I’m Married to David Beckham

Today’s topic: Freaky Friday

“Just like in the movie, today we’re doing a swap. If you could switch chronic diseases, which one would you choose to deal with instead of diabetes? And while we’re considering other chronic conditions, do you think your participation in the DOC has affected how you treat friends and acquaintances with other medical conditions?”

So here’s the deal y’all. This topic is not my favorite. It’s not one that I was just itching to write. But here’s how I look at it. I had to dig deeper to find an answer. I had to be more creative. The topics that aren’t my favorites sometimes end up eliciting some of my favorite responses. So I am up for the challenge.

After much thought, the answer actually seemed pretty simple to me.

The answer simply is…..none.

There are no other chronic disease that I would choose to deal with instead of diabetes. And there are two reasons for that.

Number one, I am a realist. I don’t tend to expend a whole lot of energy wishing, hoping and day dreaming in fantasy land. I’ve never been any good at it. I don’t play the lottery, I don’t pretend to be married to David Beckham and I don’t dream about having a second home on my own private island where the floor of the house is see-through to the ocean below and my bedroom doesn’t have walls and is open to the gentle trade winds (ok, maybe I have thought about that one…). To me, that is a waste of time. It’s not fun to wish for something that will most likely never happen. It’s disappointing and then I just get pissed off. This doesn’t mean that I am hopeless and have no dreams. I just keep my hopes and dreams realistic. And since there is no way that we can actually switch diseases, I don’t even bother thinking about it.

And the other reason is this: like it or not, THIS is our journey. THIS is the hand we were dealt. Period. I believe that everything happens for a reason. I am not a religious fanatic, but I believe in God and I believe that He chose this path for us. I can wonder and question why, but it is futile. It’s kind of like the fantasizing. It’s a waste of time. Who am I to question Him? This is the definition of faith. And frankly, I don’t have the time or energy for anything else, so I’m going with faith.

So instead of wishing we could ‘Freaky Friday’ with another disease, I am just focusing on doing the best I can with the one we’ve already got.

As for the second part of today’s prompt, do you think your participation in the DOC has affected how you treat friends and acquaintances with other medical conditions?

Absofreakinglutely!

I have known my husband and his tId sister for over 20 years now, and until Medium was diagnosed, I didn’t have a CLUE what she had been dealing with since she was 4 years old. She made it look easy and like it was not that big of a deal. That is because she is AWESOME and diabetes is just a part of her life and not her identity. Although it’s a pretty big part of her life, she is the editor of the ADA’s publication Diabetes Forecast Magazine. Go check out her work here! I feel like I owe her an apology for not realizing how different her life was from everybody else’s and for not understanding how serious this disease really is.

And since I have been so public with my journey, I have had friends come out of the woodwork and share their own stories of struggles with other diseases or health issues that I didn’t even know they were facing. It has been a great lesson in not judging a person until you walk a mile in their shoes.

Or better yet, not judging a person at all!