Diabetes has made me a better person

Well basically since I've been diabetic I'm more sensitive to other's needs just because I know how it goes when you feel left out or feel like something is holding you back (i don't let that happen anymore).  I'm not sure if I would be the carrying individual if I hadn't gotten diabetes in 7th grade, I don't hesitate in saying I am thankful for being given this disease because it has shaped me for the better :)  It has its downs but I think if I can deal with diabetes I can deal with anything...knock on wood ;)

Thoughts?

Hmmm, well while i wouldn't go off saying that I'm thankful for having diabetes, i get what you mean.  I suppose in some respect, it may have made me more compassionate and perhaps influenced me on the career path I'm pursuing (who know?).  On the other hand, I feel no pity when I see a kid fussing because s/he has to get a shot, while others look at the child and feel sorry for their 20 seconds of discomfort.  Maybe that has to do with the fact that i had to take multiple shots since I was 3, and know the pain is not such a big deal (or I'm a horrible person deep inside!).

That being said, although we won't really know what we would have been like were we not diabetics, I'd like to believe that I would continue being the same person I am today.  Nothing more, nothing less.

I would have to agree with both of you. I don't really know if I'm better for having diabetes because I've always been this way, but I do agree I'm able to somewhat have more compassion for other's. But I would also agree with Ruth about others having to take shots in that I have no pity or I don't feel sorry for them when it's only a matter of a shot that will only last a few seconds and they may never have to have another.(I'm with you Ruth in not knowing if that makes me a bad person deep inside!!!)

But I think that having T1 is somewhat of a blessing in disguse as it could be alot worse for us, we could also not have the medical technology advancements that have happened over the years. And we could still be back in the days of not being able to test by ourselves(we would have to go the dr's office like they had to yrs ago). So in that respect I'm glad that I was dx when I was and that I have people like everyone from this site that know what I'm going through.

But for the most part I'm still the same person I have always been, maybe more understanding and compassionate.

 

CJ

In answer to your query, I would say that I have become more effective at certain things than I would have been otherwise:

1. I am a much more efficient user of profanity.

2. I question the media greatly about everything I hear. I wonder how media reports and "facts" affect others.

3. I consider how my life is spent a great deal...I don't know if I would do this to the same extent if I weren't type 1.

4. When someone says he or she is on a diet, I cringe. For me, a diet is a life-altering and mind-boggling venture.

5. Certain smells, such as isopropyl alcohol, or hospitals, are immediately evocative to me.

6. I would probably be the same size as my genetic ancestor. She inadvertently raised me to think and feel the same way about food as she does. She currently struggles, as she has her whole life, to reach a stable weight. Because of type 1, I have not yet reached the physical state she is currently suffering with.

7. I am very sympathetic to people who are thirsty. It is almost unbearable to hear a child say she or he is thirsty.

8. I am very cautious about what I say around children. I know how destructive words can be.

9. I understand that painful moments will pass.

10. I understand that terrifying moments, or moments with anger, or moments with joy, are temporary because the only absolute in life, especially with feelings, is change.

11. I have a hatred for insurance companies that I would not have known otherwise. I see the root of their evil clearly. I have great compassion for all people with hidden and over disabilities who must argue with the ignorant to sustain their lives.

12. If I ever worked in a receptionist or nurse position, I would treat those in my care with gentleness and respect, even if they had insurance that marked them as low income.

13. If I worked in a Department of Social Services office, I would treat each person as if he or she mattered because each person does.

14. I have less sympathy for the wealthy of this world who complain about a less fluffy existence and do nothing to help their fellow human being.

15. I feel, absolutely, and in a way that I may or may not have felt without type 1, that all people should be allowed to express themselves within their own space as they so choose.

16. I think I feel more strongly that all human beings should be allowed to exist on their own terms and have their boundaries respected. In this, I mean that no other person should declare the value or worthlessness of another's ideas. Let each express as he or she chooses in her own space.

My thought? Yes. Simply that yes I am a better person; why? Because I am stronger, I am braver. I am more willing than before diabetes to put my health first because I have seen times when it comes second or even third. My family is closer, I am more sympathetic. I am more driven than before diabetes, I have a higher sort of way of looking at friends' problems for a more realistic point of view than their teen-y ways...

diabetes doesn't define us.  it is not who we are.  but we can't have it or love someone who has it and not be changed by diabetes.  diabetes isn't responsible for who i am but it has influenced who i am still becoming.  diabetes is one of the many challenges i will face in this life and if it doesn't kill me it will, and already has, made me stronger, more compassionate, sensitive (if you ask my boyfriend...maybe a little too sensitive?)  And though diabetes is a pain in the hiney, the arm, the stomach, the fingers...there are definately a lot worse things.  I must say I would rather have this disease than watch someone I love struggle with it every day.  I am thankful it's me and not my brother, boyfriend, best friend... future child...

[quote user="Greg Borkman"]

Well basically since I've been diabetic I'm more sensitive to other's needs just because I know how it goes when you feel left out or feel like something is holding you back (i don't let that happen anymore).  I'm not sure if I would be the carrying individual if I hadn't gotten diabetes in 7th grade, I don't hesitate in saying I am thankful for being given this disease because it has shaped me for the better :)  It has its downs but I think if I can deal with diabetes I can deal with anything...knock on wood ;)

Thoughts?

[/quote]

Change 7th grade to 4th grade and I could have wrote that myself. Well put Greg.