This is what I do

People often ask me what I do for a living. Well... that is pretty hard to explain. I don't feel the need to do anything. I like what I do now. I like to hang out with others and I like to talk about diabetes. So I attend workshops and I teach others about diabetes by giving similar seminars. There are several invitations to go out there and spread the word on diabetes. I like to educate people. Probably the teacher inside of me? I don't know. I'm not a professional diabetes nurse and I do not pretend to be one. The seminars I give are based on my own experience with D and the way I look at it. Giving medical advice is not my job and I won't go there. There are professionals out there to fulfill that need.
I hear that I can be a great motivator and I want to use that given to help out others. I want to let other diabetics know, that life isn't over after being diagnosed. Okay, it's a chronic disease and diabetes complications are not to be waved away. That's not what I come to talk about. I want to educate, to reassure, to inform and to spread awareness. I want to comfort people, reach out to them and refer them to a doctor who can help them move on and get good treatment.

You have no idea how good it feels, when someone comes over to you and tells you they have better control over their diabetes because I motivated them. How well their HbA1c has become since they started to count carbs and got better information on how to treat their diabetes. It's heart warming to hear that a teen is doing so much better since she started pumping insulin. The joy of her parents was overwhelming and I can relate to their concern. It's so wonderful to see someone bloom and grow because of your interference. That's why I do what I do. And I do it with all the warmth of my heart.

The other week, I went to visit a nun, who's been a T1 diabetic for 26 years. She had no idea that her not recognizing hypoglycemia actually had a name: hypo unawareness. She didn't know what carbohydrates were or what they did to her blood glucose. She had no idea there were appliances like insulin pumps, to help you get better control. So we had a good talk and last week, she was in the hospital to learn how to count carbs and to get to know her insulin pump. She was in tears by my visit and so happy she had finally met someone who understood what diabetes is about. I was proud to see that she had followed my advice, since she was going through her carb counting book to search for the carb contents of her dinner. She had so many questions and tears of joy and relief were rolling down her cheeks.. And that's what I do..  It may not be a job to you, but it's what I'm good at. It's what I do best. And it's what I like to do.