WifeMomPancreas

Today’s topic:  We, The Undersigned

“Recently various petitions have been circulating the Diabetes Online Community, so today let’s pretend to write our own. Tell us who you would write the petition to – a person, an organization, even an object (animate or inanimate) – get creative!! What are you trying to change and what have you experienced that makes you want this change??

We, the undersigned People with Diabetes (PWDs) and caregivers and loved ones of PWDs (Type 3s) do herby petition, anyone who will freaking listen, for:

Separate names for separate diseases….diabetes is not diabetes is not diabetes. Type I and Type II are similar, they are in the same family if you will. But just like two siblings in the same family can have very different personalities, so too can the different types of diabetes. And what about LADA (also called type 1.5)? Ha, you probably didn’t even know that there was a type 1.5! There is, but you’ll have to read about it here because I’m too tired to explain it right now.

Speaking of tired. I’m so tired of explaining to people the differences between Medium’s type of diabetes and other types of diabetes. The conversation usually goes something like this:

Me: Do you have the box that those cookies came in?

Uneducated idiot: Huh? Why?

Me: Oh, I just need to check the carbs for Medium.

Uneducated idiot: Why, is he on a diet or something?

Me: No, he has type I diabetes and he needs to dose insulin to cover any carbs he eats.

Uneducated idiot: Oh! Is that the bad kind?

Me: They are all bad.

Uneducated idiot: My step-mom’s uncle’s cousin had that, she died.

Me: Oh, I’m sorry to hear that (and gee thanks for sharing that bit of uplifting news with me! That is oh so comforting, dumbass!)

Uneducated idiot: Yeah, she couldn’t eat sugar or anything and she went blind!

Me: Yes, there are a lot of serious complications with diabetes.

Uneducated idiot: Does Medium eat a lot of sugar? Well, I guess not now, cuz he can’t have it anymore.

Me: Actually, yes he can have sugar, he just has to dose for it. And type I diabetes has nothing to do with eating sugar. It is an autoimmune disease where his body attacked his pancreas and……you know what. I’ll just SWAG (scientific wild-ass guess) the carbs in the cookie.

Uneducated idiot: SWAG???

Please, for the sanity of D-moms and D-dads everywhere, PLEASE give these separate diseases, separate names…..and since I’m asking for things, I’d like a public service announcement with a simple explanation of the different types as well.

Signed,

Tired, frustrated and misunderstood PWDs and Type 3s