Running Against the Wind

I am honoured that I have been asked by JDRF Canada to be part of their Blogger Network. When they reached out to me, I couldn't get over the fact that they even found me.  But I also know that as a person who happens to blog, who has lived with Type 1 diabetes for a very long time and also live in Canada, that it could happen, and then it did. :) 

Living with diabetes is like running against the wind. 

Sometimes living with it is like being brushed by a gentle breeze - the calm days that quiet our minds, when our blood sugars behave and we can exist in the diabetes happy zone, almost like 'regular' people. 

There's a whirlwind of doctors - specialists and general practitioners - who endlessly discuss our A1c's, our eyes, feet, and other body bits that can be affected by diabetes, as we worry our bodies might betray us as we get reminded about what we should be doing, and what we shouldn't. 

Credit: kubcia

Diabetes can be like a tropical storm, which can batter you, throw things at you that you didn't see coming, which leave marks like unseen bruises. 

Low blood sugars pop up at unexpected moments. Sometimes we can see them coming, and they leave us numb and confused.  They wake us up in the middle of the night or keep us up, not letting us get the much needed sleep, ironically because we were up the night before, dealing with yet another low.

There's the frustrating high blood sugars, which despite throwing insulin at them, routinely mock us, laugh at us like those creepy little gnomes that live in people's gardens. Then, just to add a little insult to injury, because as we overcome the high with insulin to attempt to get those numbers down, because the system is imperfect, back down to lowland we go. 

Don't be disheartened though, for diabetes gives us resilience. All of these winds have made us who we are. 

If we each had a magic mirror, and could wish away all of those winds away from our pasts, and whisk away all of our challenges, it would also wash away the discovery of how strong we really are, and who we have become. Without that, would we be who we are today? 

It's  not all about those storms. But I've learned over the years, just as those gentle breezes shift, diabetes also shifts. I continue to get by, to survive, and I will continue my journey to become a better and stronger person, while running against the wind. 

Sometimes I go about pitying
Myself,
While I am carried by the wind
Across the sky. ”
            ~ Frances Densmore

We can change the direction of the wind. We can do it many ways, including supporting, or even participating in the TELUS Walk to Cure Diabetes. Our very own DOC (Diabetes Online Community) member, and Canadian, Alanna Swartz, is stepping out to make such a difference. 

Let's change the direction of the wind by participating, supporting a family member, or any one of our T1D friends, or at least share the word with others. If you live somewhere else, look up your JDRF chapter and find out what they are doing, to make living life with diabetes just a bit better for all of us. 

This Walk raises critical funds for research focused on curing, treating and better preventing Diabetes. I am all about that! 

And is it a fit? I'll let you figure that part out, and I'll just continue writing, and hope what I share with you here gives you something to reflect on.