If I Didn't Have the D Word, I Wouldn't be Me!

[J.Y.Kelly]

I am the person I am, physically, through my genetic make-up. This is the only reason I am a diabetic, chance. If my genetics were different, I wouldn't be a different ME,............ I wouldn't be ME at all, I would be someone else, not ME in a different body.
I wouldn't be part of the world. Someone else would be here in my place. I wouldn't have access to their life or thoughts, they would belong to an entirely different person.
If not having diabetes meant not being here, I'd take the diabetic option every time.
Diabetes is such a cruel chronic illness, that if you let it make you angry as well, it has a double impact on your life.
I wish I could remain ME and not be afflicted with this ailment, but that won't happen, and I refuse to let it impact on my life any more than it needs to. I'm not angry with it, I beat it every day. I hold it prisoner with medication, I accomplish things it tries to stop me doing.
I am in control of it, not the other way round. Sometimes it gets a bit too big for it's boots, so it gets slapped down. When I am having trouble with it, I get help. I'm still here, so it isn't winning yet.
Just a thought.
Kelly.

 

[Laureny019]

Hi, wow that's a really positive attitude to take.Honestly never thought of things in this way but may have to remind myself of this next time I get bit down 🙂

 

[Robster65]

Brilliant post J.Y. 🙂

You must have read my mind at some point!

Rob

 

[MargB]

Spot on!! You are who you are because of what you have been through/experienced/believe. Good on yer for not wanting to be someone else.

Keep posting, your positive attitude will be appreciated.

 

[Persil]

I love this!! Gave me a boost just when I needed it! Thanks, J.Y!

Vicki 🙂
xxx

 

[J.Y.Kelly]

Thanks people! I wasn't sure how my post would be received as I tend to view things slightly differently to most of the people I speak to about the D word. In saying that, most of them don't have the condition.

I have always found that in life, the only way to get through things is to play the hand you have been dealt, as you won't be dealt another one.
Trying to play a game with the wrong set of rules never works.
Denying that something exists doesn't make it go away.

Kelly.

 

[Caroline]

This is brilliant and positive and I like it very much. I have just been having a conversation with a friend on how much we like being us...

 

[novorapidboi26]

Thanks for sharing.............🙂

 

[Bluebaldybob]

Very positive post J. Y.
Thanks for sharing

 

[J.Y.Kelly]

My son has Addisons Disease, and has adopted the same approach to life as me. He was diagnosed at 12yrs, and we were told he wouldn't live beyond the following few days. He had kidney and liver failure, his blood pressure was so low it couldn't be measured, his heart had started to fail, and he had inflammation of the brain. Thanks to Professor Charles Brooke, he was diagnosed when no-one else could explain what was wrong. At the time he was only the second child in the UK with the disease, which usually only strikes when you are in middle age, and even then it is rare.
Not only did he survive, he now thrives and has children of his own.
He is on medication for life, but like most on here, he copes with it, in spite of the bad times. He has never let it beat him. He also inspires me with his fortitude.
Kelly.

 

[Robster65]

That's inspiring stuff JY.🙂

It's been said many times, that although what we have is invisible and therefore is assumed to be 'not a big deal', there are millions of ailments that are plenty worse.

We're lucky that we can control it to the degree of it being discreet.🙂

Rob

 

[imtrying]

A great post Kelly, really inspiring and something I'm sure most of us need to remember from time to time.

I often wonder if I'd be the same person I am now if I hadn't been diagnosed with the D...as I was only 10, the person I've grown into no-one would know what was or wasn't part due to that (more so that I suppose adults who have already 'found themselves' and grown into adults already. And maybe that never knowing is actually a blessing, as I don't ever feel the need to grieve for the person I once was.

Thanks for sharing 🙂

 

[Northerner]

I'm in a different place to a lot of you guys, as I was 49 when diagnosed so who I am was pretty much established in the preceding decades. I don't think diabetes has changed me much at all, possibly the only difference is that I probably take better care of myself on the whole than I might otherwise have done. Rather, I think diabetes has helped me discover who I am, where my skills and talents lie, where I go wrong with things and given me much greater confidence generally in my ability to cope with things and fight for things I am passionate about. It's also led to me meeting so many wonderful people that I would otherwise never have come into contact with. 🙂

 

[J.Y.Kelly]

I'm in a different place to a lot of you guys, as I was 49 when diagnosed so who I am was pretty much established in the preceding decades. I don't think diabetes has changed me much at all, possibly the only difference is that I probably take better care of myself on the whole than I might otherwise have done. Rather, I think diabetes has helped me discover who I am, where my skills and talents lie, where I go wrong with things and given me much greater confidence generally in my ability to cope with things and fight for things I am passionate about. It's also led to me meeting so many wonderful people that I would otherwise never have come into contact with. 🙂

This is so very true.
I was also 49 when I was diagnosed, but since then I have learnt far more about myself than I thought was possible. Having to live with any condition gives you an insight as to whether you are a fighter or a quitter, someone with fortitude or someone who hides their head in the sand saying they'll deal with the problem tomorrow.
We all have a choice as to whether or not we accept ourselves as we are.
Some things we can change, some things we can't. Knowing the difference is half the battle.
Kelly.