In general, my audience is NOT the newly diagnosed. I am often a little too honest online. A little too brutal about what it's all about. I write for the veterans. The it-getters.
If I met you in person though and you'd just been diagnosed or just had your child diagnosed, I'd look deeply into your shell-shocked eyes and offer genuine words of solidarity and encouragement. We'd have a moment.
I had a moment a few years ago that sticks out in my memory. I had to be digitally fingerprinted that school year to work in Texas public schools as part of an updated security procedure. The man running the machine scanned my hand absentmindedly and reviewed the image on his screen.
I laughed out loud. "You can see the hundreds of holes in my fingerprints from pricking my finger," I mused to myself.
"You have diabetes?" he asked quietly.
"Yes, sir, since I was ten years old," still marveling at the fact that my fingers looked peppered with pinholes.
"My daughter was diagnosed last week. She's eight."
He searched my face for something. An answer? Recognition? A glimpse at who she might become, perhaps?
I patted my pregnant belly and smiled at him. "She's going to be fine. Just fine," I assured him.
And I meant it.
Newly diagnosed or not, these two older posts of mine sum up what I want the general populace to know about diabetes and what my general diabetes outlook is:
--6 Things I Want You to Know About Diabetes
--Avoid Cliches Like the Plague - on the definition of good control
and if you are new to this game, these next two links should be your first stops:
--The TuDiabetes Community - are you a member yet?
--Parents of Children Newly Diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes May Feel...
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| probably all from the same lancet... |
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