So what is it?? is Cara a type 1 diabetic or does she have type 1 diabetes?
I know for some it is a very touchy subject, for me not so much!
Many people do not like the term "diabetic" because they believe type 1 diabetes does not define them....but my question is
Why would it not define who you are? I believe that it defines Cara the same way that being a girl, 4 years old, having brown hair and hazel eyes, being a 4th child in our family, having brothers and sisters, etc, etc defines who she is.
This is a disease that is with you 24/7, every time you eat, every time you drink, every time you sleep, every time you move, every time you plan to go somewhere or do something you must think about type 1 diabetes.
This is a disease that has the ability to change and control your mood and mind set in a second. With a rise or plummet of blood sugar levels a type 1 can become a whole different person right before your eyes.
This is a disease that changes the way you see the world, and that changes the way the world see you
This is a disease that changes the way that you will grow up
This is a disease that changes the people that you meet and the people you have in your life
This is a disease that finds it way into every single part of your life
This is a disease that you will not grow out of or you will not be cured of (not yet, but hopefully very, very soon) so it will be a part of who you are until the end
This is a disease that can cause your end
So because of these and many, many more reasons I believe this is a disease that has changed and will continue to change who Cara is and who she will be, I think that it does define her. I'm a true believer that the things you experiences in your life changes who you are and I know that type 1 diabetes has changed my 4 year old. And it will continue to define her and change her as she grows and experiences different set backs and accomplishment because of being a type 1 diabetic .
I think that she should be proud of being a type 1 diabetic and not be ashamed to say so!! She has dealt with things that even me a 31 year old has never and will never have to deal with.
Without type 1 diabetes I'm 100% sure that Cara would have been a completely different person and that is not a bad thing
IT IS JUST WHO SHE IS.....
and we love every single part of who she is
a person with type 1 diabetes, a type 1 diabetic :) I believe it really does not matter what term I or she uses just as long as she know and loves every single part of who she is...
10 comments:
I'm with you, my friend!
Addy is a type 1 diabetic who has type 1 diabetes :)
While we're on the subject, I'm not ashamed to call a spade a spade and say that she **gasp** has a DISEASE.
Type 1 Diabetes is a disease.
A person with T1 is a diabetic.
I don't get all gray and whatnot with this stuff. It's pretty black and white to me. It is what it is...
A chronic life threatening disease called type 1 diabetes.
How do we expect society to get educated and learn what we want them to learn in order for our children to have access to services and grow up without a stigma if WE aren't even willing to call it what it is?????
Great post :)
I agree... We need to put it out there. I am not big on the gray areas either. It's Type 1 Diabetes and they are Type 1 Diabetics. We can't hide from it, so why hide it?
I'm with you girls...it is what it is. My boys are the sum of their parts...they are who they are. Part of that is, they are diabetic.
And I'm not scared to call it a disease either...only thing was, when B was first diagnosed, and he would meet a new kid, he would say..."Hi, I'm B...I have a diesease"...and walk away. LOL! It was hard for me to hear. I told him it would probably be eaiser for the kids to understand Type 1 Diabetes rather than "disease." Just an awkward time in our life that I thought I would share. :)
I am with you girls. I have some adult friends that have type 1...they have had it for many, many years and they are VERY sensitive on this issue. I think the more we try to ACT like it isn't a disease, the more we "hide" it etc...we just contribute to the "shame" that so many have regarding the disease...which, BTW, I DO NOT GET at all. Have you guys read Cheating Destiny? There was definitely some good passages in that book about this "Diabetic Shame" - UGH.
Great post!
Nicole, what a great post... I've struggled with the idea of Elise being a diabetic, but I love what you've said here. It IS who she is, but doesn't make her any less of a person. In fact, with all she goes through, I'd say it makes her MORE!
Thank you for writing something I really needed to read.
By the way, Have I told you how much I love that picture of Cara (the We Cara Lot logo)? It's great!
Great post Nicole! I agree with everything that you have stated.
My husband is one of those who are "sensitive" about this label, but I tend to agree that no matter how you slice it, diabetes can very much shape a person or his/her personality.
I know that because of the diabetes, my daughter is a kind and loving person. She is always the first kid to console or to help a hurt child on the playground.
RLP
Great post Nicole... I couldn't agree more !
Thanks everyone for all the great comments, I have been thinking about this post for a while and was not sure how to approach it because I do know that their are people out there who have a very strong believe about this topic. But I just spoke what I believed and thought that it would make an interesting conversation!
I'm glad you all enjoyed it!!
Thank you for enlightening us on this issue. Being so new to the D universe, I had no idea that there was a diabetic/diabetes controversy.
T is diabetic, and he has type 1 diabetes. A disease. It breaks my heart to think about people that are ashamed of a disease that they had no choice in acquiring and did nothing to contribute getting. How very sad. I hope we have instilled a different perspective for T. He has been very open about having diabetes and I have heard him refer to himself as diabetic. He has come right out and said he feels like he has to educate people so they can understand who he is. He has integrated D into the person he all ready was. He said himself that he is a different person with a different perspective on life than he was a short month ago. I hope he feels proud of the way he has handled this life altering event, I know we keep telling him how proud we are.It seems to be very personal and I would respect the way any person wants to be referred to, but I am grateful so far that shame and embarrassment haven't been two more things our son has to add to his new D life. Thank you, we feel so lucky to have so much opportunity for knowledge and sharing.
April
Post a Comment