As some of you may have seen on facebook, I had a somewhat tiring start to the week. I was all set to walk out the door, ready to drive to work and BAMM! All of a sudden I felt dizzy. Confused and thinking to myself ' I CANNOT be low'... my BG is soooo sticky in the mornings, so much so that some days nothing seems to bring it down except a a good few units and a run (and then sometimes a follow up shot mid-morning!). I pricked my finger just in case. 2.8! ArrGHhh, I was going to be late for work.As I sat there recovering, jelly beans in one had, extra strong coffee in the other, I thought what do other diabetics do when this happens? When your job is effected because of diabetes. Have you ever not applied for or taken a job because you were Type 1? Do you think you've ever not been accepted into a job because they knew you were diabetic? Have you ever pushed yourself too far at work, just because you didn't what anyone to know that diabetes was actually making life really difficult in that moment?
In the grand scheme of things, this low seemed simple enough but it came at a time when I was supposed to be responsible for an entire public venue, I was supposed to be at work on time. To make matters worse, we had a fire evacuation just two hours after I got to work and I had an extra long day ahead (8am to 9.30pm) which just became so much more daunting since obliterating my energy stores with such a random blood sugar crash. And of course, its not the first time I've gone low and sat munching away, feeling pressured about the extremely inappropriate timing and aggravating sense of humour diabetes seems to have.
I would really love to hear from you about your career. Did diabetes change your career plans? Stop you, or prevent you from fulfilling a role, or a duty? Or maybe it propelled you into a career you hadn't really planned on? Have you made career 'sacrifices' because you've wanted to make better diabetes choices?
What are the little things that help you manage your work life with Type 1?... What are the hardest elements to balance when it comes to a working with diabetes?
One of the biggest stumbling blocks I encountered growing up with Type 1 was a lack of role models who also had Type 1. When I was 10 there was no internet: no Facebook, no blogging, no DOC. We didn't even really get the internet in our home until 1999, but it seemed so foreign and somewhat of a novelty that it didn't really occur to me to use it for diabetes. Then life carried on with other things, as it does when you're a teenager, and its only been in my late twenties that its become such an important part of my approach to living with this condition. I had so desperately wanted some one to look up to though, to show me that diabetes doesn't stop you, that we can still be leaders and champions, that we can be responsible for others, that we can be successful and hold our own.
The DOC is amazing. If only for showing that a happy, healthy, life with Type 1 is possible AND that you are not alone in your frustrations, fear, anger and frequent irony that is life with Type 1. Thank you to every one of you who blog, post, share, comment and just connect. It makes life with Type 1 that much easier.
Feel free to email me your thoughts if you don't wish to comment below.
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