Diabetes Blog – Happy-Medium.net

We’re right in the middle of Diabetes Blog Week! Myself and many others are posting for 7 (seven!) straight days. This is day five’s post. Haven’t heard of Diabetes Blog Week? Get the lowdown by clicking on the banner above. Now, on to today’s subject:

Just like in the movie, today we’re doing a swap. If you could switch chronic diseases, which one would you choose to deal with instead of diabetes? And while we’re considering other chronic conditions, do you think your participation in the DOC has affected how you treat friends and acquaintances with other medical conditions? (Thanks to Jane of Jane K. Dickinson, RN, PhD, CDE and Bob of T Minus Two for this topic suggestion.)

This is an easier topic for me. Since doing the My Week With Celiac series earlier this year, I feel a special kinship with those dealing with Celiac disease.

Let me tell you… Having to eat gluten free for an entire week was hard. And it’s not just sticking to a gluten free diet. It’s keeping the gluten away from everything you come into contact with throughout your day. Every day. Does that sound hard? You bet it is.

I think that switching out my diabetes for celiac might at least get me to eat healthier. It’s no secret that my diet is a something that needs a lot of work. So going gluten free would at least get me to cut out a lot of the bad carbs. The hard part for me would be to keep from getting “glutened” by trying to eat gluten free, but not keeping everything that’s gluten free away from everything that’s not gluten free. That would be the real difficulty.

Now, has my participation in the DOC (Diabetes Online Community) affected how I treat friends and acquaintances with other medical conditions?

I’ll just repeat what I’ve said in the past: Being cursed with diabetes means that I’ve been blessed with perseverance and empathy. I think that empathy thing is especially true for everyone in the DOC. It seems to me that this community is so welcoming because either nobody else is talking about us at all, or when they are talking about us, they’re saying the wrong things. So when we see others in a similar situation, whether they’re People With Diabetes or People With Another Condition, we instantly feel that empathy. It’s a common thread that’s sewn through all of us.

And I hope that thread stays with us, and stays strong for a long time to come.

P.S. I’m off to Easton, Maryland today for the Chesapeake Bay Tour de Cure. I’ll be riding in the 55 mile event on Saturday. If, by some longshot chance, you see me tomorrow, please say hello.