My name is Jill and I've been a diabetic for 27 years. Sounds like I am making a confession and in a way, I guess I am. There have been many periods in my life when I've chosen to ignore diabetes and other times when I acknowledged it but didn't own it. Then there were times when I felt I really held the reigns of this disease. Despite my relationship with diabetes through the tumult, this life has been full of wonderful, emotional, affirming, and terrifying experiences alongside hundreds of thousands of needle sticks, pokes, and proddings.
Two years ago I was in a dark place and diabetes was the main culprit. I had a lot of anxiety about lows and sometimes I felt completely helpless. I was also experiencing signs of early complications and the stress was negatively affecting my diabetes even more. I was afraid of living a life marked by poor diabetes control and ultimately of dying too young to experience all that I wanted. My husband was a great source of support, but I needed something more. I also felt like I did not want to burden my family with my worries and I needed to find others who really understood these feelings.
After doing some google searches I came across a diabetes blog called Six Until Me written by Kerri Sparling. Reading her words made me feel as if someone else was out there who understood. I continued reading and researching and pretty soon I was fully immersed in the DOC, getting daily subscriptions to my favorite bloggers and laughing and crying along with them about all things diabetes.
Fast forward to now and you will find me 7 months pregnant with my first baby while experiencing the best diabetes control I have ever seen since diagnosis. It was through the online community that I found the support of strangers with whom I shared so much just by reading their words. This type of social connection significantly impacted my outlook on this ever- enduring disease, and I realized I could still learn a thing or two despite living with diabetes for more than 2 decades.
So while my initial reasons for getting involved in the DOC were sort of dark and self-centered, it's because of the DOC that I am living the healthy life I wanted and also starting a new one. This blog is dedicated to all the people who live with diabetes directly or indirectly and need a place to come to laugh about it, cry about it, and just be real about it. It's about living a healthy life despite an angry and unyielding disease. It's about support and focusing on the finer points of life, not the sharper ones. :)
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