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This is one of the contributions to:DIABETES ESSAY AND POEM COMPETITION 2010
I am Adrianne, I am 16, and I have just left high school. I am sitting my GCSE’s. I have type one diabetes, and have to have at least 3 injections a day, yes this gets me down but I guess I have learnt over the past 8 years to deal with it, because I know as well as everyone else, that I have diabetes for the rest of my life, well if someone, somewhere discovers a cure, but until then I have to live with it. Seriously now, is it really that bad? Think of all the other conditions which I could be unlucky enough to have, cancer for instance? I would much rather have diabetes than an awful condition like that.
Diabetes doesn’t stop you from doing anything. If you have a dream then I believe you should do nothing less than try your hardest to achieve it. Having diabetes hasn’t stopped me from doing anything I have wanted to do, and I won’t let it stop me doing anything I want to in the future. Lately my mum has been saying that “I push her out of controlling my diabetes” whereas she used to do everything for me, relating around my diabetes. She did every single one of my injections, also she wrote every reading down, it must have been hard work, especially with my younger brother who is 13 having diabetes too. She did this for both of us day in and day out. We appreciated it so much then mum, I hope you realise that!
But now I have left school and I am starting to grow up. I want to explore the world by myself, try new things, and be my own independent woman. I don’t really want to rely on my mum to do my injections. I talked to my diabetic nurses about doing my own injections and we came to the conclusion that I didn’t like the fact of gently pushing the needle into my skin; this is what was holding me back. So I discovered a pen called a “pen mate” it is a cover which you put over the pen and it hides the needle and fires the needle without you pushing it in yourself. After using this I have never nagged mum about doing my insulin for me again. Mum always offers, and suggests for her to do it in a different place but I prefer to do it on my own accord now. It is so much easier.
If I come home and tell mum and dad about meeting a person I have been talking to, mum always asks me if I have told them I am diabetic this really annoys me, because I don’t see why I have to tell someone straight away. “Oh hello I am a diabetic and my name is Adrianne.” It’s just weird; I don’t find it comfortable doing this, if it comes into topic of conversation or they ask then that is fine.
I hold my diabetes close to my heart and I don’t really like letting people in to discuss it.
If you ask my friends they will tell you that if I could I would sneak of and do my injection quietly. But people I am close to understand what I have to do and I just do it in front of them. All my friends know exactly what I am doing, and they would never treat me any different because I am a diabetic. I can be just completely normal with them, but they know a little secret about me, that strangers don’t.
My attitude towards my diabetes has changed dramatically over the past 2 years, I would say. I used to hate having it, and I felt so angry and negative towards it, I think my brother is going through this stage, but he’ll come out the other side, just like I did, I am confident of that. It is a struggle to be different to all your class friends and people around you. But I look at it now as though no-one is perfect, everyone has their differences, ours is that we have a condition, but it doesn’t change the person we are! It just means we have to take extra care of ourselves!
When I was 14 I went on a diabetic weekend to the Lake District, I have never been so scared in all my life. I kept thinking, what if no-one likes me? I don’t know anyone, what will I do? I’m going to be left out. All these crazy thoughts rushed through my mind. But once I got to the car park where we all met to get on the bus, I started talking to others, I realised that everyone was in the same position. That weekend changed my whole attitude towards my diabetes and my life! It is one of the best things I have ever done! I proved everyone wrong, everyone thought I would come home and not stick it out. But I was determined to finish it! I came home so proud of myself, and I made friends I will keep forever!
The year after I went again, mainly because all the others that i became close to were going, so we all agreed to go and catch up, but that year was amazing too! The activities you do are fantastic! The mad thing about it was that everyone had a hypo at the same time, or everyone was hyper at the same time. I had never experienced things like this before. This really made me think. IM ACTUALLY NOT ALONE! I really am thankful for my mum and dad pushing me to go on these amazing weekends! I had the time of my life, and I learnt so much. I think any young diabetic should experience time away from home, to learn new things relating to their condition. You really will befit from it, it changed how I look at life completely!
I can’t really remember life without diabetes now, after 8 years looking back I can remember Easter – filling my face with chocolate now we only have one Easter egg. But I am over the moon to have that! The day I was diagnosed with diabetes sticks in my mind just like it was yesterday! I don’t think I will ever forget that day! That was the day my whole life changed! You could look at this in a good way, because having diabetes means you have to control your blood sugars by what you eat, so healthy eating is essential, so this stops you from eating junk food, which will increase weight. So many diabetics are healthy and fit. This is an advantage we have on, well what you can call other people, because if I say normal, it’s making us sound like aliens, and we’re far from that. Or should I say people who don’t suffer from diabetes?
Everyone has their bad days, whether you have diabetes or not, it happens to everyone. Everyone goes through hormones, girls more than boys! It’s natural! It’s horrible, but you’ll get through it. Its life, diabetes is just something that affects us and there is nothing we can do to change it. It’s a part of us, which will be with us forever. But it’s not the end of the world, unless you don’t luck after yourself. So take care of yourself, and there shouldn’t be any problems!