don’t have any bearing on my ability to break down glucose and to transmit that glucose throughout my body. I have to rely on an external source for that. It used to be insulin injections, then insulin pens. These days, I use an insulin pump, and it looks like a pager.