What is my message?

Why am I here? Not in the usual, philosophical search for God type of "Why?", but from the practical angle of why do I feel my voice needs to be heard, or more gently, why do I want to share my thoughts... That is not to say that there is also a philosophical angle as well, but I'll get to that.

For me, the most important Diabetes message would have to be - YOU ARE NOT ALONE!! That means EVERYONE - T1, T2, T1.5 (LADA), Gestational, Monogenic, MODY, NDM, and any others I haven't heard of. While how the balancing works may vary, we all have things in common to bind us together. We all have a dietary concern and we all worry about blood sugar levels. It drives me crazy that there are those among us who feel their type is "worse" than another, or who still believe that some types of diabetes are self inflicted. (Be aware, I am moderating comments and hurtful ones will not be posted.)

We did not do this to ourselves - NONE OF US - NOR DID OUR PARENTS! My parents didn't feed me sugar the first two years of my life causing part of my pancreas to kick the bucket. My Type 2 friends did not eat themselves into it. In fact, modern science is starting to find that the weight issues seen alongside Type 2 may actually be indicators of the diabetes developing rather than than the cause.

As for what I am trying to accomplish, I would like to make sure that one person, any one person, realizes there are people out here that understand and are here for them. I was alone for most of my first 20+ years of my diabetes, and at times, it was crushingly lonely - no one understood. I didn't understand until 5 trips to the hospital that I am my own advocate and I can walk out of a hospital if I feel the need to do so (A six day trip in for a low that became high that became higher that became one more night for more testing until my father showed up and said Let's go!). We are here for you. Ask questions, ask for help. Someone out here has experienced something similar and can at least be there to listen.

I'm here - ask me about my diabetes, or yours, any time!