As a parent of 3 kids with diabetes I feel like I am an authority regarding how diabetes is never a one-size-fits-all disease. Not that any chronic diseases are OSFA.
I read a lot of blog posts, Facebook posts, and twitter posts and the thing that bothers me most in this time of social media is how even within our own community many pwd and caregivers of cwd seem to think their way is the best and all other ways are wrong. Not every pwd/cwd wants an insulin pump and not every pwd/cwd will want the same insulin pump. Not everyone wants CGMs or to use NightScout to monitor their child’s blood sugars 24/7 nor do all parents set multiple night time alarms to check blood sugars throughout the night – not wanting those tools or that schedule doesn’t mean those parents are bad parents or less caring parents and those who use the tools or set the alarms are not automatically helicopter parents.
Each of my kids manages their diabetes slightly differently. They all have different carb/insulin ratios and correction factors. Each of them is affected differently by stress, exercise, and illness.
It is hard enough educating the general public about the challenges of managing diabetes (regardless of the type), we shouldn’t have to feel judged or attacked by those within our community.
Many pwd/cwd want the world to know that diabetes isn’t who they are – it is what they have. In Kerri Sparling’s words – diabetes doesn’t define the person. Why let a community define how to best manage diabetes?
As far as the general public and mass media – I wish people knew that diabetes isn’t ever a choice regardless of the type of diabetes. Advertisements for diets and health care should not focus on obesity or life style when talking about diabetes. No one ever choses to have diabetes and from what I have seen in regards to research relating to Type 2 diabetes – it has been suggested that obesity can actually be a symptom of having a pre-disposition to insulin resistance NOT that Obesity causes diabetes. Stopping the blame game will improve everyone’s lives regardless of the type of diabetes. IMHO.
The disease varies, and so do the people that have it or are impacted, and so the circumstances of those people. Additionally, all of those things – disease, people, circumstances – change over time. Let’s just be be good to each other and save the arguments for sports or something.