Humility

My dad was diagnosed with Type 2 recently. My mom wanted to ask me all kinds of questions, but all I could do was explain to her that I wasn't quite sure how to manage Type 2. I have this stigma against people with Type 2 diabetes. I feel like they are the reason that I constantly have to fight insurance companies for more insulin and test strips, they don't even need meds because they can take care of it with diet and exercise. The list goes on and on. And then my dad was diagnosed and all that stigma went out the window.

My dad chose not to take the medication he was given for his diabetes, and decided to work at it solely with diet and exercise. His numbers have been great and his A1c is close to mine. He has had a few bad days here and there like any diabetic would during the learning stages, but for the most part he and my mom have gotten it under control. I'm a little jealous, but also really proud of he and my mom working together to get his disease under control.

My dad asked me to join him at one of his doctor's visits to help him navigate through this new world for him. The doctor said something to my dad that I would have never thought was true. He told my dad that he will always be Type 2 and will someday have to be placed on some form of  medication even insulin injections. The thing of it is, was that he didn't say it as a threat to my dad, but as a reality. My mind was 100% blown.

This entire time I thought that Type 2 was the easy form of this disease and that they didn't have to live with it for the rest of their lives. But I was wrong. I think about some of the posts I have written or comments I have made and am kicking myself. I must have looked like a total ass and for that I apologize. I get frustrated when people tell me how to handle my disease and I was doing the same thing about Type 2. I look forward to working along side my dad as he learns what he can about his disease to help me learn more about it as well.