I have created this page to tell my audience a little bit about myself and why I have chosen to write Diabetically Speaking.
I've been a Type 1 Diabetic since I was 10 months old. I had an allergic reaction to my Hepatitis B immunization, and my body attacked my pancreas and killed it. I've been living with the disease ever since then.
I never really realized that I was much different from other kids, because I was never treated any different by my friends and family. Actually, I didn't realize until I had a deadly experience at a job exactly how different I was and how little people knew about my disease. That bothered me, because for the first time I realized how dangerous it was.
After that, I've done everything I can to raise awareness for Type 1 Diabetes. I gave speeches in a lot of my classes at school to inform my classmates about the disease. I inform all of my coworkers and friends about what all a low or high blood sugar can entail. And, especially, writing this blog consistently. I feel like the internet makes my story very accessible, so I put it here!
I actually started this blog under a different name with different intentions several years ago. I wanted to be a journalist, so I started writing about pretty much anything to get some experience. Eventually, I learned that journalism was not exactly what I wanted to do with my life. I enjoy writing, but I have learned that I have a voice and I should be using it for important things. Diabetes is a very important thing! The way I look at it, if the general public knows how to treat a low blood sugar (some kind of quick carbohydrates works), it could save many lives. Also, I know for a fact that a lot of diabetics feel very alone. I don't ever want anyone to feel alone, especially not because of a disease.
Since I changed my life goals, I've basically centered my aspirations around helping people with medical issues similar to mine. I want to train therapy dogs in order to help people, because I feel like $29,000 for a Diabetic Alert Dog is a little bit ridiculous. Also, I hope to go into the recreational or occupational therapy job fields. The coolest job in the world would be helping children, one-on-one, with whatever their illness is. It is very important that children with diseases, such as diabetes, grow up knowing that they are not alone, and that they are quite normal.
I firmly believe that everyone has something that ails them. God creates us all with our own burdens to bear, and mine just happens to be diabetes. In all honesty, I would rather have diabetes than anyone I love have to live with the disease. I know how to deal with my imperfections, just like you know how to deal with yours. It's a part of life.
My goal with Diabetically Speaking, however, is to make the world a little bit more knowledgeable about what I go through. One of my favorite quotes is "The diabetes you learned about on the TV is not the kind that I have." There is nothing more true than that! You cannot truly "learn" anything about Type 1 from the majority of television or media. Some things are accurate, but there is very little that is true. It is very sad how many people accept it as the truth, though. I want to make at least a little bit of a difference. If I can teach anyone anything, then I have done my job!
Please help me raise awareness for this disease, and please share my blog posts if you find them interesting! If you want to, you can also follow my page on facebook. I share most short notes on my page, Fight Like A Taylor. Things like when my sugar drops dangerously low at work and how I handle that.
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