 On my 18th diaversary at Le Petit Maison in Dubai. LPM retweeted my pic saying "Fierce selfie time with @globaldiabetic #LPMDubai - I call that a Diabetic Win! Every year on the 11th February I love to be surrounded by my family and friends. I call it my “Celebration of Life Day.” It is the day that 18 years ago I was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. A day I’ll never forget. I was told by the doctor do not pass go, do not go home to get clothes, go straight to emergency at the hospital. Which I did, with mum by my side. I was 14 and mature, yet vulnerable with no idea what diabetes was. I thought it was just something where you ate too much sugar or not enough… how wrong I was.. IT’S ALL ABOUT BALANCE! Type 1 diabetes is where your pancreas decides to go to sleep… forever.. and basically the holy juice (insulin) can’t convert the sugar we eat into energy, so us diabetics need to inject it or pump it in to our glorious bodies! It essentially makes us more awesome (than we were before), and a term we love to use, a diabadass! So what’s this about balance? Well, imagine how hard it is to walk a tight rope. Now imagine trying to eat while walking a tight rope. That’s us. EVERY SINGLE SECOND OF EVERY SINGLE DAY. We don’t even get a break from the circus. There’s no end to this tight rope (for now). We just hold our head up high and literally become masters at multitasking. Like when you’re talking to me at the dinner table (or anywhere I’m about to shove food in my mouth), I’m literally:
Every single day I am thankful that we (us diabetics) can manage this. Even though I get it wrong all the time and eat too much, or give too much insulin.. The more positive I am, the more positive I'll be. We can all learn from this. So when it comes to my diaversary, hell yeah I wanna celebrate. This gift of life we’ve been given, we need to grab it by the you know what and sing from the mountain tops!! We must live, laugh and love our way through it. We are lucky we live in an age where medical and technological advancements are exactly where they are. Not to forget this great thing called the interwebby where we can connect and “socialise” with likeminded souls half way across the globe! So celebrate life, celebrate your gifts, celebrate yourself and those around you. Fill your days with positivity.  My twin sister Anna, made this collage for me this year. So sweet. And no, she doesn't have diabetes. And sorry, I have no idea why. If I had a dollar for every time someone asked me why she's not diabetic... I'd be a millionaire. Come on people, isn't is good enough that I said she's not diabetic!!
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 Nothing will stop me from wearing my insulin pump. Not even the red carpet. When my twin sister offered to lend me her very expensive Tom Ford dress for the Dubai Grazia Style Awards, I couldn't say no! However, reality quickly sunk in, where on earth will I put my pump? For years I resisted getting a pump because I didn't want to look different. Diagnosed at the age of 14, I had other teenage issues to worry about. I always put my diabetes low on my priority list. In fact, I don't think it was even on any list for a long long long time. Fast forward to my prime age of 32, diabetes is more than just a priority, it's completely changed the way I think about food, the way I eat food and the way I manage it. A year ago my husband and I decided we wanted to plan for a baby. That's right, I wanted to PLAN my diabetes management! I wanted my sugar levels, my diabetic management and my emotions to be somewhat aligned or better yet, stable! It was time for me to get off the diabetic roller coaster. Although getting off the roller coaster is not possible without a cure, reducing the height of the highs and the depth of lows is more achievable than I thought. Pre-planning pregnancy was the best catalyst to getting an insulin pump. Doctors told me years ago that a pump would help me, but wearing nice dresses obviously overshadowed the benefits (how wrong I was). Knowing that the pump can deliver minuscule amounts of insulin, tell me how much active insulin I have remaining, calculate my bolus based on my carb ratio and much more, makes wearing the pump my best friend. I've become very inventive with where to put it. Back of the dress is always a winner if the front of the dress doesn't allow it. I've been asked: Am I singing tonight? Is that a pager? Is that a phone? What is that? And every time I explain it's my insulin pump and I'm diabetic and depending on their perceived level of interest, I either go into full blown diabetes teacher mode, or leave it at that. I don't have to explain myself to anyone, but awareness needs to start somewhere hey?! I wear my pump loud and proud. Don't ever let fear of what others will think stop you on your path to a better you.   |