{"id":18801,"date":"2011-08-08T06:40:41","date_gmt":"2011-08-08T10:40:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=18801"},"modified":"2015-12-27T15:47:24","modified_gmt":"2015-12-27T20:47:24","slug":"telling-127-people-my-diabetes-diagnosis-story","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=18801","title":{"rendered":"Telling 127 People My Diabetes Diagnosis Story"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>This past weekend was my ten-year high school reunion in Columbus, Ohio. \u00a0It&#8217;s 2:45 A.M. PST and I just got home from the airport, so I don&#8217;t know that my reflections will be as eloquent as they might be after several hours of sleep, but here I am. \u00a0It was a wonderful, wonderful weekend. \u00a0I was not surprised to see all of my classmates looking healthy and happy and truly thriving, despite all kinds of setbacks life laid before them. \u00a0I was reunited with dear friends I haven&#8217;t seen for years and I had the privilege of hearing the details of their daily lives. \u00a0Food, drinks, conversation, and karaoke: \u00a0the makings of a successful high school reunion.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_18805\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-18805\" style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/emily\/blogs\/personal-blogs\/telling-127-people-my-diabetes-diagnosis-story\/18801\/attachment\/karaoke-beginnings\/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-18805\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-18805 lazyload\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" data-src=\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/08\/karaoke-beginnings-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" data-sizes=\"auto\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/08\/karaoke-beginnings-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/08\/karaoke-beginnings-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/08\/karaoke-beginnings-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/08\/karaoke-beginnings-800x600.jpg 800w, https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/08\/karaoke-beginnings-600x450.jpg 600w, https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/08\/karaoke-beginnings.jpg 1193w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-18805\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Classmates belting it<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>As I flew home last week, I tried to prepare myself for how the weekend might go. \u00a0I knew everyone would ask about where I was, what I was doing, how I was living my life, etc. \u00a0I knew, too, that intertwined in each of those stories was <a href=\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/a-sweet-life-staff\/featured\/climbing-over-a-diabetes-diagnosis\/7666\/\" target=\"_blank\">my diagnosis story<\/a>. \u00a0We had 127 people in our graduating class and, while I knew that not all of our classmates would be in attendance, I knew I would be telling my story a few times over the weekend. \u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/emily\/blogs\/type-1-blogs\/once-again-tonight-answering-every-diabetics-favorite-question\/17864\/\" target=\"_blank\">As I&#8217;ve mentioned previously<\/a>, the storytelling can be quite exhausting. \u00a0I thought about how I wanted to word things and I wondered how many people would even know what Type I is. \u00a0I didn&#8217;t know if I wanted to explain <a href=\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/emily\/blogs\/type-1-blogs\/progress-in-research-progress-in-reflection\/9621\/\" target=\"_blank\">the study<\/a> or just leave it with my diagnosis or even discuss diabetes at all. \u00a0I care about my classmates and I trust them, but I didn&#8217;t know if it would weigh on me to rehash the life changes that have been forced on me over the last year.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><em>If I don&#8217;t tell <\/em>my<em> honest story, though, who will?<\/em> \u00a0My diabetes diagnosis is a huge part of my life and has very much defined my life&#8211;especially in this past year&#8211;and it is now part of my life story. \u00a0Besides, if I weren&#8217;t talking about diabetes, I suppose I&#8217;d just be talking about something much less exciting. \u00a0So, I went for it. \u00a0Open book.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_18806\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-18806\" style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/emily\/blogs\/personal-blogs\/telling-127-people-my-diabetes-diagnosis-story\/18801\/attachment\/high-school-sweethearts\/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-18806\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-18806  lazyload\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" data-src=\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/08\/high-school-sweethearts-300x224.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"224\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-18806\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Beloved high school sweetheart and dear friend (no storytelling here--he already knows all there is to know)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>And people, of course, were very receptive. \u00a0Many had already read various posts on my blog and others had heard through the grapevine. \u00a0For people who had no idea, it was an opportunity to do some diabetes education and also to be honest about the significant challenges that diabetes has already presented to me. \u00a0For people who asked, I dove into the details of my clinical trial and what the research is attempting to prove. \u00a0Just like when I am telling my story to a new acquaintance here in Seattle, I gauged the person&#8217;s interest and proceeded with the appropriate level of explanation. \u00a0And, just like every other time I talk about my diabetes, I almost always end the conversation with, &#8220;So, we&#8217;ll see.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>We&#8217;ll see how this clinical trial ends up, we&#8217;ll see how my diabetes will change over the years, we&#8217;ll see where life takes me. \u00a0For now, to bed.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":53098,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1501],"tags":[126,1099],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v22.9 (Yoast SEO v22.9) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Telling 127 People My Diabetes Diagnosis Story | ASweetLife<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"I knew everyone would ask about where 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