On NOT Letting Diabetes Define You

By: Andrea Romie, guest contributor

Hi, my name is Andrea and I have Diabetes.

Wilford Brimley has become well-

known in recent years for his Liberty

Medical commercials

At the tender age of 12, I had a lot of growing to do, both mentally and physically, but I certainly already had a solid personality.  I was a loquacious, perhaps too mature (if you ask my parents), fiercely independent little girl.  However, when I was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes, I knew I had something that would change me and shape the rest of my life not for the worst, but in a much different way. Not long after I was diagnosed, I knew I never wanted my disease to define me.  I don’t refer to myself as a Diabetic, rather than someone with Diabetes.  I think there is a certain stigma or stereotype about “Diabetics” and I do not, nor do a lot of other people like me, fit the bill.  It doesn’t help my cause to have old men with white mustaches riding on horses talking about Diabetics and their “Diabeedez” equipment in lame commercials every night on prime time television.  If you don’t know what I’m talking about, take a gander at the YouTube link here.  I don’t feel like one of those Diabetics he’s referring to - ones who start their day off with a brisk walk at 5 a.m., eat dinner every day during the early bird special and reward themselves with a nice piece of sugar-free candy.  First, that stuff sucks and should not be allowed in the candy aisle, and second I never planned on having the same daily schedule for the rest of my life.

I knew very early on that I wanted to be healthy and responsible while living a life that allowed me to be a regular kid.  While I was still on “N” and “R” shots (we all remember those), I did NOT like having to wake up early during a sleepover to eat breakfast and take my insulin and I certainly did NOT like missing out on eating at the Rainforest Café during a class trip in Chicago because it wasn’t scheduled during my set dinner time.  That strictly regimented lifestyle was super annoying and not fun, especially for a pre-teen.  Within a year of my diagnosis, my doctor allowed me to go on Humalog and a long acting insulin which gave me freedom and a chance at being a regular kid again – just one who always had syringes, a blood sugar monitor and glucose tablets on hand.  After remedying that little snafu in Chicago, I figured, “this isn’t so bad, I can deal with this”.  Of course I have my bad days especially when I seem to be low ALL the time or high ALL the time for no reason. Sometimes I hate dealing with it but, in general, I have a “c’est la vie” attitude towards my disease.  I really hope that other kids dealing with their diagnosis can feel the same way – you can be just like everyone else, active, healthy, spontaneous but just a little, well, special.

Ever since my presentation to my 7^th grade class about these new shots I’d be taking, I’ve been extremely open and never ashamed of the fact that I have Diabetes; however, it’s not something that I lead with.  Like “Hi, my name is Andrea and I have Diabetes.”  There are so many other things that come up in conversation before the inability of my pancreas to create insulin.  We all will deal with it in our own way but for me, this is how I see it – Now, at 26, I am a loquacious, averagely mature, fiercely independent woman, wife, daughter, sister, friend, runner, amateur chef, marketing guru and oh, yeah, I have Diabetes.