Am I the Only One? Does it Matter?
Feb. 23rd, 2017 03:52 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
diabetesdiaryA few months ago, about the time I started this blog, I was hit with a bizarre realization.
I am the only person I know who is blind and has Type 1.
Why is this so, if Diabetes is really one of the leading causes of blindness? Among my friends, I am sometimes the only person who is blind, but I am always the only person with Type 1. Always. If this realization occurred to me at the age of fourteen, it didn’t bother me. It bothered me at 26.
What did I do about it?
I made an effort to reach out to other people with type 1. I joined a couple Facebook groups and put the question out there: Does anyone have Type 1 and any vision loss?
The responses were few and nothing I felt I could relate to. Someone had a little vision loss in one eye. Someone else had Diabetic Retinopathy, but they had surgery and could see normally again.
Good for them, but my blindness is not caused by Diabetes. My blindness has been part of me since the day I was born, and I don’t expect to be suddenly cured.
I have, however, been able to connect to posts others make in the group. Sometimes I feel compelled to comment. Sometimes a post will come up that will make me laugh.
I also joined the Beyond Type 1 community a few weeks ago. Beyond Type 1 Is a social media app, a lot like Facebook but exclusively for people with Type 1 or who have a child with Type 1. I made an introductory post, and the first comment said, “Welcome. You’re not alone anymore.” I’ve received and seen nothing but kind comments. It’s comforting to know I can jump on the app or into the Facebook group if I have a question, need to vent, or it’s 2 In the morning and my blood sugar is 448 and I just want someone to understand when I say, “Ugh, Diabetes.”
I think having or finding a community is important. It’s good to have that support, even if it’s not “in the real world.”
That said, the realization that I am the only one of my friends with Type 1 bothers me less now than it did five months ago. It in no way means I don’t love my friends because none of them have Type 1. On the contrary, I have the best friends anyone could ask for, and they have never treated me differently because their pancreases work and mine does not. Likewise, I have never had a sighted friend treat me differently because her eyes work and mine do not. I have a friend who met me in the nurse’s office every day of high school so we could walk to lunch together after I tested and gave myself insulin. The same friend likes to guess my blood sugar when we go out to eat, just for fun. I have a friend who went to the grocery store to buy sugar free syrup, made me brunch, and helped me calculate the number of carbs in my pancakes. A friend in high school asked if I could have hamburgers and other picnic food she was planning to serve at her birthday party, wanting to be sure I was fed and wasn’t eating anything that would make me sick. I have friends who keep Diet soda around at large gatherings just for me. I know all my friends would stop whatever we’re doing so I could treat a low if I needed to.
The point is, I have great friends, and it doesn’t matter that I have Diabetes and they do not. While it may at times feel isolating, while they may not completely understand, I am completely okay with being the only person in my friend group with Type 1. Yes, Diabetes effects me on a daily basis. But it is only a part of me and does not define me or impact my choice of friends.
I am the only person I know who is blind and has Type 1.
Why is this so, if Diabetes is really one of the leading causes of blindness? Among my friends, I am sometimes the only person who is blind, but I am always the only person with Type 1. Always. If this realization occurred to me at the age of fourteen, it didn’t bother me. It bothered me at 26.
What did I do about it?
I made an effort to reach out to other people with type 1. I joined a couple Facebook groups and put the question out there: Does anyone have Type 1 and any vision loss?
The responses were few and nothing I felt I could relate to. Someone had a little vision loss in one eye. Someone else had Diabetic Retinopathy, but they had surgery and could see normally again.
Good for them, but my blindness is not caused by Diabetes. My blindness has been part of me since the day I was born, and I don’t expect to be suddenly cured.
I have, however, been able to connect to posts others make in the group. Sometimes I feel compelled to comment. Sometimes a post will come up that will make me laugh.
I also joined the Beyond Type 1 community a few weeks ago. Beyond Type 1 Is a social media app, a lot like Facebook but exclusively for people with Type 1 or who have a child with Type 1. I made an introductory post, and the first comment said, “Welcome. You’re not alone anymore.” I’ve received and seen nothing but kind comments. It’s comforting to know I can jump on the app or into the Facebook group if I have a question, need to vent, or it’s 2 In the morning and my blood sugar is 448 and I just want someone to understand when I say, “Ugh, Diabetes.”
I think having or finding a community is important. It’s good to have that support, even if it’s not “in the real world.”
That said, the realization that I am the only one of my friends with Type 1 bothers me less now than it did five months ago. It in no way means I don’t love my friends because none of them have Type 1. On the contrary, I have the best friends anyone could ask for, and they have never treated me differently because their pancreases work and mine does not. Likewise, I have never had a sighted friend treat me differently because her eyes work and mine do not. I have a friend who met me in the nurse’s office every day of high school so we could walk to lunch together after I tested and gave myself insulin. The same friend likes to guess my blood sugar when we go out to eat, just for fun. I have a friend who went to the grocery store to buy sugar free syrup, made me brunch, and helped me calculate the number of carbs in my pancakes. A friend in high school asked if I could have hamburgers and other picnic food she was planning to serve at her birthday party, wanting to be sure I was fed and wasn’t eating anything that would make me sick. I have friends who keep Diet soda around at large gatherings just for me. I know all my friends would stop whatever we’re doing so I could treat a low if I needed to.
The point is, I have great friends, and it doesn’t matter that I have Diabetes and they do not. While it may at times feel isolating, while they may not completely understand, I am completely okay with being the only person in my friend group with Type 1. Yes, Diabetes effects me on a daily basis. But it is only a part of me and does not define me or impact my choice of friends.
