Things ain't never as bad as they may seem

Last night, I was asked to speak about My life with diabetes. I love to give these lectures. It's not stressful at all and I can do what I like to do: share my experience and inform others on the subject.

It was a diverse group of 30 people. When I asked if there were other diabetics in the room, 7 people raised their hand. That was impressive. They were all type 2 diabetics, but that's okay. I gave them the chance to tell their experience too and that was a good idea. People do have the urge to share their own story and to have the feeling that someone is actually listening to them. Diabetes is so much more than injecting insulin or paying attention to our food intake. Once again, my lecture taught me so much about life and diabetes and how to deal with both. It was good to let the public know about diabetes but at the same time show them that diabetes is not the end of the world. They could tell I take good care of myself and after 9 years of diabetes I still haven't got any complications. It was hopeful to them. Some people came to me after the lecture and told me they were going to have their bloodwork done, for diabetes runs in the family. That's a mission accomplished for me. Of course I keep my fingers crossed for these people, that the outcome of the bloodwork will be good. But if they do happen to have diabetes, I wish them all the best and I hope they will find the courage to deal with it in the best way possible.

If you're interested in a lecture on diabetes for your organization, do feel free to contact me. We'll work something out.