Nov. 14 – World Diabetes Day. What it means to me.
Years ago,
- Long before I became a registered dietitian …
- Long before I chose to dive head first into the T1D world, beyond my own T1D of course…
- Long before I dedicated my career to all things T1D, when I was just another person with T1D …
This day didn’t mean much. I’m not kidding it. It was just another day.
I mean, I’ve got diabetes, it’s a day about diabetes, but every day for me is diabetes, so, no biggie right?
Well…
My thoughts have since changed – drastically!
And I’m hoping this post helps change it for you too, whether you are a person with type-1, a person affected by type-1, or type-1 interested.
The importance of World Diabetes Day according to me
This day:
- Is a day for advocacy and awareness. We all need a little (or a lot( of both in our lives, don’t you think.
- It’s a day to highlight the struggles and the strengths, because, yes friends, we T1Ds do have opportunities for both.
- It’s a day to remember the past of this disease (thank you, thank you, thank you Charles Best, Frederick Banting, and yes, in Canada, Tommy Douglas too!!). And also, to look towards the future – hellooooo AID!
- It’s a day to reflect on how far we’ve come with this disease. Whether this is day one of T1D or day 500,761, every moment, every minute, every day is potential for another step forward.
Even more reasons for shining importance
This day is a day to express frustrations. And let me tell you, there are many, like:
- Was there not supposed to be a cure 10x over by now?
- And how about the high costs for diabetes supplies here in BC – the highest in all of Canada
- And hey, why does BC not have automated insulin delivery (AID) coverage yet?
- And why the heck is my Dexcom Bluetooth so finicky during loud concerts?
But this day is also a day to show gratitude – for the community T1D has brought. This disease and subsequently the T1D community has given me some of my closest friends, and that is pretty freaking cool! For sure, worth gratitude!
Finally, World Diabetes Day is a day to dream.
I will always dream for a better life with T1D for me, for you, for all of us.
We all deserve that!
So, yeah, World Diabetes Day is not just another day.
It’s a big day, a huge day, a totally supercalifragilistic diabetes day!!
Happy World Diabetes Day friends. Please do take a moment to celebrate YOU!!
And…
If you’re a British Columbia resident, please do take a moment to watch this video campaign for getting Pharmacare coverage for automated insulin delivery pumps.
Did you know that BC is the only province to not have coverage?? That needs to change.
My wish for this World Diabetes Day is for all of you to take a moment to advocate on behalf of all T1Ds, and the right for T1Ds to have choice in their modes for insulin therapy by contacting your local MLA. Visit www.aid4bc.ca for more details, and for an easy click the button template to send directly to your MLA.
We T1Ds in BC thank you in advance š